Down With Biases!

As some of you may know, I have only recently become a K-Pop fan. But, if you weren't aware K-Pop fans can be monkey fighting (if you don't understand the reference, click the link) CRAZY (link of some Monday-to-Friday crazy sh*t)! One thing I noticed is that there are fan names for everything. Personally I do not care for the practice. I am fine with fan clubs because it is a medium for fans to get goodies, but it is the identifying yourself by a single group that goes too far. [This is my opinion, just as a reminder.]


Why would labeling yourself by only one group be bad? Psychology has the answer for that: intergroup bias. In layman's terms, it is basically when you see yourself as part of a select group and see others outside of it. One example, although hyperbolic comparatively, is Nazi Germany. What I am saying is that by making an in-group, you increase the likely hood of rejecting criticism and hating on out-groups. Sports can work in a similar fashion.

For example, I am a sports fan for my university's various teams. We have cheers like other fans, some are witty and others are not so much. For hockey, one thing we do is when the announcer states that both teams are at full strength (because penalties have ended), we say "That's debatable, She's inflatable, Your mom is dateable, YOU STILL SUCK, dick." When we went up against one of our biggest rivals, who some consider to be weaker academically, we would yell "Safety School" and clap, and if any of their fans sat in our student section (usually peppered individually in the upper levels) we would all point and yell "@sshole". I would not recommend sitting in our student section, if you support an opposing team, if you are a sensitive person and or takes those kind of things seriously. We can be very loud.

Antis buy the majority of seats for a SNSD concert.

Do you see where I am getting at? Now I don't go to forums that much, especially not K-Pop focused ones so I don't have many examples to draw on. One example is from the comment section of a Brown Eyed Girls video on YouTube. The person said something along the lines that she/ he liked the group, but is a SONE (SNSD fan). By saying you are in such a specific fandom, I think you are less likely to appreciate other groups (plus previously mentioned issues). I also think it encourages antis. [Another comparison is Star Trek versus Star Wars; things can get heated.]


In terms of J-Pop, even though there is a lower prevalence of naming, this is likely seen in terms of the relationship between Morning Musume fans and AKB48 fans. [Reminder: I am a fan of both.] I think Morning Musume fans might hate on AKB48 more because of a rivalry. This is true vice versa, but I haven't seen it (likely because AKB is at the top). Technically, every artist in Japan is competing against AKB48 or any other group that releases music.

Conclusion: I believe you can rank groups on how well you like them, but shouldn't identify yourself by a single musical artist. If someone asks what music you like, you shouldn't respond you are an Exotic. You can say EXO is your favorite group, but you also like blah blah blah. This is a wota blog, but I wouldn't respond with just I am an AKB fan (even if they asked about idols). I identify myself as someone who likes a wide-range of artists like AKB48, Florence + The Machine, ADELE, Nicki Minaj, and Brown Eyed Girls to name a few. I do not hate on a group. I say what I like or dislike about them, because I have an opinion. This is why I hate when people accuse me of being biased. AKB48 may be my favorite artist, at the moment, but it is only one of them. I also like Morning Musume (although not their music at the moment) and SNSD (although it would make me feel better if they gained some weight).