Okay, keep in mind these are my opinions. That being said, I clearly believe in my opinion if I’m posting about it.
 

So I think we all know what brought this tea time on! Basically a bunch of Cube idols are under scrutiny now because they date. My stance is that we should let idols be happy and find something that lets them be content in an incredibly stressful industry. That being said, idols are positioned to be objects that are seen as available and desirable, and dating annuls the intended objectification of said idols.
 

I’m not exactly sure why it’s so common for fans to think of idols as “theirs,” but that would explain why there is so much anger against idols dating. I think this probably has to do with the fact that after you hear an opinion enough, subconsciously you begin to believe it, and it becomes easier to agree with the overwhelming idea that may be sensationalized. And when the companies themselves perpetuate the idea that you can get close to the idol and have a “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” image, the idols are created into a marketable merchandise that fuel this line of thinking. But it’s important to know that there’s probably tons of Korean fans that disagree with the objectification, but we usually hear the most extreme of opinions. I also think the objectification usually stems from younger fans who may have not emotionally matured enough to truly understand the fact that the idol they see is also human and has feelings. Regardless, I don’t agree with this line of thinking and this possessiveness is really unfair to the idols.
 

I was surprised to find out that in Japan, this possessiveness is amplified, and nyamnyamnyam explained this to me as Japanese idols may be seen more as entertainers who make the audience happy rather than being musicians. I think there’s a sense of entitlement involved, where certain fans may believe that they have a say into what the idol does because the fan supports the idol and buy into their image, merchandise, and music. This sense of taking ownership is dangerous and treats idols as possessions. We can see this in the recent breaking of news that Hyuna and E’Dawn have been dating for two years. Now, going back to the fact that idols are selling their image, I understand the argument that the fans feel somewhat “tricked” by idols (even though I really disagree with the idea because they are doing their job), but when there’s so much backlash against idols for dating news, revealing that bit of personal information to fans is unlikely. I know there was also backlash against the uality that Triple H exudes, but honestly Hyuna has a large fanbase and she’s known for pushing the boundaries, so it’s easy for fans to target the lesser known person in the relationship as a problem. Interestingly enough, I never heard that much about it until they admitted they were dating, so I don’t think the majority of the voicing of that complaint is coincidental. I do think that this might create criticism against Pentagon, because Hyuna has been debuted for a while and Pentagon just had a hit and was starting to get into more attention. I do genuinely hope that Hui wasn’t forced to be part of Triple H because of Hyuna and E’Dawn, though.
 

Now, Cube doesn’t have a dating ban, and that implies that are willing to accept relationships within their company. If Cube wanted to stop their idols from dating, they could put a dating ban. Blaming these idols for dating and saying they’re not serious about their careers is a bit unfair when the company itself has no ban against it. These idols have done their job contributing to the marketable image, and the fans have bought into it, so they’ve done their job, but that image is in no way an accurate reflection of the entirety of these idols’ lives. I think it’s pretty telling that a ton of Cube fansites (especially E’Dawn sites) have been shut down now that it’s been confirmed. If they cared about the health and happiness of these idols, then they would be still be supporting those idols and wouldn’t shut down their fansites. They have a large following and closing down the site, even if they’re not explaining why, explains a lot about the creator of the site and his or her character. I think it’s fair to say that many of these sites may have closed down because of jealousy, even though fansites are also known for supporting idols a lot by giving idols free promos and more. Apparently, some owners of fansites just don’t think it’s worth support an idol’s happiness when they date. Even though a lot of these fansites have been created out of the owner’s own volition and have the right to close down at any time, we can also see that it’s done as a reaction to recent news. This adds to the objectification of idols. It’s common to see companies marketing idols to be close to their fans, almost like a relationship, but their public image is very different from their personal lives. Shaming idols for their private relationships is unnecessary, and if a person decides to stop paying attention to an idol because he or she is dating, chances are that person was never really a fan anyway.
 

I guess the tl;dr is that I just really disagree with the objectification, possessiveness, and overall illogical behavior towards idols. I understand where the anger is coming from, but I don’t agree with it. Also, we have no idea if this has all been fabricated because it’s possible that it was.