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BTS - “WAR OF HORMONE” | PART 1 REACTION (Music Video + Lyrical Analysis!) (Patreon)

Published:
2023-01-28 23:00:03
Edited:
2023-07-11 00:22:54
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Today, we dive into a song that many of you have been suggesting we react to for months!

“War of Hormone” (호르몬 전쟁) was released on August 20, 2013 and appears as the third track for BTS’ first studio album, Dark & Wild.

Sonically, the song felt a bit chaotic to us…perhaps an intentional effort by BTS to mirror the chaotic, internal battle of hormones that many young people experience? 

Content-wise, we tried our best to conduct an OPEN-MINDED review of the lyrics, taking into account many of the comments you have sent to us, as well as our own particular positionalities. 

Please let us know your thoughts about this song and/or our reaction in the comments below! Did we miss anything? Do you have differing opinions? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM AS MANY OF YOU AS POSSIBLE! 😊 just remember…let’s be kind and open-minded in our conversation.

In PART 2 of our reaction, we’ll be diving into the “War of Hormone” dance practices, live performances and MV/Photo Shooting!

ARMY, as always, we truly appreciate your love and support (WE’LL CONTINUE SAYING THIS UNTIL THE END OF TIME). Your subscription allows us to produce higher-quality reaction videos, and moves us closer to our goal of doing this full-time! Let us know if you have any questions, feedback, thoughts, etc. at any time! BORAHAE!! 💜💜

Files

BTS - “WAR OF HORMONE” | PART 1 REACTION (Music Video + Lyrical Analysis!)

Today, we dive into a song that many of you have been suggesting we react to for months! “War of Hormone” (호르몬 전쟁) was released on August 20, 2013 and appears as the third track for BTS’ first studio album, Dark & Wild. Sonically, the song felt a bit chaotic to us…perhaps an intentional effort by BTS to mirror the chaotic, internal battle of hormones that many young people experience? Content-wise, we tried our best to conduct an OPEN-MINDED review of the lyrics, taking into account many of the comments you have sent to us, as well as our own particular positionalities. Please let us know your thoughts about this song and/or our reaction in the comments below! Did we miss anything? Do you have differing opinions? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM AS MANY OF YOU AS POSSIBLE! 😊 just remember…let’s be kind and open-minded in our conversation. In PART 2 of our reaction, we’ll be diving into the “War of Hormone” dance practices, live performances and MV/Photo Shooting! ARMY, as always, we truly appreciate your love and support (WE’LL CONTINUE SAYING THIS UNTIL THE END OF TIME). Your subscription allows us to produce higher-quality reaction videos, and moves us closer to our goal of doing this full-time! Let us know if you have any questions, feedback, thoughts, etc. at any time! BORAHAE!! 💜💜

Comments

Jenna B.

i don't have time to watch right now but I'll be watching tonight. I couldn't help but comment real quickly though. I'll start off by saying that War of Hormone is one of my favorite bts songs, it makes the top 10 list for me. I think it suits the.. feelings and hormones of a young man pretty well. now of course, it was met with a lot of criticism for the lyrics which I completely understand. it was actually blacklisted from live performances not too long after release. namjoon has spoken up countless times about this song and apologized. he's talked about how they've all learned and grown from the experience and aftermath it caused. I think that's another thing that proves that they really care about their fans and how army feels about things collectively. now for me, PERSONALLY, the lyrics don't necessarily 'offend' me but they are.. heh.. well you know hahaha hahaha. a lot of us actually joke that when war of hormone comes on its time to get into the kitchen or clean 😅😅😅😅 the biggest reason why it's such a beloved song is not only because it's a bop but because of the way Namjoon and the rest of the group addressed the aftermath of its release.

Mariah P

Personally I think War of Hormone is hilarious. Especially when you consider they were teenagers/early 20s when this came out. I feel like they are poking fun at themselves. Misogynistic? Maybe a little but anyone who listens to the radio has heard way worse.

Amy Rustand

I come from a lifelong love of alt-rock, so the driving guitars and V's growly vocals on this song make this one of my all-time faves. I immediately loved it from my first listen, just like 'Boy In Luv' which has a similar guitar/growl background. I can totally understand why it's not everyone's style since it's a bit different musically from what reactors expect from BTS even despite being aware of their genre-bending discography, but for rock fans it is always a favorite! Crank. It. UP.

jaredandjordanBTS

Thank you for this comment Jenna 😊 in part 2, we will definitely need to check out how RM and the entire group addressed it!

Mariah P

Yes! Every time V comes in with the growly vocals i literally yell "growl tae tae"

jaredandjordanBTS

Thank you Amy! You are spot on in your analysis. “Crank. It. UP” hahaha 😂😂

jaredandjordanBTS

V’s growl did remind Jared of the “Scream-O” video we watched of him. Love to see V in his rocker mode.

shelby🖤

hi, number one war of hormone defender here! as a woman, i fully believe this song is not, and has never been, misogynistic. i am very aware of the misogyny in music, it's one of the reasons i won't listen to many male artists, specifically male rappers. i've even done research papers on it for my sociology classes in college. this only became an issue when people who stan other kpop groups decided to nitpick the boys, something they LOVE to do. they wanted a gotcha moment against bts and it's just not. yes, they're talking about women in a sexual manner, but that's not inherently misogynistic. it's how you go about it. this is probably one of the most respectful songs that talks about men finding women attractive that i've ever heard. they're literally calling women gifts to the world and to them. i love this song. it's in my top 10 bts songs and nothing an anti says (i say anti bc that's who started this and i've genuinely never seen another army think it's misogynistic) will make me hate it. the fact that the boys had to come out and apologize for this is kind of ridiculous to me. especially when there is plenty of actual misogyny in music, and in the music industry in general, that could've been addressed. i will always be mad that we won't ever get another live version of this.

Abbie

In my personal opinion I love war of hormone, I definitely wouldn’t say it’s misogynistic but as you said I can see how it could be to others. At the end of the day this was nearly 10 years ago they were teens just being teens sharing how they felt, they weren’t disrespectful, they are way too genuine to be. If they released something like that now then I would see it and understand it a lot more, none the less I respect anyone who does think that against the song, your opinion and that’s totally ok. Thank you for your reaction and sharing your thoughts once again, it was amazing as per usual . Love you guys 💜💜

hannah

I completely respect that there are many views on the lyrics of this song, however, for me I don't take any offence to it as I know it doesn't come from a place of malice or intent to hurt and they are in my opinion going about this in a respectful way, just talking or even making fun of them being young boys growing up. I will also add that we hear a lot worse and at times more explicit forms of this lyricism in music today, which in a lot of cases many do not bat an eyelid to. The boys and specifically Namjoon learned a lot from the backlash and took steps to ensure they could show how much they had grown in regards to the situation, just one of the many reasons that for me they are unstoppable, their duty to their craft, fans and their continuous growth and improvement as artists and human beings. As for the sound it is a song that has really grown on me and has added to the notion that bts is a genre all on its own !! <3

dulseokbangtan

The lyrics are not offensive to me, I've grown up on caribean music lyrics & 2010s rap during developmental years into becoming a woman, so I've personally heard worse, but to address the issue at hand. Everyone makes mistakes however changed behaviour is the best apology and BTS not only apologise and hold themselves accountable, they CHANGE. They've never had the same scandal twice because they immediately reflect and get their act together, they also never try to hide it, they openly say "i regret this" or "i shouldn't have done that". Whether it be misogyny, cultural appropriation or Namjoon's hair, the members man up, face the criticism, learn and do better.

Noll⁷ ⦿ ☰ ☲

I'm a woman and for me the song never was a problem, but I think what you said is completely right, specially what you said about the Positionality. I think that its a cultural thing too, as the Koreans are maybe not that *open* like the Western Cultures. In Korea is an exposed forehead already a problem, in other countrys no one would even think about that. I love the song and the music video is one of my favourites. Thanks for reacting and I'm looking forward to part 2 Borahae 💜

Angie7

I guess I’m just old I’ve heard songs WAY worse…IF a woman wants to be truly offended…but since the dawn of the teen years,(a time of learning about oneself AND the other sex) you come across things you like and dislike it’s how you decide what type of person you want to be with or like.but let me tell you I’ve seen and heard some pretty offensive women when talking about men….actually sickening crude to be exact…so not just boys are guilty…society has gotten to whiny for me🤷🏻‍♀️just my opinion. If we can ignore the misogyny there are two HILARIOUS dance practice videos of this that are worth watching one is a Halloween and the other is just a regular dance practice ON CRACK 😂…I love the songs beat and JKs rapping 🤷🏻‍♀️💜💜

Angie7

ABSOLUTELY!!!!

Suga(r)kookie

Hello this isn't misogynistic even tho the translation is a bit off but even this version of the translation ( which is the worst of all the others) is NOT misogynistic! And my translation for the line " the girls are equations, we guys are solutions" is different it says " women are like equations, we guys must solve them" means for me that boys have a hard time to understand girls at this age

v_endd

It’s true that this song has faced a lot of backlash and controversy because it’s kind of objectifying women. However, I am a woman and it doesn’t bother me. I never found it offensive because not only is it just a song but I think that the thought of them appreciating women is amazing. Suga even said they were picky about the words they chose, nothing was about degrading or having one night stands with women. They are singing about wanting to date a girl, but because she is beautiful and they lack confidence they put up a front. It's a very honest song about how teenagers feel when they are attracted, but it's also about how BTS felt about women themselves at the time. RM even revealed that this controversy was and opportunity for him to self-reflect and become more aware of issues related to gender equality. He even had BTS’ lyrics looked over by a women’s studies professor.

Sunny

I love this song, the visuals and style, the sound is so unique, and they just always look like they're having so much fun when doing this choreo.

Ralitsa Zheleva

I personally never got what's the problem with that songs. It's just hilarious. And come on... they were teenage boys singing about girls. We all went thru that phase. I have a lot of male friends and let me tell you... the most cynical remarks about the opposite sex I've ever heard came from girsl/women.

Maya

the line "girls are equations and us guys are solutions", I also saw translated as "girls are equations and we solve it" which doesn't seem sexist at all to me. But another translation, It was was something like "girls are equations, we guys just do them" and that translation, considering what that might sound to an english speaking person seems very sexist. In my language for example, translation of "to do someone" has no sexual meaning to it. It sucks that if you don't know the language, you just won't know. Some words can be translated in so many different ways.

Heather ⁷

I love this song, I don't find it misogynistic at all I am a 60 year old mother and this sums up my son when he was a teenager when a beautiful woman appeared anywhere, he is now 28 and is still the same when beautiful woman walks by he always turns to have a look. This is natural behaviour because let's face it if a beautiful man walks by I must admit I do the same thing it's called human nature. Just think of all the women and possibly men as well all look at the members of BTS you did it on the Tomorrow performance Jared 😂😂. Some of the western rap artist are far worse then this in their lyrics and videos showing females with not many clothes on. 💜💜

Maya

It's funny how you reacted to the pimple line haha. I took it literally as a hormonal acne. None of you got pimples when you hit puberty?

Madison

The song is not misogynistic at all, objectifying yes. People need to understand those terms better. The song was not prejudice. But anyways, I love this song so much. First of all, it relates to most teenage boys, or teenagers in general. Hence the title of course, I don't really know what people expected when they read it lol. Even though we only got a few performances of it, I really loved this era.

Cheryl ⁷ Lambert

I personally love this song along with Danger. (Also Boy In Luv). I love the rawness of V’s vocals, the leather/guyliner look and the fast , chaotic choreography. It fits the warning on the Dark & Wild album cover : LOVE HURTS, IT CAUSES ANGER, JEALOUSY, OBSESSION, WHY DON’T U LOVE ME BACK? Respectfully, as far as other opinions might be, I don’t find it misogynistic at all. You can’t judge it from an adult point of view especially looking at with the era of the “Me Too” movement , which I fully support and is a result of serious adult issues stemming from sexual assaults within varying power structures in society and the workplace, but rather the view of teenagers, male and female. I feel they are expressing how much they love the way women look, that they think women are a wonderful thing and it’s driving them crazy because of their emerging hormones. I think anyone can relate to wanting to attract attention when we’re teenagers and we don’t know how to handle or express our feelings and it’s frustrating. There isn’t any overt bad behaviour expressed just that they like looking at women. I think the line “I’m gonna give it to you right now “ is not as aggressive as it sounds because it’s a response to the previous line “tell me what you want right now “, in other words just tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you, whatever it is because I can’t read your mind and I don’t know what to do to make you like me and want to be with me (which doesn’t have to mean in a sexual way). Teenage angst, dealing with your emerging sexuality as a young person is difficult and frustrating. Most people, if they’re honest have gone through it and dealt with it in a normal manner, not behaving badly. I also think you have to respect the difference in Asian culture (which is more reserved) and Western culture (which is more overt in expressing opinions). One is not necessarily better or worse than the other, they’re just different. BTS and Big Hit took to heart the controversy, addressed it directly and made what they felt were important changes, hence RM’s decisions to consult with people in the field of Women’s Studies and to be more mindful going forward. I don’t believe any group would do that and I respect them a great deal for it. Because of that we have the song 21st Century Girls, which is an empowering female anthem that I love. Guys I think you reacted in a respectful and mature way with concern for the differences of opinion that this song brings up. 🫶🏻💜💜🤗🇨🇦

Salena G

When I read the definitions for misogynistic and objectification the theme is overtly negative and disrespectful. Yet this song starts by thanking women for existing then they want to feed them. It continues by saying women are the best in the world, women are the best gift, a woman is a cultural assets that should be taken care of. They fine women in high heels attractive let's be honest we women wear high heels so we can be attractive there is nothing practical about wearing high heels🤭. She looks good from the front the back top to bottom they look great that is way more kind than saying she is a bad a.. s b... h which is a totally disrespectful and derogatory statement. Nowadays a man can't even voice how attractive a woman is without being labeled misogynistic as if he's not supposed to look at her body which is pretty much how a human being determines whether or not they find the person attractive. They speak of making a good couple which is a far cry from the objectiveness of "let me hit it" which is the in gold in most song lyrics nowadays. For Aditi Jain to say it is Anti's that called the song misogynistic I agree. When you just simply listen to the song and look at the lyrics for what they are is instead of trying to put something extra on them it's simply a song about teenage boys awakenings to the beauty and preciousness of females 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 💜💜

fofo

Speaking as a female, I love “War of Hormone”. In my opinion the song is basically an ode to women (in addition to addressing the struggle young men face in controlling their hormones), so it’s far from being sexist or misogynistic: “Women are the best in the world” “Though you’re not mine, you’re the best” “Women are the best gift” “Even the way you walk is the best” Source: Doolset The idea of comparing a woman to a gift could be triggering because it implies that she can be taken against her will. But the definition of a gift is “a thing given willingly to someone without payment; a present”. Placing this definition within the context of the MV, it’s up to the female lead if she wants to reciprocate the attention she’s receiving. The boys notice her but they never force themselves. In fact, she’s always the one in control. She declines j-hope’s invitation to enter his vehicle, but he just shrugs it off. In the end, she’s the one who approaches the boys and chooses V’s character, bestowing her hug as the gift. It’s apparent, too, that what constitutes harassment varies from person to person. In examining the MV, the boys looked at the protagonist but did they touch her without her permission? No. Were they shown catcalling, or did they utter slimy pick-up phrases such as “Awww baby, you running away?” No. Did they purposely follow her around? No. As I mentioned before J-hope did open the car door for her as she happened to pass by, but the point of that scene was to demonstrate how the actress’s character had a choice, which she clearly exercised. I must also say that I’ve been the victim of past sexual harassment and stalking by a former neighbor so I definitely know the difference between degradation and appreciation. And, for me, WOH doesn’t fall into the first category.

Mariah P

Facts. I have a brother a year older and one and year younger. So I overheard many teenage boy conversations that were way worse than this song.

Cheryl ⁷ Lambert

I love growling Tae too. He really lets loose when its a live performance. 💜😂

PiedPiper613

I am a 60 yr old woman. I see absolutely nothing wrong with this song. There are so many other songs out there that are way worse.

Princesse Avoce

Half streams on this song are from me lol. That’s my personal anthem.

Laurie Brennan⁷

I'm a big fan of this song and have never considered the lyrics to be offensive. They are describing normal teenage male feelings, in a respectful way in my view. A couple of things to keep in mind. It is part of the idol culture to apologize if even a small minority are offended, and BTS goes a step further and then makes a change. They apologize even when they aren't in the wrong...it's part of the culture. In the west, an apology would probably be seen as an admission of guilt. This applies to other things besides offensive lyrics...they have apologized for statements that were falsely made against them too. RM said that after this song offended some, he started having his lyrics checked by a professor of Women's Studies to make sure he wasn't saying things that women would be offended by (although you can never please everyone). They know that a large portion of ARMY are girls and women...it only makes sense. 21st Century Girl was said to be their "apology song" to ARMY for the backlash from "War of Hormone". Thanks for reacting...looking forward to Pt 2

Chris Augustine

I am a 52 yr old woman and I have no issue with this song. I love this song. I think back in the early days of BTS, the big 3 agencies falsely accused them of a lot of things like misogyny, plagiarism, and copying concepts to undermine the success they were having. I believe BTS was threatening to the music establishment in Korea since they were from a small agency and having rising success outside the normal channels. They attacked War of Hormone as an attempt to sabotage the group. I have nothing to back this up, just a theory of mine. This song is very tame even for a conservative country like Korea.

Cheryl ⁷ Lambert

I agree. I think that Halloween dance practice is the one they missed. 💜🇨🇦

Cheryl ⁷ Lambert

I agree. I turn my head when a man walks by that I think is attractive. 😂💜

Melie

Hi J&J, thank you so much for reacting to this song and for handling the lyrics with such care. This being from Dark & Wild, I really loved this song when it come out. When I first heard the song on release day in 2014, I felt that this song reflected what the title said. Being in the same age group as BTS and a female, I totally understood (and still do) understand where they are coming from. They are describing what they felt in their late teens / first few years as 20s as guys. If you read deeper into the lyrics (as you all did), the way they are describing women may seem at a glance as objectifying maybe, but it's really a poetic celebration of us as women and how much we can influence them as young guys. It doesn't excuse bad behavior of course - as you acknowledged - but I appreciate a guy that would go through this much thought or adoration for me lol. I mean they say ladies first, that we are a gift, and that we belong in a museum lol I'm all for it. I will say that my favorite part of this reaction is when Jordan tried to do the "la la la la la". I had to rewind lol. [You'll find that this is an ongoing inside joke with Army with the 'la la la la' what song is that]

Cherry Writes

I've tried to see it from both sides, but I just can't. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but in a country where we insult those we love, and it's considered a form of affection to do so (literally, here in Australia if someone playfully insults you it means they truly like/respect you) it's hard for me to find anything offensive in these lyrics. That's not to say I don't accept that some people will find them problematic. I can only speak for myself, and my own experiences.

Alicia

I love this song! Love the choreography, love their colorful clothes, love the playful video, love their voices, adlibs and is sad that they don’t sing it anymore.

SilvrArmy

58 yr old woman with no issues with this song whatsoever. It is their representation of teenage boys. I also respect the feelings of those who do take issue. We each have our own boundaries and limits. I hope we can all agree, however, that the response from Big Hit and BTS is unmatched in its sincerity and actions. They apologized, swore to be more sensitive, have their lyrics reviewed and have never crossed that line again. Tell me who else does that. We all have missteps, it’s what we do next that matters and they clearly took this lesson to heart.

Dori Fernandez

This is one of my favorite songs from them and I will forever hold a grudge towards antis bc knowing we won't ever see this live hurts☹️ I can se how from some points of views it can be seen that way but to me as a young woman, I see absolutely nothing wrong with these lyrics. I've had my fair share of disgusting, and degrading encounters with men who have made me feel unsafe and have made comments about my body and the way I dress that made me just feel absolutely disgusting, I wish they were this respectful towards me. I personally view this song as an empowering song, the way they say women are gifts and should be cherished I absolutely love!! Ugh my dying wish is to see this live. Love you guys and your reactions, my absolute favorites and the only ones I willingly support on patreon👏🏽

Sally

When are we getting army gold videos

Singa7⁷

Love this song, and as a 54 yr old I don't find it at all offensive, this is so tame and respectful while addressing what is usually a chaotic and confusing time for teens, in comparison to modern music. I gave up listening to music on the radio precisely because of the type of lyrics you mentioned guys, such disgusting and disrespectful language and actions, (this is supposedly good music?) that teaches young people to have the wrong mentality, and what is more shocking to normalise it that people don't think it's wrong. To then accuse BTS of misogynistic language in WOH is just mindboggling. Their music reflects their life journey and this is a part of it. I admire them however for taking the high road and reacting the way they did, from what I understand it was quite upsetting for them to get such an overblown reaction when no offence was intended. You only have to watch their actions to know this is a fun take on a confusing period in young peoples lives and see if for what it is, gentle satire.

Stacey

Hi! I see both sides of the argument with this song, but to me, I am not bothered. It pales in comparison to so many Western songs over here that are undeniably offensive and truly disgusting when it comes to objectifying women. RM has said that following the backlash, he has had women’s studies professors read over his lyrics to make sure he didn’t inadvertently say something harmful, and if that’s not taking accountably and trying to better, I don’t know what is! 💜💜

Harley

I'll be honest, there was a time when after I heard the song and read the lyrics I was kinda like "okay this is kinda inappropriate/cringy for them to do" especially when in their previous albums they have songs like Tomorrow that are empowering. But when I went back and analyzed the song again with my own perspective, I don't find it that offensive especially given I've listened to western music my whole life and the things they say are way worst when it comes to misogyny. Now I don't fault people who don't like the song or the lyrics. To me the song is so out of proportion and goofy that it feels like satire to me. Like they are portraying a caricature of young hormone filled adolescent boys. You can especially see it when they dance and Tae slaps Jimin's butt like if they truly were being objectifying and not joking about themselves I don't think they would include that but that's just my opinion. Namjoon and BTS have spoken about how they know how some people felt about the song. And Namjoon has said that he'll send his lyrics to professors of women and gender studies to see if what he has written could be misogynistic. Also later, BTS made almost a redemption song called 21st Century Girls which included lyrics about female empowerment. Which if you don't know Korea is in its infancy stages of feminist movements so to me that speaks volumes that they would do this just for army.

Prise Josephine

as women this song is not in anyway or shape of form offensive.

Ree

I think growing up listening to hiphop, this song doesn’t seem as bad. But everyone has their opinions.

Kecia ⁷

Guys thank you for your very thoughtful read of the lyrics. Is the song misognistic? That will probably be debated ad nauseam for years to come. I think the most important aspect of the song was Namjoon's response to the criticism. He took the accusations seriously and began to read and learn about women's experiences and how they are different from his own. He didn't just shut the door and dig in to the opinion that others (probably Antis's) were completely wrong about the lyrics. It's just MHO, but I think in the end it made him a better song writer. I'm sure we've all had an experience where because of our positionality (thank you Jared) we believed one thing until we found out that not everyone thinks that way because their life experience is different...and our beliefs are challenged. When respectful debate follows we learn and grow. The opposite occurs when we don't debate with an open mind and heart. I think this song can be a learning experience for all of us. It is an opportunity to stop and think about the issue. Because we are ARMY our positionality is most likely on the side of the boys and that they meant no disrespect. But whatever anyone thinks about the lyrics - there's no denying that the Halloween performance is pure GOLD! Thank you again for your thoughtful reaction. Also, ARMY's comments on this post are beautiful to read.

fox

so many thoughts about this song, and my main thought is that it's a banger and one of my favorites. It's not offensive, simply a teenage boy perspective on girls, and young men going through puberty or having a "war of hormones" aren't exactly tactful. I think this controversy just made the boys even more cautious about how their lyrics can be interpreted, and they wanted to go forward being more careful because the last thing they wanted was for their words to be misconstrued. I hope you listen to 21st century girl and read the lyrics. Then of course, boy with love which is a more mature take on infatuation. Also it's hilarious Joon talks about his eyesight improving when in fact he is blind as a bat 😂😂

LizP⁷⁷⁷⁷⁷⁷⁷

Thanks for the reaction guys!! As a woman and mother of 3 daughters, I don't find these lyrics derogatory or offensive at all. Compared to the crap, yes I said crap, that's popular now, these lyrics are like a lullabye depicting the feelings of young boys in a pinnacle time of their lives. I believe it can be controversial because of cultural differences. Here in the US, its almost unavoidable to hear suggestive lyrics in music, tv, and movies. But as Jared said, we can respect those who have a different opinion. Sonically, I had a feeling you would put it in the same category as Boy In Luv since it sounds similar. Although it's not my absolute favorite song, I've gotten used to it and sing along with it. All in all I've always found WOH to be funny and silly. It's a little break from the deep, poetic and artistic songs BTS is usually known for.

LizP⁷⁷⁷⁷⁷⁷⁷

Stacey excellent points!! I'd also like to mention the songs that are also now objectifying men too. I know some women find it empowering, but in my little useless opinion I find it disgusting. Either way, there's a time and a place for all that kind of talk and I don't think mainstream is the place.

Stacey

True!

Jasperspixiedust

Hello everyone, it might be my age and I am 51 years old, but I I don’t get what is misogynistic or offensive about this song. So if someone could point that out to me I’d be eternally grateful. I just heard a song from 7 boys liking a girl and expressing their feelings about it so what’s the big fucking deal. (sorry got a potty mouth when I am annoyed) Any who’s as always wonderful video and I always look forward to more. 💜💜💜💜

Ayana Howard

The line of Suga's “A cultural asset of beauty….” sounds like he’s talking about a national treasure. It sounds as if he has placed this person on a pedestal. And yes some things in this song have sexual connotations and double meanings, but teenage boys and men of all ages think about the people they are attracted to. As a person that used to listen to rap I’ve heard much worse than what was in this song. One of the main reasons I don’t listen to rap anymore is because I was tired of the way women are talked about. I really didn’t see that here. The way I took it was even though they are fighting their hormones they were showing appreciation and attraction for women in a respectful way.

Da Lantis

29 year old woman here. I enjoy this song. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but like "hectic" i enjoyed the tone and the vibe. Myself, I felt like this song was humorous and honestly very amusing. They are young boys. Teens and young male adults. I feel like they are simply showing what boys that age think and feel 🤷‍♀️ a lot musicians have a lot worse shit out there that speaks of sex and relationships in such a casual way. I feel thats far worse than teen boys putting their horny emotions into a flirty, adolescent song. Granted, I think this song being recieved so negatively helped them all better understand women and their feelings about being possibly "objectified". Assisted them in bettering themselves and their music. Its in the eye of the beholder. I took this song as humorous and basically a B rated teen drama in song form. If you take this song personally, you need to reexamine your own self confidence. And girls... how do you think about boys? I know for a fact a lot of women and girls alike feel this way about boys, their muscles, and their "sexy" build. Im just saying. This is from the view of young hormonal boys. Hormonal girls are just as bad. We just haven't made a song about it. At least not something as obvious as this - At least if we ignore all the songs out there that speak of our bodies and sex in general. I'm ranting but I just don't get the upset over this. Like the army you quoted said, the boys in this song were merely stating feeling and thoughts and not in a disrespectful way. They were basically worshiping a woman and her body from their view point. I dont think there is much wrong with that. Moving on - Jared and Jordan, thanks for reacting to this! Thanks for being respectful and really considering all aspects. RM took the criticism seriously and with some difficulty. It certainly didn't help his rising depression during this time period. Add in death threats that came into play around this time, it leads us up the path towards his song "Always". A sad, deeply depressing song and a cry for help that he eventually released after passing through that difficult and dangerous period of time. Worth listening to in my opinion. It helped me with my own depression. Check it out with an open mind if you get the chance, but it does eventually come up in the Rise of Bangtan.

fofo

Thank you! 💜 I feel a bit sad because the criticism and censorship that BTS received for this song was unwarranted. They will probably never perform it again, which is unfortunate because the song rocks. :(

BForehand

"Alright" (Jared) "OK" (Jordan) ) Love It, just had to let y'all know... I say it with y'all everytime... Anyways, these are my feelings on this song... I definitely feel that this song is very chaotic as I would assume hormones would be for boys in puberty, however we all have to stop and remember when they did this song...this song was at the beginning of their career and they had just debuted and we're trying to become well known and also stick out with the competition they had at that time... When pointing out the lyrics in this one song, did those same people look at the competitions songs and pick at their lyrics as well.... We see BTS as their own category now but that was not the case at the time of this song... Another point I would like to talk about is everyones journey has moments and choices that are made that might not be the best at the time but down the road might make more sense to why you had chosen them or had to go through them... I believe without this song BTS would not be who they are today... This song and reaction that came with it, made RM change his way of thinking and what words he would use in anymore songs they created. Also making a promise to Army, that any song from then on, that was written and sung by them would be very carefully chosen thus changing the way RM seen things... It also helped him and the others find the thing that made them BTS now which in my one word would be (LOVE). They went from DARK and WILD (boys) to LOVE YOURSELF (men). Even in the harder rap songs you still feel the LOVE they are trying to help spread through their music...even if the subjects are tough to talk about. They understand that everyone has a different way in how they love someone or allow themselves to be loved and they can hit all of those different ways through their LOVE of MUSIC... Which for me explains why they have so many different genres, together as BTS and as solo artists as we have heard and are hearing these days. War of Hormone to me was a very pivotable moment in their journey and they handled it very gracefully and then used it to their advantage. I hope this made sense and was not just a bunch of rambling... This song for me was not one of favs Jordan either... Audio wise it was too much chaos sounding for me... Do I choose to listen to it, no but will I listen if it pops up, definitely P.S. Moments like these that seem bad at the time still play a role in that person or persons journey. P.S.S. I am a 38 year old woman and would rather listen to these lyrics in English where I understand them, than listen to some of this garbage that is being put out in my own country...also i believe the issues came more from their own people in Korea because of how their culture is... If a woman is wearing tiny clothing they are given a cloth or blanket or something to cover them while they are sitting P.S.S.S. Always sending you two Beautiful Humans so much Love as you deserve it💜💜💜💜

J-Lee

Well thank you for the def of POSITIONALITY, Jared. I wouldn't have known its exact use and meaning if not for this video 😅 I guess another thing that goes with positionality as a factor too is the CULTURE we all have grown up in. If I was born and grew up in say LA US, then this wouldn't strike to me as much. (And I'm not trying to offend any Americans pls, so I'm sorry in advance 🙏) But since I grew up in the Philippines, which I think is quite near Korea's culture, the lyrics would be a bit off, yes. Not in the sense tho that it's off coz of the words used, I've seen some other vulgar words that are worse, please. However, aside from the cultural differences, the ages when we were born as well is a big thing. As for millennials like me - I was used to the western style of music, that's really popular here. So I DID NOT FIND this song misogynistic at all. Remember, Dark and Wild was done in that era where they're trying to incorporate the AMERICAN HIPHOP culture and style?! So that's why I guess this became such a ruckus in their country, as they're not used to this kind of theme in Kpop. They were even trained in American Hustle Life how to meet girls in the streets and make videos with sexy girls surrounding them. So yeah, this all come down to how they view their culture vs the western, I guess. And aside from that, we all know that they would just dig into whatever issue they can throw at BTS to stop them from rising. But oh well, I'm glad Bangtan did not give up and became more mature and intelligent. RM even said that because of this, when he writes lyrics, he's now asking an expert or like a teacher to review what he wrote if it'll trigger an issue or what. Thanks for this reaction my FAVE brothers! 🥰 Looking forward to the next set of War of Hormones. Did you do the Halloween dance practice for this?! I sure hope you did 🤞 Thanks again and borahaeeee 💜

Daphne Schaffer

War of Hormones is the funniest BTS mv for me because it's real. They are telling the truth in this song from experience. We have over 30 grand and great sons... all have walked this journey. V steals the show for me completely!

Dirho

I think misogynistic is a stretch, in particular because that term has stronger derogatory feel and intent. The song is suggestive and females are objectified in the same way we’ve been hearing in music these past few decades. This truly doesn’t phase me at all and women talk about males in similar ways too. Also, early in their career culturally attitudes were different, as they went into the next growing up music phase things shifted again. Actually I’ve heard people say the controversy was from detractors that wanted to bring them down. So it was “manufactured” outrage. I agree, this experience really was an opportunity for RM and the whole group to lean into cultural and gender points of view. In particular Suga and RM were quite familiar with American rappers and the hip hop music scene back in the day. This had to influence their music but other than their mixtapes as a group BTS rarely even 🤬in their songs. As a group and individuals they have supported and encouraged Army while growing along the way. For the few somewhat insensitive songs in their early years there are dozens of positive, comforting and thought provoking songs released since then.

Ellysa Vaj

I wasn’t aware this song was considered misogynistic when I first heard it to be honest. I grew up in the west and heard things that would make me cringe. Nothing even remotely close in War of Hormones. Asian cultures are generally more conservative so I can understand the opinion. My take is that they were trying to express themselves in the moment for which they were experiencing those things, same as No More Dream and N.O.

Jenna B.

Now that I've watched, I'll comment again hehe. I don't necessarily see the lyrics as misogynistic but I can see and understand how some people could feel that way. Also I'd like to note that Hobi's lyrics are by far the most... well.. 'sexual' hahaahaha. he's definitely talking about ummm.. some personal pleasure time LMAAAOOO it's a fun and chaotic song about the inner thinkings and feelings of a teenage boy/young man riddled with hormones and trying to FIGHT them. it's satirical in a way. but to be completely real and honest here, I dont think this song needed the heavy push back it received HOWEVER in a way I'm also grateful for it because it pushed the guys into learning more about feminism, misogyny, and how women think. all 7 of them truly respect women and they show that consistently. (p.s. Tae slapping jimin's ass will forever be burned into my brain 😂😂😂)

화은 김(Jullisa)

I think this song was the victim of the time when everything was controversial for misogynistic. Their was extreme community call 'femi'(female chauvinist, not feminist) grew bigger and bigger at that time. They are the first one who started this censorships. Every male-artist's lyrics got censored through their own logic and blacklisted by them. Basically, this controversy got started by the hatred toward man/boy. After the debate got harsh through the ppl who want to find the fault with VS who want to defend, the problem got bigger and distorted badly and then eventually, boys had to cool down the issue and apologized..I felt so bad for them who was just hormonal teenage boys tried to deliver their feelings about women but got so much accusation and hatred. I don't find a single misogynistic lyric in it but some ppl do. I am not saying they are wrong but knowing how this controversy got started is important, too.

지순

I agree with you!♡

tori

i personally love this song so much and i dont see anything wrong with it. i laughed so much when i first read the lyrics. they seem so innocent compared to a lot of lyrics in english not even just hip hop/rap songs but even rock songs are heavily misogynistic at least in english its only from the 90s really when women have been vulgar and raunchy bad bitch energy if you will in music majority female rappers but from like 2000s the female pop stars started doing the same which im all for both cause we always had male artists in any genres being misogynistic so it was time for women to take back that power by doing it ourselves. the lyrics ive read from male artists in english and even in spanish are so much worse than war of hormone its laughable. and to be honest ive even seen worse lyrics in kpop yet i do not remember much controversy for those songs. it all comes back down to people trying to tear down bts and "put them in their place" because a lot of hypocrisy surrounds this controversy. thats all ill say on that.

PamTan

This song is not misogynistic at all, I hope people who say that understand the meaning behind the word. The song says that females are objects? I don't think so either. If so Suga madeit clear that our beauty should be treated as national treasure. Hahaha I love this song, specially the choreography.

J. Ezbet

Jared, thanks so much for bringing the concept of positionality to the discussion and thanks to both of you for coming back around to end on that note!!!

Shalia

I dont really like the song. Its not my preference. Lyrics wise, i personally dont see anything misogynistic with it. It possibly could be cultural. I remember TVXQ song Mirotic was banned and given an explicit rating due to a lyric that said, Under my skin.

Maya

but war of hormone was allowed on broadcasts, with all the lyrics unchanged. and i think most controversies started outside of Korea due to translations of the lyrics. another thing I wanted to point out, is that feminism is still not as popular in Korea compared to usa or europe. There's still a lot of misogyny is Korean society, it's rooted in patriarchal ideologies. Current president of SK is very conservative. In his campaign trail, he pledged to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality. He has blamed the country’s low birth rate on feminism. Many say that he won because of his anti-feminism beliefs. And things like sex, nudity, tattoos, violence were banned in korean broadcasts since the beginning. War of hormone doesn't really fit into those categories. "under my skin" doesn't fit either but maybe it was different in 2008, when Mirotic came out. It also differs from broadcast to broadcast. I remember funny thing from Mnet's "kingdom", where they blurred out a knife but a gun was okay to be shown and appear on a broadcast.

Juliann Terrell

I do love this song. I do think our positionally matters. I also think that we can’t ignore the biology and how we respond to things when going through puberty. I also see this song as a marker of growth for where they are now. They learn and grow from each experience, getting lyrics checked by women’s history professors and just being more mindful of things. I can compare this RM to Closer RM and see dynamic growth. It’s cool to see that evolution. I also remember being shocked the first time I saw V slap Jimin’s butt, but now I just think it’s hilarious… 😂😂

Precious

Great job on this one Jared and Jordan. As a woman, I like this song. As a teacher I think about the students, my brother and nephews. They’ve all went through this awkward stage as the two of you have pointed out. The thing that we all love about BTS is that they speak about issues that no one else talk about. This is reality whether you like it or not. I applaud them for speaking on a very sensitive topic as they always do. I think it was done tastefully, but there are people who are extremely sensitive and this bothers them, but as a teacher I could never tell my students they shouldn’t feel this way because it’s part of life. It’s new to them, as they get older they will hopefully learn how to deal with these hormonal changes. In America as you both have stated we’ve seen worse lyrics, but there are countries where lyrics like these are banned. People are taught not to talk about these things openly or not at all. Go through it silently and it will eventually pass. I understand both sides. I don’t agree, but I least I understand them. I’ll leave it at that.

지순

I know you have a marginal threshold reaction. But I'm waiting for MMA2019. I would really appreciate it if you do. i love you jared and jordan♡plz

Joy Jenkins

Whether people find these lyrics misogynistic or not what stands out to me is how RM responded. When people criticized him saying his lyrics were misogynistic he not only listened to that criticism but changed to the point of running his lyrics by a women’s study professor. That says everything about who RM is and how he views women to me.

Aylaᴿᵖʷᵖ

I’m so surprised if any actual armys find this song misogynistic. They had a theme for the lyric writing which was “what it’s like to be a teen/young man around girls” and I think they did it perfectly. They’re not advocating a lack of consent nor objectifying women, just noticing how girls affect them. I’m fine with it. And I love the video, the styling, and the kitsch vibe of them being that age! I think it’s cute. The misogyny label was yet another slur against them via kmedia and the big 3 companies who were jealous of them for winning all the rookie awards etc. I love how they reacted. 💜 The pronunciation for that filter is see-pia it’s an ink made from squid ink.

Joy Jenkins

I’m with you because that performance is unreal. But I want your opinion because for me I think equal to how amazing that performance is, is the significance of it. By that I mean BTS going from performing at the award show where everyone turned off their light stick so the whole audience was dark to getting 40 minutes all to themselves. Do you think Jared and Jordan will appreciate it the same way if they don’t have the full understanding of how far BTS came to reach that point? I’m really curious cause I don’t know if I’m alone in thinking that knowing the full history makes a difference.

Ellie

It makes me sad how much of the 'historical context' (i.e. where it falls in bangtan's career timeline) of the controversy has been lost over the years; and how it often taints a reactor's enjoyment of the song. War of Hormone was an army favorite when it was released in mid-2014. And many army to this day love this song, choreo, and all its dance practices (real war ver. & halloween ver. are so fun to watch). However, in 2015 BTS entered their youth triology era (i.e. HYYH or Most Beautiful Moment in Life) after filming AHL and releasing Dark & Wild (the album they worked on while in LA). Hyyh pt.1 was supposed to be their 'swan song album.' The company was really struggling to stay afloat and the members really didn't know if there would be another comeback after this one. But their new single 'I Need U' did really well. It got them their first music show wins, and their popularity in Korea finally started to grow during this era. But so did the hate. And the guys have acknowledged (such as in their 2021 Festa sit-down) that 2015-2017 was the hardest parts in their careers for both them & army. This was the rise of accusations of plagiarism, sajaegi (the illegal activity of a company bulk-buying their albums to boost sales), and claiming that bts were winning awards out of charity (especially when they started winning daesangs/grand prizes in late 2016). No one (i.e. fans of other kpop groups, the media, and the other companies who tried to gatekeep this information) could accept that BTS really had a passionate and growing fanbase. One of the other accusations that came up was regarding claims that War of Hormone was misogynistic. This started happening nearly a whole year after the song released when BTS were promoting their HYYH era. It was antis who were trying to stir up any buzz about it with poor translations, and of course the media caught on and would spread any bad press about BTS, framming the narrative that it was their 'fans' who were saying this. [As you will learn/witness more about how the korean music industry & media runs, you'll understand how much people will try to twist words. This is why army strongly warn about antis trying to pose as armys too]. Both BTS & the company responded gracefully to the accusations. Yoongi has previously stated wjile promoting the song that it was written as a satire of the hormones we experiece during puberty. And the guys remained respectful in their lyrics and of the female protagonist in MV when she rejects them and walks away. And while it was not the intention for their lyrics, the guys have also never tried to argue back to invalidate the feellings of those who interpreted the song as misogynistic or objectifying women. They promised to do better and as you've probably heard, Namjoon started asking experts in women's studies to review his lyrics to avoid such a misinterpretation from happening again. It makes my heart ache for the things the guys have had to endure in earlier years. And you can see how these kind of attacks really took a toll on Namjoon for the subsequent years through his vlive, variety content, and mixtapes. However, I think this experience also shaped the members into becoming even more kind and thoughful human beings. We saw an even larger shift in how socially conscious the guys were, and even the introduction of gender inclusive/gender neutral words in their lyrics and live performances of older songs. ---‐-------------------------------- I realize that this message has become super lengthy, but I believe one of the reasons why it is something that is still discussed between armys & reactors today is because it serves as a reminder of the growth we've seen bangtan experience in their careers. There is a reason why army love the members and their music so much. And Namjoon is truly such an amazing leader through all their stuggles and endeavors.

Purplehaze⁷

I love War of Hormones, and as a woman, I don't find it at all misogynistic. I agree with all the other comments that have said that BTS was just trying to convey the chaotic feelings that teenage boys have when they are around teenage girls. I feel they got that message across in a funny and entertaining way while still showing their admiration for women. I felt no disrespect from this song and I think the problems that happened were just an attempt from the antis and Kmedia to get BTS to lose fans.

Ellie

Yes, all this about the female lead in the MV!!

Ellie

Just gonna comment as well that this is one of my favorite MVs from the guys. I love the sepia filter, the long/single take from the open shot until the set changes. The guys goofyness. Tae's butt slap??? And all the silly choreo!! All the live performances are so much fun. I hope that Jared & Jordan check out a few of them - because there is a part in the choreo they improv and do differently each time.

Kiki

I missed your reactions a lot. Since I was very busy at work lately, I didn‘t get the chance to catch up on all the content yet. But as soon as I saw this, I needed to click. First of all: I love how cautious you are with your words, and that you understand that it can depend on an individual’s position how the lyrics will be interpreted. Even though I‘m in my second year with BTS, I never fully watched the MV or payed attention to the lyrics. I heard so many opinions on this song that I was afraid it could kinda ruin something for me. That’s why I decided to watch it with you for the first time and it wasn‘t even close to how bad some people pictured it. Musically I have to agree with Jordan, not really my style. There is one line that made me a little uncomfy. It was the line „The girls are equations, and us guys are solutions.“ If it really means „girls are something to be solved“, then this tickles my feministic side. 😅 But all the other lines, even the sexual references, are not problematic to me. I interpret it like a zoom in a teenage boys brain. I think they are trying to describe how that feels like. Well, sex is a big part of many teenage brains, female, male, non-binary. But still: being reflective with your lyrics is never a bad thing, I guess. Maybe some other artists could learn from that. 😅 So all in all: I don‘t see why it was pictures as a „problematic“ song. Thank you for this reaction!💜

Raevan21

I never understood the controversy. I am a woman and I didn't find it misogynistic in the slightest. I feel like it was more honestly appreciative of women than objectifying.

Les

I think what's funny is the fact that all the people who had an issue with this song were also listening to other songs that had typical degradation of women in the lyrics lmao. Somehow its only an issue when BTS does it. 🤷🏽‍♀️ Anyways, I've been to a few army club rave nights and this song is always a hit. Its cute, angsty, and does the job well when talking about the weirdness of sexual appreciation. Not in my top 50 songs of theirs but i never skip it either.

Cheryl ⁷ Lambert

Agree Joy. I think he was personally hurt by all the criticisms directed at them. He took it personally for sure. 🫶🏻💜

Joy Jenkins

That’s our boy, he takes on so much. Honestly I have so much respect for him for acknowledgment the criticism and not shying away.

Cheryl ⁷ Lambert

Doolset doesn’t really have notes for that verse do they. 😂🫶🏻💜🇨🇦

leat

i actually don´t care about that specific line, about the equations. i think based on what horrors we get from Western lyrics this is just kitty pool stuff. and i don´t think the members look at woman like objects to take whenever they please. just by observing their behavior in American hutle life for one. i think the lyric is referring to men and woman who fit together by nature. to relive of those feelings in a natural way. like men are from mars and woman are from venus, but somehow they still match together. i think that was the meaning behind it. but in a more primal way. and for those who love math can find it satisfying to solve an equation. it´s satisfying to know how girls brains work, and be accepted by the girl. they are just speaking facts to me. but i know others might thinks differently and i appreciate you for respecting that. but i do wonder why western artist never get those complains. I mean that music is something i find really hard to listen to. i get tired of it so i really like this angle of the inocent feelings about sex we all have. i always looked at BTS as a breath of fresh air in music. maybe not all genres they do is my favorite but the lyrics are always so good and i feel no problem letting my teenage girl listening to it. most kpop groups are overly sexualized, in the korean way. all focused on the beauty and perfection. but BTS they focus on being human and not always being perfect. i never see any flaw on other groups it´s to plastic for me. BTS is real in every way.

leat

but that version is not by BTS it´s someone else cover of the song

Cherry Valens

I was really hoping you guys would do the dance practice videos and the Halloween dance practice video for this song!

Cherry Valens

In my opinion I don’t see BTS as someone who would intentionally offend someone on purpose, especially females! They are the most respectful human beings, respectful to everyone!

Jane Rogers

I’m 55 yo Korean-American woman and mom of 2 teenager boys (17 & 13) and I see nothing wrong with their lyrics. I’m more offended by Lolita vibes of a female group about a certain dairy dessert than honest feelings from these teenage boys. Like you guys have said, we’ve heard and seen way more misogynistic and disgusting lyrics and videos from the west so these lyrics are, imo, are already more respectful to girls/women.

A. Brown

I'm a woman and I never did get the controversy about this song. Personally I see it as just another example of those who love to throw accusations at the guys to see what will stick. This remains one of my favorite songs and videos because it's fun, chaotic, and has great dance moves. It's a shame that they don't perform this live any longer, I would have loved to see it.

DinaArmyMom

Thanks for your reaction. I don't feel that this song is misogynistic. This is subjective to the individual listener and their personal experiences. However, I have lived a long time on this earth and heard worse especially in songs of today, there is nothing left to the imagination. Lastly if you listen to Vanessa Willliams song The Right Stuff, it has similar music. It's 80's music you would understand. LOLOLOL 😆 You can check it out if you like. https://youtu.be/Xp0XMziqibU

Ale

I would never tell anyone how to feel about this song. We all differ in the way we feel. But I think most international fans do not take offense to the lyrics. I grew up listening to FAR WORSE in American hip hop music lol i as a women was not offended by this song. I understand what they were trying to do with it. It’s called WAR on hormone lol the title itself is explanatory. I think it’s a bop. I play it often.

Amani ○°●•7

Just read ALL the comments... all has been said.. unlike most the comments... I personally do not care for the song itself .. ... the mv is incredibly fun ... an actual fav of mine ... looking forward to part 2 J&j. 🌌🖤💫🌟

Alice

Do I personally love this song lyrically? Not really, but I still really enjoy the song and maybe that's aided by the fact that without subs I can't understand what they're saying anyway lol. It certainly did not warrant any controversy it received but I do really appreciate the response from Namjoon/BTS and how they've grown and continue to learn a grow and take into account the feelings of their fans from all different walks of life.

jaredandjordanBTS

Thank you so much for taking the time to give us context! 😊 We appreciate you!

Dorot Varga

I can only repeat of course what many said. As a woman I cannot find these lyrics offensive. They are singing from a teenage boy's perspective - and they are teenagers/young adults at this time, and let's face it, these thougths usually go through teenagers' minds (less respectfully than in these lyrics) - that's why the song called "War of Hormones". Personally I agree that this is not my favourite song, but for me it is rather due to my taste and not because it is offensive.

Susan Grayson

As an American woman, I don’t feel these lyrics objectify women, but celebrate women. They also lightheartedly make fun of boys during this pubescent period. Frankly, women in America have more offensive and misogynistic lyrics In Their songs. I love War of Hormone. It’s a banger.

Chantal Zorzi

As a woman myself I don't think that this song is misogynistic, because misogyny is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. When Suga raps about the beauty of the woman I find it to be really pleasing, comparing women to a cultural beauty, for me he is saying you are the Mona Lisa, Botticelli's Venus... those are some really nice words, I don't see any hate against women. This is one of my favourite songs from BTS.😊

Luma

to me it’s always frustrated me that within this discourse it’s always overlooked that the song is clearly satirical. especially once you get to jhopes verse everything is like a cartoonish exaggeration of how a teenage boy acts during puberty. the song was made to poke fun at the absurd and sometimes objectifying thoughts a teen has during puberty and it doesn’t reflect bts actual thinking or past experiences. that’s why i never took issue with it.

Jordyn

As a woman, I have no issue with this song. That is my opinion. I was able to hear this song before hearing about anything else. I feel that it jokingly talks about hormones in a young boy's body. It feels like a serious reach to say it's misogynistic.

TeeDub1013

Personally, I have zero issues with War of Hormones. Bang PD told them to tell their stories - and this is just an expression of what they have seen, felt, and experienced. I actually prefer being called a "gift" rather than a "b...". Maybe that's just me though.

April

Thanks for your honest opinion. As a mother of a daughter and my love for BTS I never had a issue with this song. I mean like you said there are worst ones out there that clearly are but the guys never meant for it to be taken that way.

Keindra

In my humble opinion consider a woman for her looks and consider her as a gift or a ecuation to solve is what ring my alarms. you can say a woman is beautiful but when you speak of her as a trophee or a gift you are objectifying her. But considering all the songs that are direct missoginia this song is very light in my opinion.

Kpopislife16

I absolutely LOVE this song & it is on my Top 10 BTS songs playlist. I never understood the controversy surrounding this song because this was how they felt at the time. As a reminder, Kookie was only sixteen then, so... Yeah. Suga wrote this song while filming American Hustle Life. This is due to how he was feeling about the gorgeous women they interacted with (Jewel, Victoria & Christina) during episode 5. So it's understandable why they're a war with their hormones. They won't perform this song again due to the backlash which saddens me because again, I love this song. Oh well, I can still jam out to it so it's not a complete loss. Thank you for another awesome reaction guys, Borahae. <3

bts

Okay so I wanna be honest, I was kind of a mess when I wrote all that about War of Hormone. I’m a woman and feminism is really close to my heart which is why I become very emotional when I talk about it. I’m sorry that I was so agressive when I was responding to some of the comments under my first post. In my opinion, the lyrics still doesn’t sit right with me - but as you have said, it’s not blatant misogyny. I respect your differing opinions, sorry for my responses.

April Forgue

There is nothing wrong with this song. Do you hear the crap they play on American radio this is so tame. The lyrics perfectly represent young men and women going through that age. I like this song.

Aparna

As a woman, I LOVE this song. It's such a vivid representation on young male mentality, Suga mentioned picking out certain phrases and using verbiage that is supposed to reflect that teenage mentality. And I agree "art should imitate life" and in this case, not many teenagers are socially aware enough to have a definitive stand on feminism. The 12 yr old kids I teach imo are worse than this, saying derogatory shit without knowing what they're saying most of the time. As a teacher reprimanding that alone is exhausting, but I also think its fine, cuz that's how you grow, you make the mistakes, you learn things aren't black and white and you grow to be better.

Rishu

This was the joint that made me an army and a v bias back in like 2015 and although its out there compared to normal songs i still think its nothing compared to the stuff on radio. Its still a bop for me now, I really dont mind for songs where there is no ill intent either in the lyrics, this is just puberty lol.

Luna

In my opinion - if you want to really deep it, i totally understand the perspective of it being misogynistic. In an over simpified way, it could almost be seen as the statement "boys will be boys" which many people have taken an issue with because it can excuse harmful actions men take towards women. That is though, an over simplification of the song. Do I have a problem with the song? No, I actually love it lol. However I also give leniency since it was back in 2014 and I do think that matters. If it were released in the year 2023, I think I would feel more skeptical given how rapidly our society has evolved in respect to the topic of sexism. I also listen to a lot of rap so I really don't see much of an issue but I wouldn't dismiss any womens views on it because I can see where they are coming from. I also disagree with saying the negative feedback from the song is because of "antis" or haters. Because of this song, BTS and RM specifically have grown a ton, leading RM to get the song reviewed by a Women's Study Professor and later becoming a self proclaimed feminist who reads feminist literature and novels on his spare time to this day. I think this song greatly contributed to their growth as people and I am thankful the seemingly innocent song allowed for that to happen.

Maya001

The funny thing is bts have songs where there r wayyy more sexual references and innuendos lol this song seems like a sweet poem describing what teens go through. It’s very raw and real and that’s y I love it. Anyway can’t wait for the halloween dance practice vid! It’s my fav hahahah

Seneca

^^ How I've always felt– the fact that the *title* of the song is War of *Hormones* is enough to show me that it's a self-aware, satirical song. A caricature of a teenage boy's mind. While I don't find it lyrically stunning/enjoyable, it's also not lyrically offensive. So I wish people wouldn't buy into the idea that the song exposes the guys as misogynistic. However, I will say.. someone else commented that the fact that BTS *did* experience some backlash, helped them to learn more about women and be more thoughtful/careful with their music moving forward. So although the backlash wasn't warranted, it did help them to become better educated men regardless. Silver linings.

Anja

Dear Jared&Jordan, when will you do Part 2?

Donita Polk

@Joy Jenkins - I agree with you, the significance is lost/diminished without knowing the journey. Kind of like how ARMY immediately understood the significance of the images in the Yet To Come MV 😢 - it felt like a gift; but many new-ish reactors did not get it. The Twins, I think, imho, would appreciate the journey.

Donita Polk

I actually like this line although depending on how it's translated, I do see how it could be problematic. But to me, probably because I love math, when there's an equation to solve, you have to go through the steps to solve it and sometimes there are a lot of steps to get to the answer; but it's very satisfying when you do! Relationship-wise, every time my husband has taken the time to be still long enough to listen and then calmly dialogue with me in order to understand my pov, I swear I fall in love again. Truth be told, it doesn't happen very often, but a guy willing to take the time to at least try to understand is alright in my book!

Donita Polk

I actually went through and read ALL of the comments ... and ... I agree. That's it, carry on ... 💜

Inamar de Souza

I am a feminist and totally agree with you. One of the most respectful songs about boys finding girls attractive. No offense intended.

jaredandjordanBTS

💜💜💜💜 We love ya too Abbie!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Keylee

The irony that you didn’t enjoy this song or Boy In Luv when they’re two of my favorite of their earlier songs. I was raised on hip hop so these lyrics didn’t even hit my radar as offensive and I still think it’s much ado about nothing.

Cor Gequillana

I love this song. So fun to listen to.

Harfey

Yes, I think the best way to sum it up is: they tried to represent a very common experience but failed to clarify that. Some lyrics and behaviors in the video immediately made me wary, uncomfortable, or annoyed- and to then have lyrics and smiles that seem sweet and innocent... it felt a bit like some gaslighting tecnique. I know already that I'm a sensitive individual (grew up female and experienced years of trauma specifically due to just that) but it's important that we recognize the main issue (I think) of not making it clear this is supposed to represent inside a typical south korean teenage boy's mind when experiencing puberty and attraction to girls specifically. It wasn't clear and so that layer of understanding and leniancy isn't there. Even with the knowledge, some lines and moves were still bothersome for me (and others). It is genuinely all about your positionality as a viewer.

Jodie Darcy

I am female and I have never found these lyrics offensive. I do love how you have both looked at this and thought through it. I think that they are doing what they have always done, like they did with NO, showing teens, boys in this case, That they are not alone or wrong in their feelings. It's ok to like girls and get excited about them and what they wear sometimes. They show nothing but appreciation for females in this song