There are few ways for me to start this blog-post but bluntly; I can try sugar-coat what I want to say in a poetic verbose, I can beat around the bush and tangentially trail elsewhere to try and skirt around the emotion I feel at the moment, but the honest truth is that I can’t, and I don’t want to. After my recent blog post, A Plea to Army, I was over-whelmed by the response, the support, and the graciousness of the fans, from several fandoms, who commented. However, that one post is not enough to even begin to summarise the utter… anger I feel at certain members of the ARMY fandom right now, and the absolute pain striking me when I begin to think about the impact recent times have had upon the members. I don’t wish to repeat myself from my last blog-post, so I will try my best not to – however, certain strands of the issues I will explore here will be ones touched upon in the post prior. I can’t let this go, I can’t pretend that there aren’t issues within this fandom that need addressed, because there are, and if we don’t address them soon, I am scared of the impact it will have, not only upon us, but on the idols we follow.

There are many amazing members of the ARMY fandom in the world – and I am one of the lucky ones insofar as meeting many of the dedicated, devoted, talented fans on this website, some of whom have become good friends to me, and people I hope will become better friends in the future. There are truly wonderful people in this fandom, and I do not wish to tar everyone in the same brush; ARMY is not synonymous with immature, with spiteful, with rude. There are members of this family with many contrasting attitudes and personalities, and I personally love the diversity and scope therein. However, that being said, there are members of this fandom who, through their actions, seem to be giving this fandom a bad name.

This post was inspired whenever I heard the story of an interaction between Yoongi and a fan at a signing event, and it made me feel physically sick. The fan allegedly commented on how Yoongi was “tired-looking” – and, God, he is, he so, so is. Yoongi’s comment was along the lines of the fact he was tired and exhausted because he wanted to show his best – however, this “fan” preceded to tell him he looked akin to a “mental patient” and should not be in the group, for he was dragging the other members down.

With no better word for it, this was an absolutely disgusting thing to say.

I could easily and gladly rant about what Yoongi brings to BTS, how immensely talented he is, how intelligent and creative and passionate – yet, that, for me, isn’t even the point; the point is that somebody who claimed to be a fan could say that to the person she claimed to admire, as if he was expendable, someone that could be tossed aside. Throughout their careers, BTS have made point in addressing “haters” in several of their songs, promoting self-love, confidence, rebuking the remarks made against them; however, we don’t know how fragile this confidence actually is, and, it is one thing to hear comments like this from those who outwardly hate the group, but to hear from someone claiming to be a “fan”, someone who attended their fan-meeting, is something of an entirely different ilk. There is no doubting that the one comment Yoongi will remember from that signing is that of the fan who called him a “mental patient”, the fan who dragged him down – dragged someone down who even writes so emotively about mental illness – into a cruel, demeaning, offensive title. I have no words, I just… I have no words. How you can stand in front of anybody and say that is beyond me – but to a member of a group you love, a group you idolise?

The second incident that grabbed my attention – though something I haven’t actually seen yet myself – took place during the Ellen show, wherein Namjoon’s self-introduction was afforded no applause, despite the other members receiving it. There is no doubting in our fandom that the younger members bear the brunt of BTS’ popularity; particularly with newer fans, it seems they are attracted to Jimin, Jungkook and Taehyung above the older members. Whilst it is fine to have a bias member, whilst it is fine to be drawn in by a particular person, what is not fine is actually focussing on these members so much that the rest blur into insignificance. You can’t claim to support “BTS” if you only support three of the members; they’re a unit, a group, and when they use the collective identity of their name, they aren’t just referring to Taehyung, Jimin and Jungkook – they’re referring to Seokjin, Namjoon, Yoongi and Hoseok likewise. I start to doubt the motivations behind fans who only appreciate a select number of members; at the end of the day, BTS are a music group. They create music, perform music, write music – they’re artists. They aren’t the photo-shoots in the magazines, nor the ads on TV. Of course, they each have compelling personalities within their own rights, but, if you want to support “BTS”, you need to support the collective; you need to support Yoongi, Namjoon and Hoseok, for without them, the group would have no rap-line. You need to support Seokjin, for his vocals provide texture and depth to each song. If you only support Jungkook, or if you only support Jimin, or if you only support Taehyung, you don’t support BTS – you just support your bias.

Namjoon is a charismatic, talented, intelligent leader. There is no doubt in my mind that without Namjoon, BTS would not have achieved the success they have today; he greatly influences their music, has led them since their conception, has balanced the difficulties of leadership and all-the-while promoted them efficiently on an international level. We would not have the BTS we have today without Namjoon. Their music would be different, their leadership would have been different, and their international presence would almost certainly have been less. Of course, each member has been vital for BTS’ success, but there’s something about Namjoon’s role, both in his leadership and talents, that almost deserves special consideration. He has helped shape and evolve the group we have today. For ARMY to not clap at him, to ignore him, is the most disrespectful thing one could do.

The fact that the hyung-line of BTS are beginning to drop in popularity has been a fact that’s been getting to me for quite some time. Personally, my biases in the group are Hoseok and Yoongi – I find their passion and talent incredible, beautiful and poignant. That being said, I love and respect all of the members, and my heart swells with joy at the thought of any. Each has a vivid, lively personality. Each works hard to grow and nurture their talent. Each has fought for their place, fought for their fans, fought for the success of the group. It is okay to have a bias, it is okay to naturally become attached to one member more than another, or to relate to one member more than another – what is not okay is the fact that, in doing so, we abandon members who work equally as hard, put in effort to keep BTS in the public spotlight, to keep producing work for the fans. We make them feel under-valued, make their roles appear less significant than they actually are. As a fandom, we should feel ashamed that any of our idols may begin to feel this way, we should feel ashamed that we aren’t appreciating the work put in by each member towards the collective.

There is no doubting how hard BTS work for us. I fear more and more every-day; I am frightened by how slender Yoongi, Hoseok and Jimin have become; I am frightened about the bags constantly ringing around the members’ eyes; I am frightened when I consider the intensive schedules they have to maintain. As ARMY, we have to remember that BTS are only doing this for us; of course, their company plan the schedules, their company pack their days so tightly they barely have space to breathe, but the members still see it through. They battle when they’re exhausted, when they’re tired, when they’re over-working, when they’re sick. They consistently put on amazing performances and retain beautiful personas in fan-meetings and interviews. Regardless of how tired they may be, they still see it through – and they see it through for us. It’s the constant rhetoric they support – hell, they even write songs for us. Time and time again, BTS express their gratitude, through every waking action. They have sacrificed so, so much for us – their free time, their youth, their energy. We owe it to them to reward them with a fandom that loves and respects them, and loves and respects each other.

It sounds sad, and clichéd, but there are times where all I want to do is wrap the members in a hug and let them know it will be okay. As a united fandom, we often claim that nothing could stop us loving our boys; personally, I feel that sentiment deeply, and it doesn’t waver. However, with the recent events that have occurred, I am beginning to doubt the motivations and convictions of others. I sometimes wonder what it is like to be a member of BTS. I put myself in Yoongi’s shoes, for example, and I slave into the early hours making music, honing my talent, practicing routine after routine, travelling and living in different hotels, little time to see my family, to see anyone outside of the members and the company staff. Then, I am Yoongi at a fan-meeting – I am Yoongi when I am told I should leave the group, because, despite my efforts, despite all the sacrifices I have made, I am bringing them down. When I come back to reality, when I am no longer “Yoongi” and once again a third-person spectator, I feel my whole body just lock up, my jaw clench with anger and my fists grip in fury. This is not how you treat someone who has worked so hard, so relentlessly, to present us with the best image he can.

And my God, is he getting frail, and tired. I truly worry, for often-times cameras put a silver-lining on things, they sugar-coat; all the stage make-up and clothing, the perfect angles and lighting – and yet, you can still see how slender he is, how tired. You can see the exhaustion in all the members. Off-screen, this would become exacerbated – though I am not by any means defending the fan who called Yoongi such, it is why they may have used the term “mental patient” (it is horrendously derogatory, and I do not support its use or connotations; what I simply mean is that the exhaustion is clearly evident in Yoongi). We get flustered often as fans over the immaculate image our idols present; I remember watching the first teaser for Fake Love, and almost having a mini heart-attack at how beautiful and attractive the members were, particularly Yoongi and Hoseok. However, when the video was released, despite their amazing visuals once more, I began to see something that made me furrow my brows – how slender they had become. Watching interviews soon dispelled the image of their attractive vision from the teaser; of course, they were all still beautiful, however, in this more down-to-earth format, without the smoke and mirrors, the true results of their exertions became clear. The tender beauty fostered by Yoongi in the teaser was now something to frighten me. Sometimes, I watch videos of Yoongi, the difference between debut and now; of course, he is older now, and arguably more mature, yet there is something quite… unnerving about just how quiet he has become. I can barely imagine him giving Namjoon a “personal mini concert now” whilst the former talked via his computer screen. Yoongi has changed. Whilst a lot of that is attributable to growing up, I will always worry his silence and exhaustion is due to something more.

Part of me fears that as a fandom, particularly a lot of the newer waves, we are beginning to objectify the members. I feel this may partially be reasoning behind the love for the younger members surpassing that of the older; they are more “stereotypically attractive” – in my eyes, I don’t really find myself attracted more to the younger members than the older, but, even with Mr. Worldwide Handsome, it seems the younger members are getting the primary focus – and when I read comments on them, swathes of them always centred around Taehyung, Jimin and Jungkook, it is always about their looks. BTS are attractive, and it is part of their image and appeal that they are so – to say otherwise would be denying the truth. However, their image is not their worth; I may have been drawn in by how they looked, but I would stick around now if they somehow magically turned into parsnips overnight, and that’s due to their personalities and their talents. I wonder how much of this fandom could genuinely say the same – could genuinely say they would stick around were their bias to lose his looks, his image. Furthermore, the greater impact we as a fandom put on the image of the members’, the more and more they feel the pressure to live up to our standards, to be increasingly handsome with each comeback; thus, we have deadly traps many idols, not necessarily BTS though on a general scope, have fallen into, such as extreme dieting or plastic surgery. As someone who has personally suffered from a severe eating disorder, one that almost took my life, I can say that there is no reward for seeking out perfection – and my biggest fear is a similar affliction taking over the life of someone I love. Seeing the members so frail upsets me, because I know the detrimental impact losing weight can have on your health and psyche. I know how dangerous it can be. Whilst the members may not have hit “anorexic extremes”, any amount of weight loss can still be damaging. Though through my disorder I did end up losing weight to a very critical level, even in the earlier days of my illness, I felt the side-effects. The thought of the members suffering anything even remotely similar sends a cold shiver down my spine, makes me so scared I want to scream, because I feel powerless to help them.

However, we, as a fandom, are not powerless. BTS appreciate us so, so much, and they prove this time and time again. Their words and their endeavours often reflect our thoughts and actions. Therefore, if we begin to treat the members with the respect and love they deserve, if we love them with equal compassion and stop this sick objectification, life may be able to slow down and protect our idols for a while, look after them with the care and attention they deserve, give them time to rest, be healthy and be happy in themselves. As ARMY, it is our job to ensure BTS know how much we love them, how much we care, how much we appreciate and value their efforts. It’s about time we showed it, for their sakes.

Thank you for reading.

-Emma