Hwasa criticized for doing 19+ gestures at university festival, “Are the strict standards applied only to her?”
MAMAMOO Hwasa is once again embroiled in controversy over her 19+ gestures on stage.
‘Performance master’ Hwasa heated up the atmosphere at Sungkyunkwan University Festival held on May 12th by presenting a medley of MAMAMOO’s hit songs, such as “Décalcomanie”, “Hip”, etc.
Controversy arose due to Hwasa’s action during the performance of “Don’t Give” featuring guest Loco. In particular, she licked her fingers with her tongue and then put her hands on a specific sensitive body part. Videos capturing the scene spread rapidly on the Internet, and some netizens poured criticism, saying Hwasa’s action crossed the line.
In fact, Hwasa suffered similar controversies before. She caused a stir when wearing a red body suit reminiscent of a swimsuit with hip exposures on the stage of Mnet’s “MAMA” in 2018. Hwasa’s bold stage outfit received mixed responses but she did not seem to care much. Regarding her controversial outfit, the female singer said, “I only thought about the best costume to wear on stage”.
Everything about Hwasa’s appearance on stage, from her clothes to her gestures, facial expressions, makeup, and performance, became hot topics discussed by the public. In fact, Hwasa’s hip-revealing stage costume is not something unfamiliar. This style has been commonly used among pop stars and is now one of the concepts at Korean concerts.
The same is true for the controversy this time. It was a festival where college students, who are already adults, gathered, so should her performance be criticized that much?
Many artists want to freely show new aspects of themselves. For example, Sam Smith attracted public attention with a performance that transcends gender boundaries. The same goes for pop stars like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and Rihanna. If these pop stars did the same gestures in Korea, what kind of reaction would they receive? On the other hand, if Hwasa wore the same costume and performed the same action on stage somewhere else in the world, would people criticize her? It is difficult to erase the idea that strict standards are hindering artists from stepping forward.
Source: Daum
