The success of K-pop is not solely due to its catchy melodies or its challenging dance moves, but also to the way in which its lyrics touch on current issues with a sarcastic and metaphorical tone. These resources have allowed girl groups to sing about sexuality, marriage, and love. The pioneers of the genre were characterised by a sweet, schoolgirl-like and submissive image, as they were products constructed according to male fantasy.
Today, things are different. Female idols construct their own concepts, teaching a male-dominated market how to capture the interest of their audience.
The group i-dle stands out for writing songs about female empowerment and sexuality, promoting the idea that a woman can 'play the man' better than a man himself. Their song Wife1 presents an interesting tension around the comedy of the sexes. It highlights the modern woman's disinterest in committing to a man and favouring a relationship without ties. The essence of the song presents women as bearers of knowledge, ready "for the exhilarating satisfaction of the chap beside her."2 It is no longer woman divided by questions about sexual jouissance. Moreover, she mocks the limited character of men's jouissance and, when he is satiated, tells him that on her side there is still more: Eat the cherry on top! She is the one who hunts him down, making him believe that he is in charge, but in the scene, the man knows nothing but to "be passive."3 In doing so, sexual difference is recognised, but at the same time, represents a difficulty for commitment.
In this sense, the rejection of difference manifests itself in the following way: only if the other manages to be on her level might she venture to sustain a deeper bond. There is no genuine interest in the other. Contemporary subjects assess whether the other is useful to their mode of jouissance. Even without sexual choice clearly appearing.
Young female fans establish love relationships based on a pleasurable emotional connection, known as shipping, rather than on their sex. A supposed mode of relationship among idols, about whose private lives little or nothing is known – as they are kept strictly veiled – such that their relationships may be romantic, but without sex.
[1] Wife Official Music Video performed by i-dle (아이들), 여자)아이들((G)I-DLE). Available online: youtube.com.
[2] Lacan, J., The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book XIX, …or worse, ed. J.-A. Miller, trans. A.R. Price, Cambridge, Polity, 2018, p.164.
[3] Ibid.
