Regarding this dumbass article translation

So overnight kpopfans blog vlah thing posted a translated naver article about how a source says that a boy group member has come out as gay to his group members and all of them suspected it since before debut. The group is meant to be known well for synchronized choreography.

Now first of all I would like to point out that these kind of rumor/scandal articles are only printed like this because it allows people to go crazy contemplating who it could be. It generates buzz and it basically spices up a slow news day or a dead community. That's the only reason this kind of bullshit ever sees the light of day.

And sure enough English speaking Kpop fandom went crazy over night contemplating in the comments who it could possibly be. And of course his name showed up. And I say 'his' because I refuse to tie his name up in all this rubbish more than it already has been. So I'm not going to name any names even though you all probably know who I'm talking about.

Every few months I get a round of questions via ask.fm about so and so's sexuality and every time I answer I say the same thing: it is absolutely none of your business. In fact it profits you as a fan to NOT make it your business. I feel like I'm beating a dead cow here but I've said this in multiple posts at this point and I will continue to say it until the day I die no doubt. But here we go;

There is absolutely nothing wrong with homosexuality. Honestly in my mind it goes without saying but unfortunately in the world we live in we do actually have to keep on saying it. Now if you have a friend you're sure is gay is it ok for you to demand that they tell you about it? Is it ok if you go around telling all their other friends and family that they are gay? Is it ok for ANYBODY but the person in question to tell anyone ANYTHING about their sexuality? No. Absolutely not. It is completely not ok. Because even though I know there's nothing wrong with being gay there are still people who will discriminate against homosexuals in our society and it is completely inappropriate for anyone to expose anyone, especially their friend or someone they love and respect, to criticism, discrimination or abuse. Especially not when you've done it without their permission or even confirmation of if it's true. Because that's the truth. We live in a flawed society where being gay is fine most of the time but there's always going to be that one person who's filled with hate who's going to push their own beliefs onto everyone around them. And let's not forget that when I say most people are ok with homosexuality, I mean most people in certain places and demographics. Because let's face it most people are not actually fine with homosexuality if we look at the whole world.

And let's also remember that we're not talking about the Sydney area where I studied which held Mardi Gras every year or anywhere in Australia or America or anywhere else. We're talking specifically about South Korea where homosexuality is completely swept under the rug. I have honestly heard a young, sweet well educated Korean guy say; 'what? Gay? Oh we don't have that in Korea'. This isn't everyone and in recent years the lgbt community in Korea is making progress in educating, but Korea still has a long way to come. Their a little behind but they're working on it slowly in their own time.

Furthermore, there is currently only one openly gay entertainer in the entirety of the Korean entertainment industry. And it took him years to rebuild his career after he came out. And even though he's doing well now he would still never recommend that any celebrity do the same as him. Because it fucking sucked. To this day ignorant Korean TV shows make completely inappropriate jokes about his sexuality and he grins and bears it because he's a stand up entertainer and a stronger person than I will ever be.

What I'm getting at here is not only is it none of our business regarding anyone's sexuality, but quite frankly by contemplating and gossiping and speculating, especially on public forums, you're being a grade A asshole. There. I said it. How many people are going to read through the discussions on that stupid 1 paragraph translation and decide that the people whose names appear down there are gay. How many of those people are homophobes? How many of those people can speak Korean and are going to circulate the discussion back into Korean? And how long is it going to take before a reporter has a slow news day and decides to write an article about it? We forget because we spend so long wrapped up in our little fandom cacoon of shipping and boyxboy couples that just because we're okay with fictional relationships, not everyone online is.

The likelihood of a Korean reporter ever picking up gossip and writing an article is pretty slim I would estimate, but netizens and anti fans have absolutely no problem twisting it to their nefarious purposes as we all witnessed with the infamous Minho foods incident. 'Look even his fans are saying it' 'his fans are saying it so it must be true' 'wow he's gay, well that's....'

And they don't buy his album. They change the channel or turn their nose up at him. All because we had too much fun gossiping and let it get carried away. You NEVER know who is watching. You NEVER know who is reading. The percentage of people who actually make themselves known in the comments or via twitter is a tiny drop in the sea that is fandom.

And finally, even if you ignore everything I've said and accuse me of being too cautious or too conservative at least take note of this; never ever take your gossip, accusations or inane contemplations about their sexuality to their sns accounts. Even writing things like; 'dw oppa I'll support you even if you're gay' Please please please don't. Sweep that whole discussion under the rug. Allow him the freedom to be whoever he wants or needs to be without the pressure of this stupid fan argument weighing down on him every time he gets a comment notification. Please. Just stop.