I think boycotting is good! I have been personally boycotting this song and boosting calls for the company and the kids themselves to stop working with zionists and companies complicit in the Israeli apartheid, since I am deeply disappointed in the kids for this (3racha and bang chan especially, considering he's been vocal about being socially conscious in the past and if he still holds those values should do better than work with people who go against them). I think it's important to express that disappointment, especially since Stray Kids as a group have tried to cultivate an image of being at least somewhat socially conscious and are now going directly against that! At the same time their job as idols is has always involved working with morally bankrupt people and companies selling their music and public personality as wholesome so while I want them to speak up, I was never expecting them to. Idk! I have complex feelings about it. I think it’s a bad thing of them and their company to do, I’m not going to support it and I think it’s good for them to be made aware that it’s bad. I still enjoy most of their music and their public personas but the worth of their soul is between them and whatever god they do or don’t believe in. I can only hope that they will stir clear of working with zionists or misogynists in the future and I hope that whatever backlash is there now will get through to them. I’m not gonna be monetarily supporting them anytime soon, anyway.

That brings me to my second point with regards to this, which is that ultimately what matters to me is the liberation of the Palestinian people (as well as the liberation of all people oppressed by the current structures of power in the world) and while any progress on that front matters and it’s obvious everyone going to put in effort when it comes to the things they also care about outside of that, I think it’s important to regard it with the same importance as something like voting in elections. It’s a good thing to do, but it’s important not to let it become the main focus of someone’s effort. It’s sad when it fails, but an artist I like releasing a song with a zionist matters less to me than a politician that represents me politically and materially supporting Israel. Maybe I’m just cynical and weak about this, but when it comes to being in a fandom of something, for me it’s a community space where I can stretch my creative muscles with already having a framework to build around that everyone there is invested in, not so much about who or what it’s centered around, so I don’t wanna waste the already limited energy and concentration I have on being emotionally invested in whether an artist I like cares about the issues I do when I can keep doing my thing and pushing for change in the little ways that are sustainable for me in fandom while being more invested in more directly impactful issues (and of course this would be different if it was about them caring about the opposite of what I believe in). If someone else can manage to do that, that’s great! Every little bit matters, but I personally know I can’t go long-term without breaking down if I don’t pick my battles (wrt more actively pushing for the boycott instead of just boycotting), so that’s what I’m doing. I'm sorry if this is less coherent and goes outside of the scope of the question I am continually in the process of sorting my thoughts

Question cont/
idk i just couldn’t hide my disappointment n turnt off my camera n stayed mostly silent for the rest of the event.i really feel insecure abt my own skill now n it’s a small community so ppl r gonna pick up every small mistake n exaggerate it. even if i win smth again, they r gonna think it’s cuz of the face.
is tht how hj feels when ppl disrespect him as a dancer too n ppl only praise his dance cuz of his face (lol i’m reaching so far)despite his impressive footwork i feel like crying tbh

Omg anon i didn't see this until now but i'm so sorry that you had a shitty experience like that! Having your skills be dismissed for any reason is akways really rough regardless of the reason for it :( i think the thing with any oppressive societal construct (be it gender, ethnicity or even beauty standards) is that it ultimately hurts the people who fit into the favored group too because it ultimately also places them into a box of expectations and assumptions, even if it does give them more power and wiggle room. I think the best thing we all can do to combat that is to not give those assumptions power over us and fight against putting them on anyone, ourselves included. Of course, fitting into beauty standards can give someone an advantage, but trying to push down those who have it instead of lifting up those who don't ultimately doesn't help fight the idea itself and prevents those who let themselves get pushed down from fighting that idea too. I don't know i got a little lost in the theory there but i really hope that you'll get your confidence back and won't let their words discourage you, because showing and improving your skills clearly brings you joy and can bring joy to other people too and maybe give you the opportunity to push the community towards a culture where being considered pretty isn't relevant to the skill shown and anyone who thinks so will get proven wrong. But maybe im just naive also i think youre right about the hyunjin thing fdjdksjshs

Tl;dr im sorry that happened and fuck the haters being confident in your skills and yourself will ultimately do more to fight the beauty standards than their comments and assumptions ever will