I like Ateez, a quick browse of my blog will show you that. I have liked them since Déjà vu so I’ve gotten to know them in that time. When I say know them I mean in a basic way, in that I’ve picked up what they put down in public. Thus, I know their public personas.

One thing that I like about Ateez is that they support the LGBT+. They have been vocal about it, as much as a kpop idol can be. Hongjoong has talked about how LGBT+ people inspire him (on vlive). Hongjoong and Wooyoung have talked about making a fashion brand that is genderless, they both said it unpromoted (in interviews, not the same interview though).

Then there is Seonghwa, he has talked about how he likes to dress in genderless clothing. He talked about how when he went shopping with his mom he’d see women’s clothing and he wished he could wear the pretty items.

He’s gotten to experiment with his style. He’s worn skirts, heels and a dress. He’s worn cloths on both ends of the scale, the scale being masculine and feminine, and clothes that fit somewhere in the middle, i.e.: genderless.

By the way, genderless means without gender. A synonym would be androgynous.

You’re probably thinking, Gift, duh! You’d be surprised the foolishness people say on Twitter.

Seonghwa is not the only one to experiment with fashion. Yeosang has worn a skirt and booted heels (separate occasions). Wooyoung also wore heels for the Golden Hour Part 1 comeback (I want those heels, they were so cool!). Hongjoong stays experimenting, the only thing he hasn’t worn is heels and a dress I think.

The rest of the members have different styles from preppy, to rock/punk, to dapper to athleisure.

Side bar: they’ve worn skirts but it’s always with pants underneath. I don’t think I’ve seen a male idol wear just a skirt. Oh wait, Wooyoung wore one in a shoot, a long skirt. And Taemin has worn a long skirt alone too, both skirts were denim. I amend my statement, I haven’t seen a male idol wear a mini skirt or a short skirt without pants underneath. Or they’ll wear shorts that look like a skirt, Yeosang has done that recently and Seonghwa.

Yeosang’s characters also tend to not have a gender. When he was asked about Hehetmon he said they’re a Bellflower. He also said at one point Atiny can decide (we went with genderless it seems). When he was asked about the gender of Hetmongi he said they’re a warrior. So neither have an assigned gender according to Yeosang. No one has asked about Monni.

Their company also seems kind of open. I don’t praise KQ for much but I stay loving their Lore department and whoever is a supporter of the LGBT+. They edited different pride flags into one of their DVDs. I think it was last years (2023) summer book. They edited it in when Mingi was talking about being a Queen (he upgraded from Princess to Queen).

For their Thanxx Album they had Seonghwa with Thanxx written in rainbow colours and then San had a rainbow on his ear.

During their song Celebrate, when they perform it live the Lightiny light sticks sync into a rainbow.

So, here and there they’ve been open and they’ve been consistent.

So why, in the ever-loving f***, are there homophobic Atinys? It makes no sense!

Seonghwa went to a Lego store and took a picture of the Pride display. He uploaded it on their app Tok Toq. There were fans on there shocked, flabbergasted and disgusted. Why? Are you new?

There were people saying it is against their religion. And ok, it’s against your religion, again why are you here? What they are doing is not new. It’s not even like Seonghwa came out, he just took a picture of a Pride display and shared it!!!!

He’s shared Pride things before like the toothpaste and made a coming out joke (on live, I think about when vlive was around). How are you shocked!

I have been religious and I was raised in a strict religion, you can also see that in my previous blog posts. I’m not atheist but I am not religious anymore. Long story. So I get how most religions work, especially the Abrahamic Religions.

At some point you have to make a conscious choice on whether a musician, a show or a movie is truly for you. You know what is accepted in your religion and you know there are people who do not believe what you believe. There was a time where I didn’t listen to non-Christian music. Deadass. It didn’t last long but I did have that period of time in my life.

There are artists within all religions who make all sorts of art that really you don’t miss out on anything. Unless you have FOMO, but honestly you’ll just have to live with the FOMO.

I say this as someone who, when I was a kid, only knew about new music when I went to my friends house or my friend’s at school told me because at home we only had Christian music. To be honest, I didn’t hate it. Christian music is the one thing I never had beef with. There are some talented people who make great songs.

So you don’t have to listen to Ateez. No one is forcing you.

I feel the same way when people go to a Rema concert or the BET awards and then get outraged by what they find. Did you not know what you were in for before going? Why did you pay the money to go and see Rema knowing your religion? No one asked you to go.

To put it more bluntly, how are you going to go to a strip club and be shocked there are strippers. No one tricked you, you went willingly knowing what you were going to find!

In the same vein, you stanned Ateez knowing what you were going to find! They’ve been pretty consistent with their beliefs and what they support and don’t support. Would you meet them and not greet them respectfully? NO! Because you know what they value because they’ve talked about it!

And the other thing is don’t force your religion on others. San is atheist, and Wooyoung doesn’t believe in God (he recently said in a live on Tok Toq). I don’t know about the others’ beliefs but just speaking on these two… why would they follow the rules of your religion?

It frustrated me so much that there were people who claimed to be fans of them and were shocked that they would support LGBT+ people or art or displays. The same thing happened when Seonghwa wore a dress and I was doubly confused because I swear we all heard him say he likes genderless clothing and he found women’s clothing pretty.

When it comes to art, take into consideration your own beliefs and then make your choice accordingly. Most artists nowadays make it clear what they support and what they believe. You can make an informed choice and then move on with your life.

There are many kpop groups, it’s not even like Ateez is the only one that exists. If they don’t align with your beliefs find a group that does. It is not by force.

Ew, boy racers are out on road. Sorry, they annoy me so much. One loud one just drove past where I live.

I hope this recent post by Seonghwa has gotten rid of those people because they were ruining the vibes. Now Ateez and Atiny can exist in peace.

Can you believe Stray Kids has the same problems? When Stray Kids went to a whole ass Pride parade in New York. The wonders will never cease.

Bonus: Mingi was asked on a live about marrying Yunho, as fans do. (Not 100% on what the question was but I remember his answer).  He answered seriously like it’s not legal in South Korea for same sex couples to marry. This isn’t me shipping them (I don’t), it’s more he was really honest like it’s not legal here. A lot of the time in kpop they don’t acknowledge a lot of things, especially politics and social issues. So I liked that he acknowledged that social issue. With Thailand legalising gay marriage, which East Asian/South East Asian country do you think will be next? With their current conservative government, I don’t think it’ll be South Korea.