How is Masculinity Defined?
- Monica Vo
- Jun 10, 2019
- 3 min read
The emergence of Korean pop music has inevitably impact the music industry. With the rapid advancement of social media, it has exposed this genre of music for many individual to discover. Further, a prominent feature from Korean pop music is how they embody masculinity through their image. I will argue that the difference between Western depiction of masculinity in Asian Korean men is due to reinforced cultural construction of norm.
Foremost, when defining what hegemonic masculinity is in Western terms, Park (2015,4) states it as the norm where White, strong jawline, heterosexual, upper/middle class male is the standard image. He further notes that there is a clear distinction between distancing oneself from feminine attributes or activities as it may jeopardize individual’s masculinity. A sharp contrast with Asian masculinity is that they are seen in unique fashion, skinny, small not muscular, and their sexuality are often questioned if they show any association with feminine attributes or activities (Park 2016, 11). Additionally, Korean pop idols are not shy when it comes to the use of makeup; they in fact star in commercials.
Moreover, the image that Korean men project in Korean pop music is very transverse due to the type of style that they are promoting. Song & Velding (2019, 3) mentions that these group dynamics is versatile in their presentation; which attracts fans and acts as fulfillment for females to idolize. Further, there is two distinction of masculinity being like soft masculinity (such as Shinee’s MV “Hello Hello”) or hard masculinity (such as Big Bang’s MV “Wow Fantastic Baby”) where both forms is still masculine and one isn’t considered superior than the other (Park, 2015, 4). The cultural construction of masculinity in Korean pop culture empowers the different types allowing fluidity for a diverse fan base, and it forms as a social acceptance for native consumers. In contrast, Western viewers may not comprehend the soft masculinity types and their standpoint in society reinforces the acceptance of hegemonic style.
Furthermore, with the transnational hit of Gangnam Style by Psy entering the Western industry embodies gender, race, and sexuality that reinforces the emasculated image of Asian men for Western cultures (Park 2015, 196). Psy is an older man, whom uses his own physical projection as a way of presenting Asian men’s quirky appeal in media. Additionally the stereotypical portrayal for Asian men in Western media exemplifies images of being “nerdy, effeminate… plays violin or knows martial arts but not necessarily to sound like Kanye West…” (Park 2015, 199). The use of media roles and stereotypes depicted by Western context shows that intersexuality of race, and gender creates this social stigma and stereotype that emasculates Asian men, while simultaneously creating hierarchal power imbalance between them and the White heterosexual male.
It is inevitable that the social construction from Westerner’s perception of Asian men has been presented as emasculate to the dominate culture. Their ideal of hegemonic masculinity contrasts with what is presented in Korean pop culture, which is a hybrid of hard and soft style It shows what is considered ideal, and what society construct as being acceptable for gender. With the transnational cross-cultural flow from Korean pop music, I believe that it will facilitate with changing the rigid norms of hegemonic masculinity that Westerners have for a more diverse style.
References:
Park, Michael K. “Psy-Zing up the Mainstreaming of ‘Gangnam Style’: Embracing Asian Masculinity as Neo-Minstrelsy? - Michael K. Park, 2015.” SAGE Journals, journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0196859915575068.
Song, Kirsten Younghee, and Victoria Velding. “Transnational Masculinity in the Eyes of Local Beholders? Young Americans’ Perception of K-Pop Masculinities.” The Journal of Men’s Studies, 2019, p. 106082651983886., doi:10.1177/1060826519838869.
I definitely agree with Tarn’s idea that ideas and perceptions of masculinity will continue to shift as global cultures merge in the modern age. It’s easier than ever to be exposed to a number of different cultural norms today due to rising reliance on Internet to consume culture. The concept of hallyu is a deliberate tactic to reveal Korean cultural trends to the rest of the world. Not only is this vital to the shifting of perceptions of Korea, it is an example of how ideas, ideologies and cultural perceptions (masculinity being one of many) can be easily shared worldwide.
While it’s evident that perceptions of masculinity are vastly different across the world, it’s hard to argue that one culture’s…
The fluidity of masculinity represented in K-pop is possibly one of the most mind-boggling aspects to the western audience. As Monica and previous commenters have mentioned, the rugged and muscular western standard of masculinity does not completely apply in the K-pop scene or in East Asia at large. The Big Bang example is relatively more aligned to western standards with their emphasis on muscular bodies, but their heavy use of makeup would be off-setting. I agree with Monica’s point that the different beauty standards of western cultures bring unfair prejudice and emasculation to Korean men, and I’d like to shine light on potential factors to this wide range of masculine figures.
Roots of beauty standards often trace back to social…
Hi Monica!
I really appreciate how you’ve introduced the different types of masculinity that can be essentially found in K-pop but also how you made a clear comparison between the two cultures. I personally would definitely agree with how the term “hegemonic masculinity” can be referred to different meanings when applied to different cultures. The differences in the idea of masculinity highlights how much of our identity is being constructed through what is considered the norm. In Korea, feminized masculinity among K- pop artists have definitely impacted on the ways in which normal Koreans would portray themselves. When looking at Shinee’s “Hello Hello” as mentioned above, they can be seen as leaning towards the feminine side when being compared to…
Hey Monica!
It is blatantly obvious that there is a transnational difference in norms when it comes to masculinity. Here in North America, we are still following a certain traditional (quite possibly toxic) criteria that define what it takes to be a man. Men shouldn't cry or disclose their emotions, men should be strong and muscular, the man should take care of the woman, and unfortunately, the list goes on. There is a major hurdle to overcome here and as long as society keeps thinking and acting in this manner, the issue won't go away. I challenge you guys to come up with some ideas that we as a society could do to reconstruct the definition of masculinity.
Korea has…