Gender performance within East Asian popular culture - with

focus on soft masculinity in Korean popular culture

Author: Roxanne Tan (2014)

Gender is a social construct and therefore a performance while anatomical sex is an indicator
which designates a person either as a man or woman. Gender is created through the repetition of
acts which are socially accepted as feminine or masculine and applicable to female-coded or
male-coded bodies respectively. Judith Butlers theory of gender performativity questions the
idea of the gendered body against its performance, pointing out that hegemonic heterosexuality
is itself a constant and repetitive effort to imitate its own idealizations[1]. She argues that the
concept of gender is in itself drag due to its repeated imitation of socially acceptable
conventions of femininity and masculinity. In relation to popular culture, questions of gender
often arise especially in celebrities who appear to blur the boundaries of gender. This essay
explores the portrayal of gender in East Asian popular culture, in particular the image of soft
masculinity[2] as portrayed by East Asian boy groups who stretch the boundaries of masculinity
by performing elastic masculinity when the situation requires them to. Examples such as boy
groups cross-dressing in East Asian popular culture will be used to demonstrate Butlers theory of
gender as performance.

Gender identity is unstable as it is constructed through performance that differs

according to culture. Butler maintains that gender has no pre-existing identity and is only
established through repeated stylization of bodily gestures and re-enactments. Gender identity is
culturally inscribed on the physical body of the male and female[3]. Gender performance is then
the act of imitating heterosexual hegemonic codes for the male and female-coded bodies. Butler
mentions that in imitating gender, drag implicitly reveals the imitative structure of gender
itself(Butler, 1990: 137). When a member of the opposite sex imitates the other gender through,
e.g. cross-dressing, the stability of gender is questioned and this can be seen as gender being a
performance that is naturalized over a period of time. The concept of masculinity and femininity
varies greatly in different cultures. In contemporary Western popular culture, Justin Bieber and
One Direction members have received comments in relation to their hairstyles and modes of
dress which are characterized as effeminate which is incongruous to the Western ideal
masculinity.

The image of soft masculinity is most often seen in East Asian boy groups which are usually a
stark contrast to British or American boy groups (Backstreet Boys, Nsync, Blue). Boy groups in
Japanese pop (J-pop), Korean pop (K-pop) and Mandarin pop (M-pop) have been successful
within the region of East Asia and Southeast Asia. The image portrayed by Justin Bieber and One
Direction appears to have fallen below the expectations of masculinity within the hegemonic
ideals of Western cultures but this image is consonant with the East Asian standards of
masculinity. Sun Jung (2009) believes that the phenomena of pretty flower boys, the term
originating from the Korean term kkot-mi-nam (, hua mei nan), comes from bishnen
characters of Japanese shjo manga. This, Jung maintains, is where the pan-East Asian soft
masculinity has emerged and is not a defining characteristic of masculinity in any specific East
Asian culture. She uses the term mu-kuk-jok (non-nationality) to argue that this type of
masculinity has been constructed though the hybridization of East Asian popular cultures and
claims that there are no defining national traits to these characters with neutral masculinity
(Jung, 2009). Their lack of a specific national identity makes them appealing to people of
different countries. Despite her argument of this phenomenon being attributed to the
popularization of shjo manga, she mentions that there could be an ideological influence which
is found in Confucian ideology. The ideology maintains the concept of an ideal man who
possesses a tender exterior and strong inner will [4]. Although the phenomenon of soft
masculinity can be traced back to the Confucian ideology, it is not necessarily a primary influence
in the presence of soft masculinity in East Asian popular culture. Jung points out SMAP a
Japanese boy group since 1988 to the present as the original model representation of East
Asian soft masculinity to explain how their concept of soft or neutral masculinity has been
repeatedly utilized and reproduced in boy groups across various East Asian countries (Jung,
2009). The following boy groups in Japan (Hey! Say! JUMP), Taiwan (Lollipop) and Korea
(B1A4) have witnessed the rise of a similar concept in the image they produce and perform as
entertainers. Jung cites Bae Yong-Joon (BYJ) in Winter Sonata (2002) as an example of soft
masculinity being performed through the adoption of sexually neutral images (Jung, 2010: 48).
By staying within the neutral space in between femininity and masculinity, BYJ would appear less
threatening while strength and stoicism where he could still lead as a man when he is required to.

Although it has been years since BYJs success in East Asia, the image of soft masculinity
continues to play a key role in the presentation of East Asian male celebrities. This could be
perhaps a performance being created to meet the desires of female fans within the region as they
find this neutral masculinity less threatening. John Storey points out that [the fear of male
violence] is contained by revealing it to be not the fearful thing it appears to be, either an illusion
or benign.[5] It can be argued that the commodification of soft masculinity in East Asian boy
groups has found its place in East Asian popular culture due to the less threatening image they
portray on screen.

In stark contrast to BYJ, Jung Ji-hoon (Rain) has had tremendous success with more
traditionally masculine image. His popularity expanded far beyond East Asia as he has built up
some presence in the United States pop culture. He played the main role in American film Ninja
Assassin (2009)[6] and appeared on The Colbert Report[7]. Rains popularity in East Asia could
be attributed to his role in the television series Full House (2004)[8] which portrayed him as a
masculine man who could be cute and caring at the same time. As described in this blog post:
Masculinity doesnt just mean looking tough; it can also mean protecting and caring for other
people.[9] Rain has become the first of a few K-pop artists to make it into the American market
and it is his muscular appeal that becomes a commodity that sets him apart from other East
Asian boy groups that emerged in the 1980-90s[10]. In year 2008, boy groups 2PM and 2AM
made their debut with a focus on the members muscular, well-toned physiques. Like Rain, they
were found under Park Jin-young (JYP) who believes that the duality of hypermasculinity and
softness can become highly marketable commodities[11]. Their hypermasculine image is often
contrasted on TV shows where they are requested to imitate girl group dances and perform aegyo
(to act cutely), requests that are frequently made of Korean boy groups in general. These men are
then required to reproduce this image as a form of commodity in order to satisfy the media and
female audience. The emergence of hypermasculine imageries does not pose them as more
threatening as their elastic masculinity calls to the forefront a gender performance on the part of
male performers. This form of masculinity can suggest a position of both strength and
vulnerability (Epstein and Joo, 2012: 6) as their performance of masculinity adjusts according to
the situation. Even with the emergence of such an image that is expected of most male
entertainers in East Asian popular culture, the desirable masculinity [12] perceived by young
Asian women is still very much similar to the image of soft masculinity or one that is more
versatile.

With focus on K-pop boy groups in particular, an attention should also be given to the
tendency of members being required to cross-dress and perform or parody girl group dances.
Usually, these parodies only require members to dress as girly as possible without having to
imitate female-coded bodies. Apart from being requested to perform girl group dances during TV
show appearances, they occasionally collaborate to perform a specific girl group dance by
performing a special stage. Cross-dressing and parodies as such are usually comical but may
occasionally be an aesthetic performance of perfecting that imitation. Drawing similarities to
Paris is Burning[13], the performance of drag in both cases are to imitate a gender which they
cannot perform in everyday life. In the film, cross-dressing in balls includes imitations of both
genders and as mentioned by Dorian Corey, this shows that they can carry out a gender
performance if they can imitate it. Recently, there has been a shift in this trend where boy group
members were called to perform as Boys Day parody of the girl group Girls Day as they
cross-dress and put on thick make-up for the performance[14]. In relation to these performances,
a recurring theme of cross-dressing is also found in East Asian media such as films, television
series, manga/manhwa (Hana Kimi, Ma Boy, Coffee Prince). This recurrent theme explores the
blurring of gender boundaries as a girl or boy may easily deceive people by cross-dressing as the
opposite sex. This indicates the performance of gender being heavily reliant on the physical
appearance and repeated enactments of bodily gestures which are set by social conventions.
Cross-dressing and parodies of girl group dances are meant for entertainment purposes and are
appropriated for desires of the fans. Although these examples show how gender is based on
performance through stylization and re-enactments, these performances of drag are not
acceptable off-stage.

Another aspect within East Asian popular culture is the use of make-up by young men,
especially in South Korea. A stringent skincare regime is no longer uncommon amongst young
men and there has been a rise in East Asian young men wearing basic make-up regularly[15]. Boy
group members usually have clear skin and often wear eyeliner to enhance their looks on-stage or
onscreen. This trend is becoming more common in many Asian countries and is blurring the lines
between metrosexuality and drag. While it is already acceptable for men to groom themselves,
make-up is still seen as a feminine performance in most societies and could be perceived as drag.
As seen in Patrick Bateman of American Psycho, metrosexuality is seen as a young man who goes
through series of skincare regimes and supplements to maintain his looks[16]but this does not
include the use of make-up. The rise of men wearing BB cream as a norm in East Asian culture
has been received positively; especially in South Korea where most people believe that good looks
are necessary[17]. The use of basic make-up is becoming a neutral gender performance though
heavy make-up is still strictly a feminine performance. This trend is also a performance that can
be naturalized through repetition although there are still boundaries where it is acceptable.

The popularity of K-pop within East Asian popular culture is bringing change to the
performance of masculinity, affecting not only the male performers within entertainment
industries but also young men in the region. The performance of masculinity has become elastic
within East Asian popular culture as young men or performers are expected to be able to perform
neutral masculinity even with hypermasculine bodies. While young men in East Asian popular
culture are pushing the boundaries of masculinity, there are restrictions between what is
acceptable and what is not. Butlers theory of gender performance can be seen in the changing
concepts of masculinity within East Asian popular culture yet, regardless of how versatile the
performance of masculinity can be, it is still inevitably underpinned by heterosexual hegemonic
ideals.

Reference:
[1] Judith Butler, Bodies That Matter, (Oxon: Routledge, 1993), p. 85

[2] Sun Jung, The Shared Imagination of Bishnen, Pan-East Asian Soft Masculinity: Reading
DBSK, Youtube.com and Transcultural New Media Consumption in Intersections: Gender and
Sexuality in Asian and the Pacific, 20, April 2009

[3] Judith Butler, Gender Trouble, (New York: Routledge, 1990), p. 136

[4] Sun Jung, Korean Masculinites and Transcultural Consumption: Yonsama, Rain, Oldboy,
K-Pop Idols, (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2010), p. 48

[5] John Storey, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction, 5thedition, (London:
Pearson, 2009), p. 143

[6]James McTeigue (dir.) Ninja Assassin(2009)

[7] Dramabeans (2007) Korea, calm down. Stephen Colbert doesnt hate Rain.

[8]Pyo Min-soo (dir.) Full House (2004) South Korea: KBS

[9] Boys of K-pop exploring aspects of Korean masculinity (2012) Rain: a globalized masculine
product.

[10] Stephen J. Epstein and Rachel M. Joo, (2012) Multiple Exposures: Korean Bodies and the
Transnational Imagination in The Asia Pacific Journal, 10 (33), p. 3

[11] Hyunjoon Shin, (2009) Have you ever seen the Rain? And wholl stop the Rain?: the
globalizing project of Korean pop (K-pop), Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 10 (4), p. 515

[12] Kam Louie, Popular Culture and Masculinity Ideals in East Asia, with Special Reference to
China in The Journal of Asian Studies, 71(04), p. 936

[13] Paris Is Burning (1990), dir. Jennie Livingston

[14] MBCkpop (2014) Boys Day (NUEST, BTOB, VIXX, AJAX) Something, Celebration 400th
Show Music Core

[15] Lucy Williamson (2012), South Korean men get the make-up habit in BBC News Magazine,
3 December

[16] Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho, (Picador, 10/12/2010), Ch.2

[17] Jonathan Coppage (2013), Plastic Surgery in South Korea Keeps People Grinning in The
American Conservative, 29 August