12 Times Mamamoo’s Hwasa Defied Beauty Standards
Here are some times Mamamoo’s Hwasa defied beauty standards and Kpop music industry standards for idols and did her own thing!
It is not a secret that K-Pop Idols have to undergo rigorous training before they debut and thereafter keep up to the standards of the K-Pop industry even after they become Idols.
But after a certain point, there are many Idols who decide to either leave the industry and go their own ways or like Hwasa from Mamamoo, who just decided to defy all beauty standards of the K-Pop industry and do things her way!
Well, that’s really something right? It definitely was a huge stand she took and today she is known for the defiant approach she follows!
If you are wondering how exactly Hwasa defied all beauty standards of K-Pop, then here are all the little details you need to know.
Who is Hwasa from Mamamoo?
Let’s start off with the basics first, because I’m sure there are some first time readers here who want to get to know Hwasa even better. Well, if you aren’t new to the K-Pop industry and already know who Hwasa is, then you can skip to the good part!
Hwasa, as she is known by her stage name, is 27 year-old South Korean singer, television star and rapper Ahn Hye-jin.
She is known to have made her debut in 2014, along with the three other members of her group Mamamoo.
The group consists of Solar, Hwasa, Wheein and Moonbyul and they have been active ever since then. Mamamoo is a group formed under the company RBW Entertainment (earlier known as WA Entertainment).
They made their debut with their single in 2014, called ‘Mr. Ambiguous’ and thereafter it was known to be one of the best debuts in 2014, made by a K-Pop band. Hwasa, along with her band create music in various genres like R&B (contemporary music), jazz, pop, K-Pop, retro and Latin pop.
Before the group Mamamoo made their official debut, they had done collaborations with various other artists, but their first collaboration was with Bumkey in his song ‘Don’t Be Happy’, in 2014.
Some of the other artists they have collaborated with are K.Will, Wheesung, Jung Joon-young, Baek Ji-young and many more.
The K-Pop Industry and their Beauty Standards
Well, the K-Pop industry has a lot of “beauty standards” that they like the K-Pop Idols to have and follow.
Some of the very orthodox beauty standards were K-pop Idols requiring to have aligned teeth, gap between their thighs , had to be fair skinned with a porcelain complexion, a V-lined face cut, with double eyelids, having the perfect nose and lips.
So when it comes to Mamamoo’s Hwasa, it looks like she doesn’t really fit the K-Pop beauty standards’ prototype of an ideal Idol.
But Hwasa doesn’t care about ideal prototypes, set her own standards for her life and today she is just as popular as so many other K-Pop Idols.
Looks like standing your ground and flaunting your natural body can actually be accepted! Seems like Hwasa has some powerful self-confidence after all, so props to her!
Times Mamamoo’s Hwasa Defied Beauty Standards
1. When she didn’t care about her tanned skin
The K-Pop Industry often has a standard for their Idols to be “fair” or have skin with “porcelain complexion”. Well, it is quite obvious that Hwasa has a typical Asian tan, which is something she doesn’t care about.
There was also one time when Hwasa expressed herself about this issue and spoke about it during one of her concerts.
She said that it didn’t matter if she didn’t fit in, in today’s beauty standards. She said that she was willing to set her own standards and make it a new and different one.
2. When she openly flaunts her thick thighs
Another beauty standard the K-Pop industry looks for in their Idols, is them having thigh gap.
Well, Hwasa is someone with thick thighs and let’s just say that she flaunts them irrespective of what the norms of her music industry are!
3. She shows off her “flaws”
Well, K-Pop Idols are supposed to have flawless skin and this includes concealing beauty spots or dark spots if they have any.
Hwasa does have one on her cheek, but she doesn’t hide it or use a concealer. Instead, she embraces her so called “flaws”.
When Hwasa made a guest appearance on ‘I Live Alone’, an entertainment programme in South Korea, she even stated that she in fact liked to highlight and darken her beauty spot, instead of concealing it!
4. Hwasa is proof that beauty is not just having makeup on
Hwasa is living proof that a face without makeup is still just as beautiful and needs to be showed off. Yes, we do see Hwasa dressed up well and decked in makeup at times, but there are times when she is bare faced and absolutely proud of it!
Hwasa has her own personal Instagram account where she very often uploads pictures of herself in casual outfits at home, with absolutely no makeup on.
5. She openly talks about her beauty insecurities
Hwasa has openly spoken about how one of her beauty insecurities are her lips as she feels they aren’t full or big enough and often feels insecure about them.
She has also stated the fact that she often lines them in order to make them look more fuller.
6. Hwasa isn’t afraid to wear bold outfits
Source: Instagram @ _mariahwasa
A lot of K-Pop female Idols often wear fashionable outfits, but some do not wear bold outfits unless they are permitted to do so.
Hwasa, on the other hand has been spotted both on stage and on social media wearing bold outfits as she totally isn’t afraid to show off her body very confidently.
7. Hwasa speaks openly about her experiences of being body shamed
Body shaming is something that so many people face and Hwasa too is one of them. Body shaming is an act where people make negative comments and talk inappropriately about a person’s size, beauty and weight.
Hwasa once opened up about how she was body shamed during her audition years and recalls one particular incident where an instructor made a remark on her, stating that even though she had a melodious voice, she wasn’t good-looking and was fat.
Even though it must have definitely broken Hwasa on the inside, she fought back stronger than ever and didn’t let it bring her down.
But instead Hwasa shared a message with her fans where she told them that if she didn’t fit into the present generation’s “beauty standards”, then she would have to become a different standard, a standard of her own!
8. She has a proportionate body and beautiful curves that she shows off
Even though she was termed as “fat”, when she was body-shamed during her audition years, she didn’t let that deter her and she is till date seen sporting all sorts of outfits from dresses, to jumpsuits and bodysuits that reveal her perfect curves perfectly and let’s be honest here, Hwasa carries off all her outfits so gracefully, doesn’t she?
9. She boldly talks about setting her own standards
Hwasa once told her fans about how it was way cooler to actually set standards of their own like she did, to embrace their bodies and stand up for themselves.
She told them that she believes that by doing that, it makes it true “beauty”.
10. When she made her own decision about her hairstyle
So there are times when the Idols aren’t permitted to cut their hair or dye their hair a different colour unless the company’s CEO is informed.
Mamamoo was formed under RBW Entertainment and the rules were no different. The CEO insisted that the group shouldn’t cut their hair before their debut single was released.
But as we already know, Hwasa doesn’t believe in being bogged down in her life and lives life on her own terms, no matter what anyone else thinks of it.
So Hwasa went ahead and got her hair cut short without the permission of her CEO and thereafter went and showed her short haircut to her CEO.
She did this because she felt that even short hairstyles were attractive enough to make a debut!
11. She received hate during her debut and she shut down the Netizens’ comments
During the time of Hwasa’s debut, she unfortunately received a lot of hate from the Netizens. Some even stated that Mamamoo was a beautiful girl group and it was Hwasa who ruined it. There were some who stated that Hwasa should have left the group as well.
But as bold as she is, Hwasa wasn’t deterred whatsoever and she only revealed to her fans that it was those negative hate comments that she received that made her stronger to face the world and only made her more confident to prove to the haters who she really was and what she was capable of achieving.
Well, she sure proved the haters wrong, didn’t she?
12. When she wore a bodysuit without “permission”
It is a known fact that Hwasa wears the outfits of her choice. Most K-Pop Idols often seek permission from their CEO before wearing a bold outfit, but Hwasa didn’t comply by those norms and once was seen wearing a bodysuit at the MAMA (Mnet Asian Music Awards) in 2018.
Even though she received a lot of hate and criticism for it, she seemed absolutely comfortable in her outfit.
The final takeaway
In my opinion, Hwasa is not only an inspiration and a motivational figure to just her fans, but also for the other K-Pop Idols and people all over the world.
She shuts down the need for placing others’ perspectives before their own and doesn’t worry about what others think!
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