RELATIONSHIPS RELATIONSHIPS
LAVENDER MARRIAGES: M FROM THE PAST TO NOW
Tradition is a way of thinking or behaving, usually passed down through generations and often has symbolic significance. According to most cultural traditions, men and women were meant to be together in a relationship, not those from the same sex, as attraction towards the same sex has been considered taboo for d lesbians were forced to vernments and neighbors. These deserve recognition and respect
n often lost their livelihood and One notable example is Alan y player in decoding German he was convicted for “Gross ed an impossibly cruel decision: rgoes chemical castration. He ay and lesbian people ost popular instances of lavender ed on public image. For
instance, actor Rudolph Valentino married actress Jean Acker in 1919 to avoid losing face; Rock Hudson and Phyllis Gates got married in 1955 to protect Rock’s career as a Hollywood actor. Both marriages resulted in a divorce after three years. These marriages, while successfully protecting the livelihoods of both wife and husband, often ended with divorce, with both sides harboring hatred towards each other. However, that is not to say all of these marriages ended badly. Actors Judy Garland and Vincent Manelli married in 1945 and raised a child together. Although they ultimately divorced, the two remained good friends afterwards.
After the 20th century, support for LGBT+ rights has exploded in America, but many countries remain hesitant to accept homosexuality. In Iran, being homosexual is punishable by death while Saudi Arabia penalizes homosexuality through imprisonment of indefinite length. In these regions, lavender marriages protect people’s jobs and family relationships. Therefore, it is unsurprising that lavender marriages remain prevalent in China, where women who are married to gay men are described as Tongqi, while men married to lesbian women are called Tongfu. In many parts of the world, gay and lesbian people face persecution to an absurd degree due to these laws and must turn to lavender marriages to continue their daily lives.
By: Austin Chung
Layout By: Charlotte Kim
THEIMPACT OFSPORTS
ONRELATIONSHIPS
Approximately 265 million people play sports throughout the world daily, maing it important and relevant to multiple factors of our daily lives. Although sports participation may strain relationships at times, ultimately, sports enrich and strengthen relationships.
It is undeniable that sports pose challenges to relationships. For one, sports demand a great amount of time commitment and cause scheduling conflicts. Sports demand great amounts of time, whether it is because of practices, competitions, or time spent traveling. This reduces the time athletes have available to interact with their family and friends, resulting in conflicts within relationships. Another negative impact is the financially demanding nature of many sports. It is clear that sports, such as ice hockey and American football, require great amounts of spending from athletes for sport-specific gear and equipment. Other than the gear itself, it is also costly to train and travel for a sport. Although the cost varies by sport, it definitely has a financial impact on the athlete, potentially causing conflicts between relationships by limiting the budget. Furthermore, sports carry along physical and emotional risks. Injuries that require long periods of recovery not only add discomfort for the athlete in that it hinders their ability to train and compete but also affect their loved ones who may have to provide care and support for the injured. Moreover, competition in the sport may cause the athlete’s emotional state to be unstable, which can possibly translate to stress and tension within the relationship.
However, sports also have positive impacts on relationships. The key benefit of sports is improved physical and mental health. Regular physical activity reduces the risk of disease, enhances mood, and ameliorates overall well-being. Health benefits lead to the happiness of individuals who are more capable of maintaining strong relationships. The relationship initiated by sports can also evolve into a common hobby or interest. The shared passion can create memorable experiences and tighter bonds as this requires more interactions between individuals. Sports also evoke and develop a strong competitive spirit within the individual. This can result in a more durable and positive mental state that encourages motivation and support to overcome conflicts or challenges within a relationship. As most sports inherently involve cooperation and communication, the skills acquired through sports are likely to be applied to develop better interactions — a clearer exchange of thoughts and emotions.
The key is to maintain a balance between sports and relationships. If individuals acknowledge and adjust the time being spent on sports and away from the people involved in the relationship, it will be beneficial for all. There are many different approaches people can take to achieve the optimized balance, including communication strategies, time management, setting boundaries, and shared participation in the sport. If implemented effectively, involvement in a sport one loves can enrich the relationship they are a part of, rather than straining it. Ultimately, the benefits of sports — improved physical and mental health, enhanced skills, and shared interests — contribute to forming a healthy, strong relationship.
By: Brian Ji
Layout By: Charlotte Kim
A CRITIQUE OF DATING APPS
Dating apps have become a popular method of finding relationship partners, a trend epitomized by the advent of Tinder. Tinder has been downloaded over 530 million times and generated over 75 billion matches.
The premise of most dating apps is similar. Create a profile based on personal details such as interests and height. Once a profile has been created, the user can search for matches. To indicate interest in someone, swipe right; if both people swipe right, a match and option to chat is created.
While this process appears convenient and ideal for exposure, there are many insidious drawbacks; namely, one’s search for love on dating apps removes authenticity, cultivates addiction, and creates inconveniences.
Firstly, it may seem that dating apps increase convenience for finding matches simply on account of the sheer size of people accessible on dating apps. However, especially for men, their experience is far from convenient. Men are more prone to swiping right on profiles compared to women, as research has shown that they have more desire for short-term mating. As a result, women and gay men receive more matches than heterosexual men; by using equally attractive fake female and male profiles, the female profile had a matching rate of 10.5%, while the male had a rate of 0.6%, with most matches coming from gay or bisexual men. Even if a match is made, conversations on Tinder tend to be shallow, relegating it to an app better used for casual sex instead of long-term relationships.
Moreover, Tinder has made the process of finding a romantic partner addictive. Since users do not know which swipe will bring about a match, users are inclined to keep swiping, similar to how a slot machine plays on uncertainty. This anticipation of getting a match at some point releases dopamine, encouraging users to keep swiping.
Additionally, on Feb. 14, 2024, six people accused companies behind popular dating apps of designing addictive features to fetter their users. This accusation highlights the worry over companies prioritizing profit over all else, thus illustrating why this system is not conducive to user experience.
Cheng “Chris” Chen, an assistant professor of communication design at Elon University provides a hopeful suggestion for companies to become less predatory. “Imagine an app that reminds you, ‘You have swiped 50 times in the last 5 minutes. Maybe take a break?’” Chen says. “This kind of feature encourages users to reflect on their behavior and manage their time on the app more consciously.”
Most importantly, Tinder has reduced humans to data points. On dating apps, people are minimized to their weight, height, and faces instead of as full humans with all their various traits, allowing superficiality to take center stage. Foyin Ogunrombi, 27, a social media content creator in Johannesburg, South Africa, finds a problem with the lack of genuine connection that can be made. “The commodification of dating, she said, has dimmed the whole experience.” This quote reveals the shallow experience of using dating apps to find partners.
All in all, even with the popularization of dating apps, there still is no real substitute for forging romantic relationships through physical interactions. In essence, meet new people, not new digital profiles. users are inclined to
By: Russell Jin
Layout By: Charlotte Kim
CELEBRITIES EXPLOIT PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
For some, internet celebrities feel like best friends—from sharing their favorite foods to nervous tics, their audience feels like they know everything about them. However, as much as the tendency to overshare prevails in the media, carefully crafted personas serve as the “authentic” selves of many major celebrities. Called a Public Relations team(PR), experts help craft what the audience views as the internet personality’s beliefs, preferences, and choices. As celebrities’ displayed personalities drift further from reality, growing the distance between them and their audience, schemes from PR teams blossom to exploit devotees.
PR is a “strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” The main motive of a PR team lies in getting a celebrity to have a good enough presence and reputation to land endorsement deals with brands.
interactions to Forbes, “We persuade our external or internal
PR teams use social media posts, commercials, and in-person interactions to build a celebrity's persona for audiences so that they feel like real friends. Called parasocial relationships, Forbes describes this phenomenon as “a onesided connection in which an individual imagines a personal bond with someone in the public eye.” Once the delusion deepens, fans even feel as if they personally know the celebrity to the extent they feel like “friends,” despite never having met them.
As a PR manager said to Forbes, “We persuade our external or internal audiences via unpaid or earned methods. Whether it’s the traditional media, social media or speaking engagements, we communicate with our audiences
through trusted, not paid, sources.”
Actress Sydney Sweeney struck gold with her PR team as she staged a break-up with her financé Jonathan Davino. Sweeney reportedly called the paparazzi to take photos of Davino leaving their shared home with a suspiciously large amount of bags. It took a matter of seconds for articles to come up with conspiracies: was this a sign of a breakup or just a “golf trip”? The suspense came to a close when Sweeney’s new movie Anyone But You was released in theaters. Her relationship with Davino? It was soon revealed that they never had a “fight” to begin with.
Sweeney herself knew the vast influence her audience and a couple of ambiguous photos could bring. In an interview, she said, “I wanted to make sure that we were actively having a conversation with the audience as we were promoting this film, because at the end of the day, they’re the ones who created the entire narrative.”
interview, she said,
Sweeney’s PR move might seem like a one-off event, but the stunt showed hundreds of other PR teams how gullible fans can be. With undying faith in their knowledge of the celebrity, fans can easily fall into the narrative PR teams would want them to think in. Whether it be a scandal to promote a movie or political statements and flags to generate a certain audience, the ethics between fans and their favorite celebrities remain unanswered. Celebrities cannot take the blame if radical fans speculate and start massive scandals and media coverage. However, fans cannot help but feel betrayed and used every time a rumor reveals itself to be bait for monetary gain.
By: Selina Son
By: Charlotte Kim
Layout
FOR A MULTICULTURAL FUTURE
If a Korean tells their very traditional Korean parents the words, “My boyfriend/girlfriend is a foreigner,” they are most likely to be met with shocked expressions or disapproval. Although there are more instances of races mixing nowadays due to travel or moving abroad, Koreans are less accepting of foreigners into their society and community. Unless one gets to know a foreigner directly through school or work, it is hard to develop friendships or even relationships in Korea. This is because of Koreans’ history of following communitarianism and Confucianism beliefs—even now, many older generations still keep up those beliefs.
According to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), Korea is currently ranked 9th out of 79 countries in terms of expressing racism. Furthermore, the NHRCK stated that Koreans are specifically more racist towards people who are from economically developing countries. For example, they are less racist towards Black people from the U.S. than towards Black people from African countries. This has led to less interaction between Koreans and foreigners. During a YouTube interview with random Koreans, a man said, “Interracial marriages are often not common because Koreans do not have a lot of opportunities to meet other races,” resulting in a low number of international couples. His opinions were repeated by many of the other interviewees as well, proving that most Koreans have similar thoughts on interracial marriages.
Additionally, Koreans tend to feel cultural barriers when they are in a relationship, as there are different expectations and etiquette for each country. However, because they are unwilling to change or adapt to their partner’s culture. Moreover, it is a part of Korean culture to show deep respect to their elders and follow their traditions, which is another barrier towards introducing a foreigner to their elders; therefore,
many people just lean towards dating another Korean. Due to culture and language barriers, it is harder for elders to get to know foreigners because most Koreans that are of older generations are very traditional. Another man from the same YouTube video said, “If I were to date someone, I would date a Japanese person since they are of the same race, and I am fond of Japanese culture.” This proves how most people prefer Japanese people because it is easier to get to know them since they are of the same race.
Despite the number of foreigners increasing in Korea, this increase is occurring at a relatively slow rate compared to other countries. This is partially due to the fact that bullying is common among Korean students. The NHRCK stated that four out of five mixed-race students are bullied in Korean schools. Because it is not safe for children of different races to go to school in Korea, it has led Korea to become more isolated from other countries. However, Koreans that are less conservative, such as Gen Zers, are becoming more open to interracial relationships, as they spend lots of time on social media interacting with people all over the world—and that is the solution to promoting more inclusivity in Korea. If Koreans have more opportunities to interact with other races through the internet, school, or other means, they will get more used to the fact that there are people of other races, and they are not that different from themselves. Eventually, this will allow Korea to enter the global community and become more multicultural.
By: Yeonjae Kim
Layout By: Charlotte Kim Charlotte
THE CEASE OF DIPLOMATIC MARRIAGES IN KOREA
Regardless of geographic area, time period, and circumstances, diplomatic marriages have been known throughout history as a means of securing political relations with other families. Likewise, marital alliances have also long existed in the Korean peninsula, most notably from the Koryo to the end of the Joseon era .The cease of diplomacy during the Joseon era signified its aim to not be ruled by other nations and maintain their autonomy.
Diplomatic marriages can best be understood as one royal family marrying into other royal families, resulting in an alliance between the two royal families and subsequently their nations. With this alliance, the nations would support each other during war and diplomatic crises. In cases where married couples were the monarchs of distinct kingdoms, the state of marriage often unified the two nations into a strong empire. In some cases, the latter tactic was used by monarchs whose claim to the throne was weak, thus marrying a woman who had a more legitimate claim.
This was exactly the case in early Koryo, especially with King Taejo, the founder of Koryo. As the founder of a new nation, King Taejo had a weak claim of Korea and therefore married 29 wives, many of whom were the daughters of the lords of various provinces across Korea. Through his wives, King Taejo was able to demotivate rebelling lords He also bestowed the title of Tae-ja (태자, 太⼦ ) meaning “a possible candidate as an heir” on most of the children he had with his wives.
The use of diplomatic marriages to obtain power drastically changed late in the Koryo era when Yuan China conquered the Korean peninsula, lowering Koryeo to a dependent nation. Princes of Koryeo were forcefully sent to live in China and, when they were of age to marry, were wed to Yuan princesses. Although they did have Koryo concubines, these princesses were regarded as official wives of the King and their children inherited the throne of Koryo. Ultimately, diplomatic marriages were used to keep Koryeo and the Korean peninsula under Yuan China’s control.
When the Joseon era emerged, royal families no longer married their children to external kingdoms because they wished to keep power within the Korean peninsula and reduce the risk of external powers having a claim to Korean land. Therefore, royal families married into aristocratic families. They created a new system called Sam Gan Tek (삼간택, 三揀擇 ) which included inspection of a families background, illnesses history, and interviews with the royal family in order to choose partners for royal children. It was also common to see princesses marry the bottom half of aristocratic meno ensure their husbands would not have the power to rebel against the king.
to a sent to live in China married their children families,
Despite efforts to keep power within Korean royal families, late in the Joseon era, a family from the An-dong Kim clan (안동 김씨, 安東 ⾦⽒ ) exerted political influence by wedding their daughters to the king throughout generations and holding important government titles. This period of Kim Rule was known as Se-do Politics (세도 정치, 勢道政治 .) One man even criticized the Se-do Politics by saying, “Is this the country of Yis (the royal house) or Kims?
Ultimately, diplomatic marriages in Korea failed to maintain peace, leading to an abuse of power and oppression. These factors heavily influenced the cease of diplomatic relations through marriage in Korea.
By: Zoe Chang
Layout By: Charlotte Kim
MASTHEAD
President: Eric Cho
Vice President: Jason Lee
Copy Editors: Grace Lee, Sean Kim
Layout Editors: Sophia Park, Ellen Ryu
Art Editor: Celine Yang
WRITERS
Zoe Chang
Austin Chung
Brian Ji
Russell Jin
Yeonjae Kim
Selina Son
LAYOUT
Charlotte Kim