⚪️ · 2d
I'm not super sure that majority are this or that but aside that topic I think one of the main reasons ppl, regardless their gender, gender expression and orientation like bttmHj or bttmSh(tho this applies to everyone) is definitely their feminity, either look wise or behaving.
Specially look wise!! Bc I remember on predebut era and all treasure series, Hj is the one who was the fem looking and Sh the masc and I swear this is true bc I was there! xD, but the biiiiig majority dynamic was Sh was top and Hj bttm!! Like it was natural and top Hj was super rare! Even on the older fics, their roles weren't even tagged bc it was the norm😂
And then Sh was the one who started looking even more fem than Hj(and Hj more masc when he cut his hair and matched it with more outfits making him look more masc(specially since the stylist started to give him clothes bigger than him, shoulder pads and that armband stablishing his captain image more, plus the haircuts, and he sadly wore less make up and jewelry, completely opposite to Sh, overall making him look way more fem) And I blame the company and fans for reinforcing and pressuring them to those roles only, specially Hj that btw all the outfits and styles he himself said were his favorites were fem ones! But ofc they have to match their stage persona and mom dad role of the group🙄
Anyways back to the topic yeah I think that's what happens always, whatever look someone sees them, if they match their preferences they bias that member. Also the fans, including compilations and guides, influence a lot new fans to one preference, if the current main one is bbtmSh topHj, they are going to follow it, and majority too are going to bias to matched their preferences based on what they see they are commonly portrayed or the ones they see popular with their community/users they follow and then is hard to change your preference just like it's usually hard to change your first main bias bc you are used to it and sometimes you feel you need to be loyal to that person/perception/dynamic/matching your friends or public preferences :]
Btw! Here another sapphic Hj ult where he also helped me majorly to notice!(I would even describe it as Hj being my sapphic awakening and lesbian crush when I stanned in HclaHcla era lmao) <3
you are so correct about he styling thing, it was really eye-opening to me, especially because from wonderland to answer they changed stylists to the current one and i remember that she tried doing a smooth transition (answer still followed the same pattern the previous one had set, to me) and then in inception it starts disconnecting and TO ME PERSONALLY THIS IS MY OWN OPINION AS A FASHION ENTHUSIAST AND RESEARCHER it was all downhill from there and i rarely see their styling as being particularly groundbreaking or interesting (specifically as a cohesive group), and now that you mention it i can clearly see how this new stylist decided to lead hongjoong down a masc road (their styling and their own personal influence on it is a huge topic with a lot of uncertainty and nuance so i won't elaborate much on it)
but yes, i remember when i joined the fandom and ventured down ao3 it seemed unanimous that everyone saw hongjoong as the bottom and the clearest shift was deja vu and then pink hair on seonghwa which was so immense that when i joined nsfw twitter, unaware that these strict dynamic views were even a thing, i was for a long time under the impression that there were about literally like three bttmhj enthusiasts and it started growing from there save from the times when a chunk of them was getting bullied off twitter
there's also a lot of confirmation biasing where people will assign a certain role then watch their content and keep taking from it only the parts that confirm what they want to believe in about their personalities, which is why so many people on here have the crazy claim that their personalities are subjective (they are literally not). there were a few times when i showed friends certain clips of ateez and pointed out a way some member acted or reacted that kinda showed them in a different light from the usual and saw them have an "oh" moment (not saying that i can see the truth in absolutes or anything, but the fun part of rpf to me is observing and sticking to what i can abstract from their real life "counterparts")
your whole RS was very insightful to me and i appreciate you sharing your thoughts very much!!
SAPPHICS FOR HONGJOONG 💪
if you ever feel like sharing i'd love to hear your story of hj being your sapphic awakening 🥰 the way these kpop boys can influence our understanding of ourselves is sooo interesting to me
