[OP-ED] PRISTIN's Kyla: The issue of getting hate for weight

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Recently, Kyla - the youngest member of rookie girl group PRISTIN, came under fire for her weight. She received quite a lot of criticism over Twitter in particular, to the point where her brother stepped in to defend her.

There have also been reports of fans becoming silent whenever Kyla’s parts come up during live performances.

Some stated that she has not been taking care of herself properly and that they expect more from idols regarding their body and looks.

Some of the tweets about Kyla's weight. One of the main points made by many to defend Kyla here is the fact that she is just 15 years old. Of course, this means that Kyla’s body is still developing as she enters womanhood. You do not need to be an expert in biology to know that your body goes through a lot of changes in this time, including weight gain and loss.

Some of the tweets about Kyla's weight.

There is also the very obvious fact that the PRISTIN maknae at least looks healthy and fit. To call her ‘fat’ is quite an exaggeration. This isn’t even considering the fact that people come in all different shapes and sizes anyway, some people are naturally very thin, whereas others have fuller figures. All of which doesn’t necessarily mean one is underweight or overweight. This is a very individual thing according to many factors such as body type and genetics.

It is unlikely that the news of Kyla’s ‘fat-shaming’ came as a shock to anyone familiar to the world of K-Pop. It is an arena in which many are held to extreme beauty standards, perhaps even more intensely than the celebrities from other parts of the world. After all, South Korea is big business when it comes to cosmetic surgery and the beauty industry in general.

Kyla's brother Luke Massie defending her and thanking the many fans that came to her defence.

The celebrity life is riddled with criticism and jabs at a variety of one’s personal traits, and hopefully Kyla will let these remarks slide over her like water off a duck’s back. Thankfully, there were many fans that also defended the young idol, and shot down the criticisms made. To those who made them, however, her brother tweeted something that underpins one of the points I have aimed to emphasise in this piece: