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Apparently, Boys Aren’t Supposed to Like K-pop

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#Stray Kids #BTS

✨ KpopAngel Original🗓️ Oct 3, 2026, 1:39 PM UTC⏱️ 5 min read👀 5 views💬 0

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1A personal encounter sparks a reflection on why K-pop is often perceived as a “girl thing,” and how gender expectations shape the way male fans experience and…

Apparently, Boys Aren’t Supposed to Like K-pop — Photo made with AI

Why Would I Post Something Like That? I’m a Boy?

I was going through my WhatsApp statuses when I saw a male contact post something about “7.”

My brain immediately went to BTS × BTS

About group BTS BTS (방탄소년단) is a South Korean K-pop group formed by BigHit Music and debuted on June 13, 2013. The group consists of seven members: RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Known for their powerful performances, meaningful lyrics, and strong connection with fans, BTS has become one of the most successful and influential music groups in the world. Their music explores themes such as youth, self-discovery, mental health, love, and personal growth, helping them build a dedicated global fanbase known as ARMY. Since their debut, BTS has achieved record-breaking success across the global music industry with hit songs such as “Dynamite,” “Butter,” “Spring Day,” “Boy With Luv,” and “Fake Love.” The group has earned numerous awards, topped charts in multiple countries, sold millions of albums, and helped introduce K-pop to a broader international audience. Through their artistry, cultural Tap again to view profile → Close .

If you know anything about BTS × BTS

So I sent him a laughing emoji and explained that I had initially thought he was posting something about BTS × BTS

His response caught me off guard.

“Why would I post something like that? I’m a boy.”

I laughed because I wasn't trying to recruit him into ARMY. I had simply seen the number seven and made a very specific K-pop connection.

But then I thought about his response again.

Why did being a boy have anything to do with it?

He wasn't saying he disliked BTS × BTS

And that got me thinking about something K-pop fans have probably encountered in one form or another: when did certain interests become things we're expected to identify as “for girls” or “for boys”?

When Did Music Get a Gender?

Music itself obviously doesn't come with a gender label.

People develop preferences through exposure, family, friends, culture and the communities around them. From childhood, however, we also receive plenty of messages about what boys and girls are supposed to like.

A boy who loves football might be encouraged to talk about it constantly. A girl who knows every detail about a boy group might be teased for being obsessed.

The music is the same thing. The reaction to the person enjoying it can be completely different.

This is where K-pop becomes interesting.

K-pop is not simply a genre of music. It comes with choreography, fashion, beauty, fandom communities, fan content and very visible relationships between artists and fans. Because of that, people's assumptions about who belongs in K-pop fandom can become just as noticeable as the music itself.

And one of those assumptions is that K-pop is mainly for girls.

Why Does K-pop Get Put in the “For Girls” Box?

The perception isn't completely random.

K-pop fandom spaces often have highly visible female participation, particularly online. Groups also have large communities of young women who create fan edits, stream music, attend concerts, buy albums and merchandise, and participate actively in fandom culture.

But “many female fans” and “K-pop is for girls” are two very different statements.

There are male K-pop fans too, including men who are deeply involved in fandoms and have been fans for years. Their presence can simply be less visible because the stereotype already tells us what a K-pop fan is supposed to look like.

This creates a strange cycle.

If people expect K-pop fans to be girls, they notice female fans and treat them as confirmation. Male fans can then become the exception rather than simply another part of the audience.

K-pop itself has never exactly behaved like a genre interested in staying inside traditional boxes either.

“I’m a Boy”

This is where masculinity enters the conversation.

For some boys and men, the problem may not be whether they actually enjoy K-pop. It may be what admitting that interest could communicate to other people.

Research on masculinity has examined how boys and men can face social pressure to avoid behaviours that are considered insufficiently masculine. That pressure can come from peers, family, culture and other social environments.

And K-pop can accidentally step right into that territory.

A male fan might enjoy a group's music, choreography or fashion while still knowing that someone could mock him for it. He might keep quiet about being a fan, avoid posting about it publicly, or feel the need to explain why he likes a particular group.

That doesn't mean every boy who dislikes K-pop secretly wants to listen to BTS × BTS

Some people simply don't like K-pop. That's completely normal.

The interesting part is when gender becomes the explanation for why someone supposedly couldn't like it.

“I don't like K-pop” is a music preference.

“I'm a boy, so why would I post that?” is something else entirely.

Then There Are the Men on the Screen

There is another reason the whole thing gets interesting: the men performing K-pop aren't always presenting masculinity in the narrow way some fans' environments expect.

Male idols regularly appear in makeup, elaborate fashion, styled hair and jewellery. They can perform powerful concepts in one comeback and softer, emotional concepts in another. They can openly discuss friendship, vulnerability, affection and personal struggles.

That doesn't mean K-pop has escaped beauty standards or expectations around appearance. It has its own intense pressures, and male idols can face plenty of scrutiny over how they look and behave.

But it does offer audiences images of masculinity that can look different from what they encounter elsewhere.

Research involving K-pop fans has also explored how engagement with male K-pop idols can influence the way some fans think about masculinity, including making room for forms of masculinity that don't fit traditional expectations.

For a fan, that can be as simple as realising that being masculine doesn't require rejecting anything considered soft, fashionable, emotional or beautiful.

You can like football and BTS × BTS

You can like Burna Boy and Stray Kids ×

About group Stray Kids Stray Kids is an eight-member self-producing boy group known for intense performances, experimental sound, and powerful rap lines. Tap again to view profile → Close .

You can spend Saturday watching a Premier League match and Sunday arguing about which BTS × BTS

None of those interests cancel each other out.

Anyway, He Meant Ronaldo

The funniest part of my original story is that the entire conversation was based on a misunderstanding.

He wasn't posting about BTS × BTS

He was posting about Cristiano Ronaldo.

I had seen “7” and thought of seven members. He had seen “7” and thought of Ronaldo.

Neither of us was wrong.

What stayed with me wasn't the number or even the misunderstanding. It was how quickly gender entered a conversation where it didn't need to be.

Maybe that is one of the strange things about fandom. We often assume we know who belongs in a particular community before we know anything about the person.

A K-pop fan doesn't have to look a certain way. A male fan doesn't need an explanation for liking a boy group. And someone who doesn't like K-pop doesn't need to pretend otherwise.

He can simply say, “That's not my thing.”

As for me, I'll probably continue seeing the number seven and thinking of BTS × BTS

He can keep thinking of Ronaldo.

Fair enough.

Submitted by: Felicity ogundare

Community contributor · Reviewed by Carly K. Powell, Senior Editor at KpopAngel

Related groups

⭐Stray Kids

Stray Kids is an eight-member self-producing boy group known for intense performances, experimental sound, and powerful rap lines.

Members

Han

I.N

Hyunjin

Felix

⭐BTS

BTS (방탄소년단) is a South Korean K-pop group formed by BigHit Music and debuted on June 13, 2013. The group consists of seven members: RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Known for their powerful performances, meaningful lyrics, and strong connection with fans, BTS has become one of the most successful and influential music groups in the world. Their music explores themes such as youth, self-discovery, mental health, love, and personal growth, helping them build a dedicated global fanbase known as ARMY. Since their debut, BTS has achieved record-breaking success across the global music industry with hit songs such as “Dynamite,” “Butter,” “Spring Day,” “Boy With Luv,” and “Fake Love.” The group has earned numerous awards, topped charts in multiple countries, sold millions of albums, and helped introduce K-pop to a broader international audience. Through their artistry, cultural impact, and worldwide influence, BTS continues to inspire fans and shape the future of global pop music.

Members