Volume 3,Issue 8
Exoticized Femininity in Transition: The Construction and Re-Sexualization of South Korean Girl Groups
This paper explores the transformation of East Asian female idols in the global popular culture, focusing on the shifting aesthetics in K-pop—from the “cute” and “sexy” concepts of the early 2000s to the emergence of the “girl-crush” persona and its hybridized global image in groups like Blackpink. While these shifts are often celebrated as a move toward empowerment, they frequently mask the underlying patriarchal structures of the K-pop industry, which continues to exert control through disciplinary regimes and commodified Orientalism. By synthesizing existing literature, industry analyses, and media texts, the paper argues that these aesthetic changes do not represent a linear progression toward liberation, but instead reflect the adaptive repackaging of femininity within neoliberal capitalism. The global commodification of idols continues to be shaped by the intersections of gender, race, and Orientalist consumption, amplified by digital platforms and algorithmic economies. The paper concludes by highlighting how empowerment discourses in K-pop remain constrained by the industry’s structural and market-driven imperatives, emphasizing that visibility does not equate to liberation.
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