Netizens question gender policing in Jung Yonghwa's 'That Girl' lyrics

[goshipgurl.livejournal.com]

Instiz: Jung Yonghwa-ssi, what exactly does it mean to be 'woman woman'?

Jung Yonghwa's new song 'That Girl' directly translates to 'Woman Woman-like', and a part of his lyrics describes a woman at a bar as 'woman woman'. It's a form of Korean slang where a word is repeated twice to describe/emphasize something, similar to how we describe something in English as 'summery'. "That dress is so summery" -> Koreans would say "that dress is so summer summer"

His lyrics say, "You are woman woman / there is no woman more woman woman than you in this lounge bar / I'm going to grab your wrist so don't pass me by this time / don't tie your hair, it melts my heart / don't put your hair behind your ear, it melts my heart", leading netizens to criticize him for enforcing gender rules and forcing women into society's traditional frame that they need to be feminine and 'woman-like' to be considered a woman

OP note: You can find the translated lyrics here.


Netizens:

"It's horrifying to see that so many people don't understand what's so wrong with these lyrics. I can completely see why they'd be considered problematic, please stop calling us too sensitive ㅠㅠ It's not that we're making it a problem, the problem is that some people don't realize it's a problem. It's through controversies like this that people learn."

"I like the song's melody but the lyrics are too..."

"Yeah, I was put off by the title"

"The lyrics did make me uncomfortable... and once this reaches the media, I think it's going to become an even bigger problem. It's because everyone else accuses us of being 'too sensitive' that people are staying quiet ㅋㅋㅋㅋ"

"If he had any understanding of the current social issues going on, he could not have written such lyrics. There are so many movements going on for the rights of women right now..."

"I thought 'what the' when I read the lyrics too. Stop saying that people are being too sensitive over this."

"I knew this would become a problem."

"I knew this would be controversial as soon as I read it. I guess people who don't understand why don't have any interest in social issues."

"With all the issues surrounding women's rights right now, I can't believe he would put out a song like this."

"Never did I think I would see a song titled 'Woman Woman-like' in 2017"

"What are the standards to be considered a woman? There are so many issues with women's rights right now, is he just behind on the times or what? He should be embarrassed as a public figure that he isn't more informed and he should take more of an interest in what's going on in his own society."

"Why is he enforcing what it means to be feminine... I knew this would be controversial"


sources: netizenbutt, instiz

Comments

[cafetin99.livejournal.com]

Yonghwa Yonghwa don't be a asshole asshole.

Also: " (...) 'woman woman'. It's a form of Korean slang where a word is repeated twice to describe/emphasize something, similar to how we describe something in English as 'summery'. "That dress is so summery" -> Koreans would say "that dress is so summer summer"

In spanish, we have the same ways to say things, the double word and the derivation, adjectivation, etc of the words.

[krissasaur]

The wrist grabbing thing is the number one reason I can't watch Kdramas. I get so angry every time it happens.

[dynamite-state.livejournal.com]

I'm with the netizens on this one, I'd definitely rme if I heard a song like this here.

[miyozari.livejournal.com]

man, i used to watch wgm and don't remember that he behaved that way back then, but i recall that once he tried the push-and-pull crap on seohyun and she was nhf it.

that said... yonghwa should maybe just enlist.

[marsinblue.livejournal.com]

I'll get this out of the way - the wrist grabbing is def nagl (this has plagued k-dramas for long so it's long been romanticised wrongly...)

As for the rest, I'm a bit flabbergasted at the response. In the lyrics you'll see he's woo-ing a specific girl, impersonating a kind of casanova style in the lyrics and MV. He never says a girl /needs/ to be girly or demeans other girls that behave differently. He even says that actually he's usually not into girly girls but because he likes *this specific girl*, it makes him like her girliness too. I saw people saying he's belittling women that don't act girly. Where? He doesn't even specify his ideal type of girl (which would have been fine too), he's describing why he fell for the girl in front of him.

Seriously, this does not even compare closely to last year's SOTY pearl "Be a real man".

[roomgirl.livejournal.com]

I think there's a pretty significant difference in implication between telling a guy to act like a man (as in be mature in a relationship, see: "I don't want a boy, I need a man" lol) and a man deeming a woman feminine or whatever based on how she looks. One is about behavior and the other is about conforming to gender norms set by men in the first place (IMO). Sneakers and your straight back / They try to copy you a lot / But they can’t even come close to half as you - personally I dislike lyrics like this and think they're both trite and a bit demeaning, plus he literally says "you're my type" over and over in the song...? IDK, there are problems with Cheer Up but this comment just sounds like you want something else to be worse than his song anyway, there's no need to bring up another group who had no choice in what they released to take the heat off of someone who personally wrote and meant what he said.

[hippoponic.livejournal.com]

well said!

[saemcrh.livejournal.com]

The problem is the implication that a woman woman, is a girly or more stereotypically feminine one. All women are 'real' women, not only the ones who fit into a specific style.

At least that's what I got from it.

[lightframes.livejournal.com]

It's probably the worst song on the mini. He should have picked another one to promote.

[epona.livejournal.com]

this dude has always rubbed me the wrong way

[garnetstar38.livejournal.com]

I had a problem when I was watching the video and I didn't even know the lyrics. I saw him in the video acting like a bar rat hitting on a woman, grabbing her wrist, just your general objectifying woman everydayness. And I thought, hmmmmm, there must be more to this video? I thought he was doing it with a wink at the camera and a don't you just hate this kind of guy nudge. I was hoping there would be a subversion at the end and the lady in the bar would turn him down flat. I was sooooo wrong. At the end after he wins her over he leaves her right away for another woman. LOLzzzzz woman are interchangeable! We're only here for male amusement! Good times. Like really how tone deaf was this video? Now that I know the lyrics it's worse.

[sparkb.livejournal.com]

Ive been turned off since I read one of cnb lyrics at the latest album and now this :/

[dio-elaclaire.livejournal.com]

i'm glad knetz are talking about this because these lyrics are problematic af

[dickslikejesus.livejournal.com]

I'm shocked that netizens are finally calling out some problematic lyrics aimed at women.

[horichansenpai.livejournal.com]

Sighs heavily at this mess of a song