Ryan Clarkson

country's rural population relying on contaminated water sources, it is clear that focus needs to shift towards this issue before the issue worsens.
#china #cleanwater #environment #environmentalism

who nearby factories being referred to as 'cancer villages' due to the alarming rate of cancer and death caused by factory wastewater contaminating large water sources used to drink, cook and clean. With half of China's population unable to access clean drinking water, and two thirds of the

issue is not discussed widely as, whereas air pollution can be physically seen, polluted groundwater is not visible in cities and goes largely unnoticed. Cases of stomach, liver, and esophageal cancer linked to toxic levels of arsenic, fluorine, and sulphates are high in China, with rural villages

When it comes to environmental issues in China, air pollution seems to be the most widely discussed, but I think that water pollution is a far more drastic issue which needs more attention. Groundwater in 90% of cities in China is classified as contaminated by human and industrial waste, but the

body positivity, knowing that those who came up with the video's core idea are the same people who forced the members into starvation, and think of it as anything but pandering.

#kpop #loona #feminism #femaleempowerment #bodypositivity #LOONA #loossemble #yeojin #kpopdiets

narratives seriously when they are spouted by influential men in the music industry who have proven time and time again that they do not believe the values they choose to reflect onto idols. It's hard to look at a music video like LOONA's 'Butterfly' promoting a message of female empowerment and

K-Pop industry, with the incredible pressure from superiors to maintain a camera ready appearance at all times leading idols into dangerous habits, so when stories such as Yeojin's, IU's stories of dieting and bulimia, or Twice's Momo's infamous ice diet, it's hard to take female empowerment

narrative in songs such as 'Butterfly' were just a facade. On a livestream in 2023, former member Yeojin revealed that the company had once restricted every member to only eating half an apple and two eggs every day to maintain a slim physique; it's no secret that extreme diets are common in the

types from a variety of backgrounds, and generally had an empowering feeling that all women could 'fly like a butterfly'. This comeback is still iconic among fans, but since the group's disbandment in 2022, stories about the severe mistreatment of the group members has revealed that the empowering

videos seem like a good method of engaging with fans to increase revenue by having idols appear like-minded or progressive without risk of alienating male fans who may disagree with such ideas. For example, the music video for LOONA's 'Butterfly' shows a range of young women with a variety of body

Given the distinct lack of women in higher, management based positions in South Korea, it is hard to see messaging based in female empowerment in K-Pop as much more than a marketing strategy. For groups with primarily female fanbases, such as (G)i-dle and LOONA, feminist concepts in lyrics or music

rather than outwardly dismissing it as illegitimate.

#kpop #rain #psy #bts #seventeen #straykids #genderdiscourse #genderstudies #softmasculinity

the contrast between the 'real', Western men and the demasculinization usually reserved for Asian men. I believe 'soft masculinity' is just a way to dismiss Asian men as immasculine without appearing to do so, categorising it as a different type of masculinity reserved largely for Asian men

masculinity remains unchallenged. One example which I believe reiterates how differently we see Korean male idols compared to Western male performers is the trend of talking about Western artists as if they were K-Pop idols, infantilizing them in the same way that K-Pop fans do and finding humor in

(i.e. strong, rugged, the antithesis of femininity); the word 'soft' conjures ideas of weakness and inferiority, contrasting the western image of the ideal man, who is strong and ready to fight. 'Soft' feels cute, and is a way of 'othering' Asian male performers so that the Western ideal of

such as members of BTS, Seventeen and Stray Kids, who commonly wear makeup and dance as inauthentic masculinity. By referring to their presentations of masculinity as 'soft', audiences are denying idols as real men, distinguishing their masculinity from what they believe to be 'true' masculinity

likely to look into the song's meaning), lean into such stereotypes, therefore resulting in an unchallenged audience who are more prepared to consume the media ironically, laughing at the dancing fool, rather than as a serious form of art. In a similar vein, Western audiences today see male idols

charisma strongly contrast the common western portrayal of Asian men as unmasculine, nerdy and uncharismatic (asexual) (ibid, 199) struggle much more to be taken seriously by Western audiences compared to acts like Psy, who, regardless of context or satire intentions (as the common observer is not

establish any real mainstream success in the US (Park 2015, 198), due largely to their challenging Western stereotypes of what an Asian man is. In order for a piece of media to have wide appeal, it must be easily consumable and not challenge its audiences, so acts like Rain, whose chisled body and

of the term 'soft masculinity' feels like a contemporary manifestation of the demasculinization Psy was subject to as his hit 'Gangnam Style' rose to popularity in the US. As Park notes in their 2015 article 'Psy-Zing up the Mainstreaming of "Gangnam Style"', male Asian performers struggled to

been a K-Pop fan since 2017, I have witnessed first hand the ways that discussion of masculinity in K-Pop have changed, with rhetoric about male idols shifting from 'they look like girls' to varied ways of saying 'Korean masculinity is just different from, softer than, western masculinity'. The rise

expand the concept of masculinity from one central idea rooted in the male power fantasy, there are still clear ways in which supposedly de-stigmatized expressions of masculinity are dismissed as inadequate, for example the categorization of 'soft masculinity' in regards to male K-Pop idols. Having

Discussions around masculinity have changed in recent years, with seemingly less stigma around men embracing femininity and self-expression through stereotypically feminine means such as wearing makeup or designated female fashions. While it seems on the surface that strides have been made to

#Japan #Loneliness #SocialStudies #Hikikomori

they even accept the help? Ehime prefecture's 'Strengthening Loneliness Countermeasures' month took place in may of 2024, exactly a year ago, so I am curious to see how effective these initiatives have been in their first year, and what improvements can be made to the initiatives based on such data

and build community seems a great way to combat loneliness in its early stages, but when a person has been so isolated that they come to see social interactions as a threat, I imagine more drastic measures would need to be taken. Reaching out to isolated people seems like a good idea, but would

support their peers. While these initiatives seem like a positive step in the right direction, I'm curious to see their effectiveness, particularly the former, in situations where loneliness has extended to social phobia. Creating more welcoming environments for people to openly discuss their issues

must identify' to signal to the reader that their effectiveness can only be theorised at the time of publishing. The initiatives include identifying lonely people at high risk of suicide, creating online environments in which people can speak up about their struggles, and training citizens to

Editorial: Society must tackle Japan's loneliness crisis collectively - The Mainichi According to a government survey, four out of 10 people in Japan feel lonely. We must not dismiss this as just a

Society Must Tackle Japan's Loneliness Crosis Collectively

mainichi.jp/english/arti...

This article discusses initiatives to tackle the loneliness epidemic in Japan, and seemingly acknowledges that they are only in their beginning stages, using phrases like 'we should aim' and 'countermeasures...

#kpop #koreangovernment #popculture #culturalarts #performingarts #hallyu #governmentfunding