How International Fans can protect SHINee and their privacy

Before I even write anything more about this I want to make it clear that I really don't want to incite any hate or drama. I started this blog so I could share information and talk about issues within SHINee's fandom that are important to me. This is NOT a call to war or an invitation to attack anyone I mention in this post. I don't want people to spread hate or get angry. I'm hoping that people can become very aware of the behavior they are enabling by reblogging certain materials.

We’re going to use Reneeing as an example for the purpose of this post. She’s certainly not the only person guilty of taking photos where she shouldn’t, but she’s a good conclusive example of what we mean by fans overstepping the boundaries. I got a question sometime last year asking who Reneeing was. At the time, I'm going to be completely honest, I had no idea who she was or what she was doing. I'm not active on tumblr and I follow fansites directly for updates so I'd never come across any of her photos. I asked a few friends and the reaction was fairly explosive: there are certainly some people who do not like her at all. And it was as simple as googling 'reneeing' to find out why. I kid you not, all I had to do was literally go to google images and type 'reneeing onew' and it was understandable why people were so upset. I won’t include any of her photos in this post that are taken where they shouldn't be. I don’t want to contribute to sharing these photos as we really do feel like they’re an invasion of SHINee’s privacy. However, if you really want to see these photos for yourself, it really is as easy as doing a google search.

There is a really fine line between being a fansite and a stalker fan, but the line is etched fairly deep. There are places fansites will not take photos and the reason I bring this up is because SHINee fansites in particular are deeply protective of SHINee and SHINee's privacy. Fansites actually have to be very careful that they don’t take any photos that even approach a breach of SHINee’s privacy as it can severely damage their reputation.

Maybe it's sentimental but is it wrong of us as fans of SHINee? Is it too much to ask that SHINee are allowed aspects of their lives where there are not camera's in their faces? I know a lot of people subscribe to the belief that celebrities sign up for a life of limelight when they sign a contract, but the fact remains that for the most part fans do not take photos of SHINee in certain places: on the plane when they're sleeping and mentally preparing for the next exhausting schedule they have. Inside their hotels in the hallways and foyers. When they're eating or with friends in public, off schedule. These are just a few examples.

Reneeing has photos in nearly every area that’s considered off limits as fans. She has photos of SHINee sleeping on the plane. Photos of them in customs and baggage, as well as in the hallways and lobbies of their hotels. She followed Onew for his private filming of Law of the Jungle and took photos of him in the jungle in Malaysia. She has photos of Onew on the shuttle between terminals in LA. Fansites only take photos at public venues. Whether or not photography is officially allowed, SHINee have official schedules and are working. Or when they're travelling overseas on public schedules, in the public area of the airport. Fansites do NOT take photos of SHINee on the plane. Or in the hotels. Or during their private time.

Ignoring any debate about what constitutes an invasion of privacy, if you go through Reneeing's Instagram she has video's of Onew in the baggage claim area which is highly frowned upon and illegal in Korea and Japan. You should not take video or photo before exiting customs. It's not a question of being a good fan, she's coming very very close to breaking the law in this case. Also videos she took on her mobile phone and uploaded to Instagram in LA were breaking the law as you need a permit to record inside the airport customs and baggage areas.

In Reneeing’s case; we often hear people defending her by saying that Onew seems to like her. That he wears her fangifts and she gets eye contact in her photos. In terms of wearing her fangifts, Onew probably has very little idea who the gift is actually from. Even if she attached her name to the bag he would have no idea what her name is. He recognizes her face and the camera attached to it. She might be passing the gifts straight to the manager at airports or at fansigns where nearly everyone gives over a gifts and it’s likely to get lost amongst other gifts. I can't know for sure, but I think his wearing her gifts can be explained away very easily. It doesn’t seem to be out of any personal attachment. As for eye contact, SHINee make eye contact with all cameras. They're celebrities. They know how to play the cameras and they will give every lense eye contact. If anything I feel like Onew's face is kind of...stiff when he spots her.

Everything

Onewsama

CuzOnew

And...Reneeing:

Reneeing has been asked by multiple people to stop taking and spreading photos that violate SHINee's privacy. People via Instagram, Weibo and in person have asked her to stop; this is an issue that concerns a lot of SHINee's fans. I don't think Reneeing is being malicious when she takes and posts these photos. I think she genuinely doesn't understand that what she's doing is overstepping boundaries. This goes for any fan that takes photos of SHINee in private settings. The infamous photos of SHINee in their private hotel’s pool. On planes while they’re sleeping. Outside the SM building when they’re sweaty and tired.The SM building is not an official schedule. It’s their private workplace and a place of business and in no way do fans have any purpose being at the building.  I mentioned earlier we didn’t want to share any photos or videos that intrude on SHINee’s privacy but if you don’t understand why we would like people to stop hanging around the SM building or taking photos of them there, please at least listen to Jonghyun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEqShYPz604

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjRBZEDA06U

In the above videos the girls are crowding Jonghyun, flocking around him and thrusting their camera’s in his face. Jonghyun blocks the camera using his hat. He looks tired and upset, his face is turned away and he very clearly asks the girl who is standing way too close, holding a camera phone in his face: 찍지마요 Don’t take photos.

This isn’t a problem that’s isolated to SHINee fans. There are countless videos of EXO fleeing fans outside the SM building. Look in the right places on youtube and you can see this is a problem in multiple fandoms. As SHINee fans we can choose to not accept this behaviour amongst SHAWols. We can’t stop people taking photos. We can’t be on the plane or in the hotels physically stopping them, nor can we hang around the SM Building to stop people pushing their camera’s and phones in SHINee’s faces. But we can choose not to spread this content. Don’t look at it, don’t watch it. Politely ask people not to share it. If people who take these photos no longer have an audience, they are more likely to lose interest in what they’re doing. Please don’t worship or thank people for doing something that makes Onew or Jonghyun or SHINee uncomfortable.

As International fans, we care for SHINee too. And we are equally capable of protecting SHINee in my mind. If you see a photo that you think is sketchy, don't reblog it. Don't share it. Try to forget you ever saw it. Because while it might be a photo of them sleeping on a plane and super cute: is the momentary satisfaction we feel at seeing them worth it? Is it worth breaching SHINee's resting time? They're very aware of all the content about themselves online: maybe next flight they won't rest as easy knowing there's someone waiting across the aisle to snap their picture.I think as a fan, all we can ask ourselves is what is more important? Our personal satisfaction or SHINee’s freedom to breathe?