Pop, Girl Groups, Anime, Soap Operas: How East Asian Media’s Negative Portrayal of Women Shapes Adolescents’ View on Gender Equality and Self Image

Ziyi Lin

doi:10.54097/ehss.v18i.10961

Authors

Ziyi Lin

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/ehss.v18i.10961

Keywords:

East Asia, women portrayal, patriarchy, media, adolescent.

Abstract

Media has long been shaping people’s perspectives and media in the patriarchal world has been constructing a typical portrayal of what women ought to resemble. This study aims to reveal how media in East Asia has been shaping women and how it has been affecting teenagers. Through gathering findings from different articles, it is found that women are often sexualized and commercialized under the heavy male gaze, acting for men’s benefit, especially in East Asia where patriarchy had stuck along. With males dominating the industries and holding the wealth and power uniformly in most parts of the world, they have active control over their passive surroundings. Men choose what to represent according to their own standards and interests, injecting the male gaze onto all of the media they have touched upon. With its wide prevalence, people assimilate and subconsciously adopt the male gaze, which diminishes women. Adolescents can be strongly affected by this portrayal, such as encountering body dysmorphia, internalization of the male gaze, early attachment to pornography, etc.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Al-Sabti, D. A. Singh, A. V. and Jha, S. K. Impact of social media on society in a large and specific to teenagers. 6th International Conference on Reliability, Infocom Technologies and Optimization (Trends and Future Directions) (ICRITO), 2017: 663-667.

Monica, A., and Jiang, J. Teens, social media & technology 2018. Pew Research Center, May 31, 2018. Retrieved from www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/. Retrieved on April 1, 2023.

Mcneely, C., et al. The teen years explained: A guide to healthy adolescent development. Center for Adolescent Health. 2009. Retrieved from www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/center-for-adolescent-health/_docs/TTYE-Guide.pdf. Retrieved on April 1, 2023.

Kim, G., and Douglas, K. From factory girls to K-Pop idol girls: Cultural politics of developmentalism, patriarchy, and neoliberalism in South Korea’s popular music industry. Lexington Books, 2019.

Reysen, S., et al. Examination of anime content and associations between anime consumption, genre preferences, and ambivalent. Research Gate, August 30, 2017. Retrieved from www.researchgate.net/publication/319353190_Examination_of_Anime_Content_and_Associations_between_Anime_Consumption_Genre_Preferences_and_Ambivalent_Sexism. Retrieved on April 1, 2023.

Hirshey, G. We gotta get out of this place: The true, tough story of women in rock. Grove Press, 2002.

Frost, L. Theorizing the young woman in the Body. Body & Society, 2005, 11(1): 63–85.

Choi, S. Y. Gender, labor, and the commodification of intimacy in k-pop. University of California, Santa Barbara ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. 2020.

Hambleton, A. Women and sexual desire in the Japanese popular media. Women and the Media in Asia, 2012: 115–129.

Muhammad, A. A. Women stereotyoe in K-Pop girl groups songs. 2020. Retrieved from core.ac.uk/download/pdf/289220701.pdf. Retrieved on April 1, 2023.

Pavletich, A. Sirens of song: The popular female vocalist in America. Da Capo Press: New York. 1980: 105.

McRobbie, A. Young women and consumer culture: An intervention. Cultural Studies, 2008, 22(5): 544.

Butler, J. Performative acts and gender constitution: An essay in phenomenology and feminist theory. Theatre Journal, 1988, 40(4): 519–31.

Tumanov, V. Mary versus Eve: Paternal uncertainty and the Christian view of women. Neophilologus, 2011, 95: 507–521.

Christopher, R. and Cacilda, J. Sex at dawn. New York: Harper. 2010

Meston, C. M., et al. Ethnic and gender differences in sexuality: Variations in sexual behavior between Asian and non-Asian university students. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1996, 25(1): 33–72,

Jonas, L. Crafted for the male gaze: Gender discrimination in the K-Pop crafted for the male gaze: gender discrimination in the K-Pop industry. Journal of International Women’s Studies. 2022, 23(1): 2-18.

Shibuya, A., et al. Male and female game players’ preferences for game characters and real-world personalities in Japan. 2019. Retrieved from http://www.digra.org/wp-content/uploads/digital-library/DiGRA_2019_paper_218.pdf. Retrieved on April 1, 2023.

Achmad, Z., et al. The importance of parental control of teenagers in watching anime with Pornographic content on the internet. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 2018, 138.

Elfving-Hwang, J. K-Pop idols, artificial beauty and affective fan relationships in South Korea. Routledge Handbook of Celebrity Studies, March 5, 2018. Retrieved from www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315776774-12. Retrieved on April 1, 2023.

Our research. Dove US. N.d. Retrieved from www.dove.com/us/en/stories/about-dove/our-research.html#:~:text=Our%20global%20research%20has%20highlighted%20a%20universal%20issue%3A. Retrieved on March 29, 2023.

Sohn, S. Body image: Impacts of media channels on men's and women's social comparison process, and testing of involvement measurement. Atlantic Journal of Communication. 2009, 17: 19-35.