Conceptually Androgynous
Umeå Center for Gender Studies Conceptually androgynous The production and commodification of gender in Korean pop music Petter Almqvist-Ingersoll Master Thesis in Gender Studies Spring 2019 Thesis supervisor: Johanna Overud, Ph. D. ABSTRACT Stemming from a recent surge in articles related to Korean masculinities, and based in a feminist and queer Marxist theoretical framework, this paper asks how gender, with a specific focus on what is referred to as soft masculinity, is constructed through K-pop performances, as well as what power structures are in play. By reading studies on pan-Asian masculinities and gender performativity - taking into account such factors as talnori and kkonminam, and investigating conceptual terms flower boy, aegyo, and girl crush - it forms a baseline for a qualitative research project. By conducting qualitative interviews with Swedish K-pop fans and performing semiotic analysis of K-pop music videos, the thesis finds that although K-pop masculinities are perceived as feminine to a foreign audience, they are still heavily rooted in a heteronormative framework. Furthermore, in investigating the production of gender performativity in K-pop, it finds that neoliberal commercialism holds an assertive grip over these productions and are thus able to dictate ‘conceptualizations’ of gender and project identities that are specifically tailored to attract certain audiences. Lastly, the study shows that these practices are sold under an umbrella of ‘loyalty’ in which fans are incentivized to consume in order to show support for their idols – in which the concept of desire plays a significant role. Keywords: Gender, masculinity, commercialism, queer, Marxism Contents Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................
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