How BTS has built a safe space for
LGBT+ ARMY and beyond
It’s no secret that BTS encourages love, self-acceptance, and self-expression for their fans across the globe. Their kind and wise words comfort and inspire people from all walks of life to be true to themselves and be happy. A resounding message of acceptance such as theirs is something especially important for those fans who carry identities and cultures that are historically unaccepted, people who have been silenced and shamed in many or most points of history up until now. For this year’s pride month, I wanted to explore BTS’ messages and acts of support for the LGBT+ community, and the unique and often wonderful experiences of being an LGBT+ ARMY. For this piece, I asked ARMYs to anonymously fill out a questionnaire about the impacts of BTS’ work on their LGBT+ fans. I am here to share their thoughts, as well as my own.
Through their music and lyrics alone, BTS is known for delivering a universal sentiment of hope and self-love. Their discography shows a constant narrative that is both confident and honest, a raw and relatable picture of seven boys growing up together. The music we listen to can have a real impact on our thoughts and feelings, and having a group with such impactful and meaningful music as theirs telling the world that it’s okay to feel and be as you are is very special, even vital to the social climate of our generations.
ARMYs often make personal connections with their music, finding correlations between BTS’ words and their own experiences. Their lyrics about human connection and love are often gender-neutral by nature, which makes them relatable for listeners of all genders and sexualities, something not often seen in music, especially in pop/rock and hip-hop genres. Songs such as “Serendipity” and “Trivia: Love.” Their openness about their own more difficult emotions and the acceptance of and growth from them, such as “Blue and Grey'' and “Epiphany,” hit home for many. But the unique hardships of navigating mental health within the LGBT+ community hold their own special relation to those feelings. Their words also highlight the chosen family/friendship bond that we make as LGBT+ people and ARMYs, both with BTS and each other. “Mikrokosmos,” tells us “you got me… I got you.” While the world can still often be a scary and unkind place, BTS’ music, and the friends we make through our love for it, is often the hand on our shoulder keeping us upright.
BTS as a whole has its own powerful, positive persona as a group, but the members that makeup BTS each have incredibly unique and likable personalities and iconic styles that fit together like puzzle pieces to create that whole. As fans, we often find ourselves relating to certain styles and personality traits of the members. Many ARMYs note the gender-neutral nature of their fashion and the ways they break the parameters of “masculine” and “feminine.” Some are drawn to Jungkook’s all-black, androgynous streetwear looks, while others resonate with J-Hope’s bold and colorful yet comfortable ensembles, and so on for the entire group. Each member is a role model of both personal fashion and positivity. This is especially important for LGBT+ ARMYs, having an artist to look up to that breaks gender norms and encourages personal style.
Being a fan of BTS and a part of the community that is ARMY has helped many of us find new levels of confidence in ourselves - and even introduced new concepts to our individual tastes. Many note how BTS makes us feel more comfortable in stepping out of our comfort zones and trying out those looks we were always a little too nervous to wear out. This can also explain why so much buzz surrounds the fashion at BTS concerts - they’re a huge event where we get to show our personalities and love for the group through often carefully-crafted concert outfits. But BTS’ impact on the everyday is arguably the most significant. From taking stylistic notes out of the boys’ extensive catalog of iconic looks, to the confidence the group instills in ARMYs to wear their new looks with pride, to the support and praise we give each other as a community - the influence of BTS on their fans’ style and self-expression is apparent.
Many LGBT+ ARMYs resonate with specific instances wherein BTS has shown - directly or indirectly - support for the LGBT+ community or has expressed sentiments that hit home for the experiences and feelings of their LGBT+ fans. These examples range from casual yet intentional fashion choices to speeches and writing done by the members. Some notable instances include SUGA wearing limited-edition Pride Vans shoes, or V wearing a Pride basketball jersey at a concert during the DNA era. The members often share their favorite music and television/movies, which sometimes include known LGBT+ artists and celebrities. RM highlighted equality and responsibility as young people regardless of gender or cultural background at the group’s renowned UN speech in 2018.
Their lyrics and discussions about love being by and large gender-neutral is, once again, a huge part of the connection that LGBT+ fans make with BTS and their art. The group has even made the intentional choice to leave many topics open-ended on the side of gender, from choosing to not give their BT21 characters specific genders to noting their lyrics where the emotions are more important than a specific identity of the person they’re about. They clearly take care to make sure that listeners of all genders and sexualities can relate to and fully enjoy their music and other content.
DISCLAIMER: We do not own any audio & visual content in this video except for the editing. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS. No copyright infringement intended.
Written By: Sav
Edited By: Aury
Checked By: Shelley
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