Former K-pop girl group PRISTIN’s member Sungyeon better known as Shannon Bae recently teased her new single ‘I Know Ur Gay‘ on TikTok. The song is from the perspective of a woman whose homophobic lover is allegedly in love with another man and is using her as a cover. This teaser is receiving mixed opinions from the fans as many criticize it for being homophobic.
Sungyeon teases new single ‘I Know Ur Gay’
Shannon Bae uploaded a now-deleted 30-second snippet of her song ‘I Know Ur Gay‘ on TikTok. The song opens with the lyrics “They say watch out when your boy’s homophobic / My f*cking bad I was blind for you / I should’ve known it” before transitioning to the chorus “Boy I know you’re gay gay gay/wonder where I went wrong / for you to change change change / why you fell out of love.”
Former PRISTIN member Seungyeon teases new song ‘I Know Ur Gay’. pic.twitter.com/eNBZxjnJbN
— Kpop Charts (@kchartsmaster) December 12, 2023
The lyrics further explain how the woman understands the situation but that doesn’t excuse his unfaithfulness. She describes it with the scene of smelling the fragrance of his cologne when he prepares to go out for drinks but finds it isn’t the same when he returns. Due to this, she believes that their relationship can not work.
Why is the song being called homophobic?
The song doesn’t appear to be criticizing or shaming anyone for being part of the LGBTQ+ community upon the initial listen. In fact, it might as well appear as an ally song. However, many netizens have pointed out that the song has homophobic undercurrents.
pushing the idea that someone who is homophobic is actually just "secretly gay" is in fact homophobic. just so we're clear https://t.co/wrOFjd7YZ6
— ⁀➷ (@omgeo7) December 12, 2023
Firstly, the warning of the opening ‘They say watch out when your boy is homophobic‘ states that the woman is aware of her lover’s prejudices. This implies that she is also willing to overlook and tolerate it in the course of their relationship.
Later as she claims that it is a cover to hide his true emotions, it ends up implying that his harmful behavior derives from his queer emotions. This also implies that queer people are secretly a source of their oppression and justifies the people who join them.
Shannon requests to not assume
This ongoing criticism about the song is completely directed towards the lyrics and its homophobic implications. None of the netizens are accusing or criticizing Sungyeon for being or promoting homophobia. The singer has also clarified that the song isn’t from a personal experience and requested her fans to hold their judgment until the complete single is out.
231212 via shannonsybae
“oof”
💬“btw this isn't from experience nor is it out yet so please don't assume anything too quickly before listening to the whole song🥹❤️”#pristin #성연 pic.twitter.com/d2Wwlyzbzv— for sungyeon (@baesungyexn) December 12, 2023
guys i get why some people say this is problematic and it's a little iffy but it's also just fun, especially with sungyeon's heavenly vocals… also i'm very gay so i think i get to find it funny while recognizing the problematic aspect okayy
— via (@bbulhaart) December 12, 2023
Meanwhile, many fans are showing enthusiasm for her new release by pointing out that she has also previously released a song named Chicken. They are also somewhat agreeing that there are some gay men with a history of being homophobic while acknowledging that it doesn’t imply that all homophobic men are secretly queer. Overall, we can conclude that the song is going to continue piquing discussions upon its release.
