Taeyeon, the leader of SNSD, has the most male fans out of all nine members. It is quite an unexpected phenomenon, given that some members like Yoona would always stand in the center, be casted as main characters of dramas, and were basically well-known for her beautiful looks, and Taeyeon was just singing away.

What that means is that there has got to be something special about Taeyeon that satisfies the curiosities of guys. What's even more intriguing is that most females besides SNSD fans do not find Taeyeon to be too attractive or charming at all. Of course, they will probably admit that she is a little cute, but they cannot seem to find what there is to Taeyeon for guys to "go crazy" over her.

In fact, some of them may say, "how is she that popular?" And if they are an anti-fan, they may even go as far as to point out several incidents where Taeyeon misspoke or made a mistake to call her "disgusting."

Of course, not all guys like Taeyeon, nor do all girls dislike her, but there is a clear correlation between gender and attraction to Taeyeon. So how does Taeyeon maintain a fanatic support from the males yet confound so many females?

Quite frankly, Taeyeon is not necessarily the "prettiest" member of SNSD, let alone of the whole Korean Entertainment Industry. Of course, the standards of beauty are not objective at all, but if asked to pick the physically most attractive member of SNSD, most people will most likely name other members besides Taeyeon.

As many males use the phrase, "if she's pretty, she's nice," most of them pay a lot of attention to looks. Therefore, it makes sense that girls are confused about how guys rave about Taeyeon, a short and a cute, but not necessarily pretty, member, over other members widely accepted as the prettiest. 

Nevertheless, not all males like "super pretty" girls like Kim Taehee, Han Ga-in, or Song Haegyo. To be more specific, guys like those girls but find them to be "way out of their league" or feel almost uncomfortable. It is great appreciating their beauty on television or to choose them as a guy's ideal type, but like the words "ideal type" suggest, not too many men dream about dating them.

Taeyeon is different, however. She seems like a typical, yet cute and attractive, Korean girl one may find around him/her could be found around him/her. In other words, she seems like a girl that has the looks to make her a realistic possibility as a girlfriend, but that doesn't mean she is not pretty. She's not super pretty or the prettiest, but she's as pretty as how much prettiness guys realistically wish for in a girlfriend.

What is more important, though, is in her actions. Males clearly like girls' "aegyo" a lot. If there were anything Taeyeon knows how to assert herself in, it would be in aegyo. Guys may feel uncomfortable or may even avoid forced and/or too much aegyo, but Taeyeon's aegyo is a bit dorky and genuine, and on top of that there is the added bonus of her cute looks. Whether Taeyeon is actually genuinely dorky or not is irrelevant. Just from her looks and actions, guys construe an image of her as a "cute girlfriend with a great personality." If there was a girl like Taeyeon around, most guys will definitely be attracted to her image of having great personality and try to "hit on her."

In most cases, guys assume that if a girl shows aegyo to him then it is a sign that she is interested him. For example, girls that send mixed messages to and/or flirt with guys may not be too popular among girls but may be popular among guys because they will probably find her to be seductive.

It would be big stretch to say Taeyeon sends mixed messages to and flirts with guys, but still, there is no way a guy would dislike his "ideal girlfriend" figure showing aegyo. Nonetheless, women may interpret it as "a not-too-particularly-pretty girl trying to act cute."

Thus, it is highly likely that women see Taeyeon as an "weird celebrity is not pretty and just acts cute but is still popular," whereas men see her as a "celebrity that's ideally cute and pretty and has great personality to top it all off." This is the disparity between the perspectives of the es.

As mentioned before, this is not to say all males feel a certain way towards Taeyeon, nor do all women feel another way towards her. Each individual will have a different opinion of Taeyeon, but it is true that there are many guys that feel all happy and giddy from watching and/or hearing her, and it is also true that there are many women who cannot understand what's the big deal about Taeyeon. That is not necessarily saying there is a right or wrong answer. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, and we just need to respect each other's opinion.

Nevertheless, since it is clear that Taeyeon was able to use her image to become the most popular SNSD member, it is indisputable that her image is quite practical and an important asset to her.

credits to:한밤의 연예가 섹션@ Daum View

cr; seann at soshified