Blogspot 3: OTP: What does it mean?

    What is OTP? in the world of Kpop, you would be able to stumble upon the acronym itself, “forever my OTP”,”so cute .. my OTP is really perfect together!!”, but what it really is?

 OTP stands for ONE TRUE PAIRING. OTP is a term you use to express a pair of people that are the perfect partner for each other regardless of their gender.

  I've read and article entitled "Your OTP Is Not Real: Why Idol "Shipping" Has No Place In K-Pop" by Patricia of soulbeats.com that tells shipping is a big part of K-pop fan culture, and its devotees run the casual shippers who merely think that bromance between their preferred OTP is just cute, to hardcore fans who genuinely believe that their OTP is real and will fervently argue against anyone else who thinks otherwise. Speaking objectively, shipping is a very strange phenomenon: why do fans take such extreme pleasure in obsessing over the interactions of two people and fantasizing over their possible romantic involvement? There have been multiple theories that attempt to explain this phenomenon, and many people have concluded that the reasoning behind the popularity in "shipping" is that it’s the manifestation of many fangirls' personal romantic fantasies and a side effect of possible deprivation from real-life interaction with people of the opposite gender. She also stated that "But upon my observations of “shipping culture” within K-pop, I’ve come to believe that shipping — whether it’s between a gay or straight couple; whether it’s manifested as simple ‘bromance’ or an explicit sexual relationship — is a potentially harmful activity to both the fans and the idols in question alike. In regards to the fans, I believe that the idea of romantic fantasy in K-pop as a whole has the potentially detrimental effect of skewing the romantic views of its fangirls, and shipping culture plays a big part in this. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been a so-called “shipper” myself and have never been fully engulfed in the culture, but I don’t really see any deeper benefits in shipping apart from the momentary pleasure drawn from romantic fantasy…and that doesn’t sound like a very healthy way of thinking to me."

    Shipping becomes a selfish and self-indulgent activity when real people with real feelings are the ones being manipulated for the sake of entertainment and fantasy. Shipping culture in K-pop has become so mainstream that it’s actually become a sellable commodity. You are entitled to ship and believe whatever original true pairing you support. There is no wrong or right answer. However don’t get too caught up, question yourself if you legitimately actually believe whether it is true or if you just enjoy the couple’s interaction, which is the reality in my opinion. In OTP most pairings are made by girl to girl and man to man. The femalel to female OTP is fine, they are natural. But the male to male OTP have issues.

    According to another article that I read entitled "You’re not gay. You’re in a bromance." by Dave Kennedy of irishexaminer.com that tells, The word 'bromance' was coined by sk8er dudes in the 1990s to describe a non-gay relationship with strong bonds. Under its 'rules', it's OK to share your feelings and go on man-dates to matches and the cinema. You can say you love each other. Bromance is not just about bonding over football games and beer. Men who have bromances are stronger in their sexuality than their more macho counterparts. They know they are hetero-sexual. Dave Kennedy also stated that "This is the basis for the bromance: the knowledge that you and your best friend will never stray into gay love. The benefits of having a bromance outweigh the sniggering. There are subjects a man won’t bring up with his best friend-girl. Male friends generally make better counselors. Another benefit is that, if a man-date doesn't go well, you don’t have to pay for your date’s taxi home. The negative side of having a bromance is that we get called ‘wimps’. It’s one of life’s great inequalities. Women in close relationships are called… friends. 



        

    There’s nothing wrong in doing what is safe and comfortable. I think that is anything but courageous. And therein lies the courage that comes from being what I would call a ‘real’ man. And I think that 'bromance' is just normal for men its just like having a best friend. I think they thought that bromance is gay because the two person are just have the same likes and they have the same interest. And this maybe hold a great friendship.

Blogpost 2: The World of Fandom

     We've all heard a harrowing stories about the fans whose obsession went too far: TVXQ's phone lines are tapped and personal conversations recorded, Taeyeon of SNSD has been kidnapped by the fans, JYJ's Yoochun was been slapped by this sasaeng fans. But there are fans whose actions are harmless and self-gratifying, ranging to the k-pop conventions just to have fun. These kind of fans who are proud to be engaged on what they love, who are finding their community and  who are developing themselves. It is healthy, right?


       I've read an article entitled, "Is there Something Psychologically Unhealthy About Being a Fan?  by Phoebe Reilly of vulture.com. This article is about the three different perspective of psychiatrist about fandom. The first psychiatrist tells that, fandom is a form of escapism because we're living vicariously through these characters, and the world that’s been created, because we identify with them. The second one tells that, it is a displacement and it concerns him because people spends time worrying about fiction rather than improving their reality. And the last psychiatrist stated that, fandom is a distraction because people who are living their lives completely have very little time to be significant fans of anything, but people avoid struggling to find themselves because that journey is painful. She stated that "To an unforgiving extent, this is true. But by placing all the blame on entertainment, it fails to take into account the many other ways people can find to spend one’s time in ways less productive than striving to be a better person.

        Being on a fandom was fun and interesting. Its true that it is a form of escaping and there was a avoidance but there was hope and optimism. There was a camaraderie, a common shared interest brings people together. And it was a positive thing.

        Princeton University describes fandom thus: “Fandom (from the noun fan and the affix -dom, as in kingdom, freedom, etc.) is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest.” But what exactly does being a subculture mean, and what power does it give fans?

         According to the article that I've read entitled, "Fandom as a Subculture" by Hannah Carter of fandomwanderers.wordpress.com tells that, subculture is defined as  cultural group within a larger culture (or cultures), often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture. Fandom as a subculture has been around for many years. Fans of the original literary version of Sherlock Holmes are widely considered to have composed the first modern fandom creating some of the first fan fiction as early as 1887 and holding public demonstrations of mourning after Holmes was “killed” off in 1893. 


         Now the question is: What power does this subculture give us fans?  Think of the fandoms achieved. Fans raised money, prevent awareness, giving support and provided motivations. For example, one of the members of Infinite, L will be celebrating his birthday on March now the eLements are busy to prepare their gifts or messages for their idol. That's how fans demonstrate their support. Before she ended, she said that " Fandom is a subculture rife across the world, bringing people from disparate cultures, races, genders, ages, classes and religions together, and giving them the power to change the world they live in, all in the name of entertainment and the good of humanity."  


            Fandom is an amazing thing, with amazing power. When millions of individuals work together for a reason, no matter how tiny their separate impacts, the effect is huge. 

Blogpost 1: Being a Fangirl

    Three years ago I was like, "Is that a song? I can't understand what they are saying!", "Those girls undergo plastic surgery!", "They look like gays." But now I was like, "Super Junior was so hot and sexy! Kyaaaaah!", "EXO has a comeback!", "I need to spazz! (updating about that certain group)", "Yung obaryo ko sumabog na!". Yeah right now, I was a hardcore FANGIRL of some K-pop groups. 

   I've read an article entitled "Six Things You Should Know About Being a Fangirl" by Bianca Reyes in fremdeng.ning.com. According to the article, being a fangirl is a hard thing. Why? First is that, Knowing your Facts - for us fangirls, this is the hardest job. We must know when is his/her birthday, his/her favorite color, his/her favorite food or even his/her parent's name. In short, a fangirl knows almost about his/her entire life. The other one is the Social Media - seriously this is our "BEST FRIEND". Without this, we will missed out some latest news about our idols. But, that's never been a problem for fangirls. Because they subscribe in every social media that their idol is in. According to her "A fangirl is a female who has overstepped the line between healthy fandom and near obsession for a celebrity (most commonly a musician) they hardly know. A fangirl can laugh at her own passion for her particular interest."  which actually was true. Why? Because I also experienced that. Summer of year 2013, I dedicated my whole vacation for updating, spazzing, reading fan fictions, looking at the pictures of my bias, and watching their shows. That's how my whole summer ended. So productive right? Until now, I have time for my beloved fandoms despite of a very hectic schedule.

    "Once you entered K-pop world, there is no exit." I saw this quote somewhere in Facebook 2 years ago. For me, I think it is true but while I'm searching some blogs this article caught my attention-- "I used to be a K-pop Fan girl." it was written by an anonymous person in kpopsecrets.tumblr.com. In this article she tells her story of how she dedicated her life in Korean culture, mostly the language, dramas and K-pop. But when she noticed that the other fangirls acting crazy over their biased. And even the fan wars that lacks of objectivity in their arguments. So she decided to take a break and find something new. So she started to write a fanfictions. And after a year, the K-pop doesn't have the same effect on her anymore. And to end her article, she stated that "I didn't grow out of k-pop because of my age, it’s my soul that needs something else."   I agree on what she said. Because we can't be crazy on this for the rest of our lives. We need something new to discover new things!

There was no wrong on being a fan girl, in fact it was fun. Because of this we can meet new friends and with them we can make a nationwide community consisting of massive supports. For others maybe, it was special and precious to them but for the others not. Well it doesn't matter. A FAN GIRL IS ALWAYS A FAN GIRL.