Catering to the Female Gaze: The Semiotics of Masculinity in Korean Advertising

Roald Maliangkay (Australian National University)

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the styling of Korean male celebrities has changed dramatically. While until the early 1990s, the popular hero in movies and dramas could still be characterized as a tough no-nonsense guy who spoke with his fists and loved the simpler things in life, his appearance since then has become considerably more refined and fashionable, his words more articulate, and his interests more sophisticated. In advertising, and in particular for cosmetics, this arguably more effeminate type of man is prevalent. The fact that many Korean men have begun to emulate the new aesthetic could be an indication that traditional gender roles are changing. This study looks at the reasons behind the emergence of the new ideal; and by applying Baudrillard’s object value system, it analyses what it means for both men and women. Keywords: aesthetic, advertising, kkonminam, Baudrillard, masculinity, effeminacy, cosmetics, South Korea

44 Roald Maliangkay

Introduction

Often for no other reason than to attract the male gaze and redirect it toward a product or service, attractive women have long dominated advertising space: myriad ads feature them staring seductively into the camera, while others feature their faceless bodies in sexy poses. When a celebrity is shown lying across a billboard in a revealing dress, her public personality may make it harder for consumers to fantasize about this image, but she is not merely presenting herself as the prize for taking the ad’s advice. The worn-out idea that pushes an ideal image of beauty for women is ultimately a commercial one1; and it relies on the premise that a seductive woman can challenge men to show they are worthy not just of her, or someone like her, but also of that which she represents, by buying the product she is shown to endorse. Such ads suggest either that the product relates to a lifestyle that attracts women like her, or that it transforms the consumer into a woman as attractive to men as she is. In South Korea (hereafter Korea), however, these days, the roles have been somewhat reversed. Perhaps inspired by the notion that most shoppers are, in fact, female, a large number of posters and billboards now offer male celebrities to swoon over. As with female models, the men are often just there for their looks, to attract the female gaze and redirect it toward a product or service. Women’s cosmetics, and even a line of bras, are now widely advertised by male models. The images tell women that if they buy the product, they are buying something that the model endorses—and it tells men that this is the look that women want. The message to women is that if they buy the product the celebrity will approve of their good taste and perhaps even feel attracted to them. Who knows, it might even be him who one day helps her take off that bra.

Naomi Wolf surmises that the increased focus on their looks is likely to “hurt” men more than women because they are “more conditioned to be separate from their bodies.” 2 But you don’t hear Korean men complaining about women’s growing obsession over men’s looks or with their commodification. At least not yet—which may be partly because the change has been both radical and recent. In Korea in the early 1990s, the relatively small number of male celebrities used in advertising were actors, performing roles as on-screen characters who conformed to a

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long-prevalent ideal of masculinity characterized by worn knuckles from labor or battle. They sported a brawny get-up-and-go look, wore non- descript dark-colored comfort wear, and revealed their true emotions only to the criminals they beat up on screen.3 The 1997 economic crisis put a serious dent in his macho i