Matching tennis clothes with high heels? LE SSERAFIM got embroiled in controversies over outfits and member Kim Ga-ram’s past
HYBE’s first girl group LE SSERAFIM, which is about to debut, is continuing to cause controversies.
LE SSERAFIM is the first girl group to be launched in collaboration between HYBE and Source Music. Teaser videos and photos are being released ahead of their debut in May. At midnight on April 8th, the fifth member Kazuha was revealed.
While the fact that LE SSERAFIM is the first girl group to be launched by HYBE along with the recruitment of former IZ*ONE members Sakura and Kim Chae-won is drawing attention, some people point out that their costumes and concept are excessive. Excessive exposure as well as anachronistic outfits, like matching tennis clothes with high heels, are also a problem.
No one plays tennis in high heels. In LE SSERAFIM‘s teasers, sexiness is more emphasized than the sportiness of tennis. Such highlighting and distorting of sexual aspects far from the job or its original function has led to controversy over sexual objectification in concepts dealing with other occupations in the past.
In particular, LE SSERAFIM seems to be under more criticism because it includes members who are still minors. However, in Kazuha’s teaser photo, which was released on April 8th, there is no picture of her wearing heels in tennis outfits and holding a racket like the previous members.
In addition, LE SSERAFIM member Kim Ga-ram was rumored to have a problematic past as her pre-debut photos surfaced. The photos released by some Internet users, who are believed to be Kim Ga-ram‘s alumni, showed Kim Ga-ram posing with friends against the background of a blackboard containing explicit sexual drawings, sparking controversy.
However, HYBE and Source Music responded that Kim Ga-ram’s allegations of school violence are groundless. According to Source Music, the recent allegation is a cleverly edited malicious slander, and Kim Ga-ram is actually the victim. Amid the continued controversies, everyone is watching closely LE SSERAFIM’s future moves.
