“Korean Women All Make Bad Wives”: Misogyny and Nationalism in Online Discourses Promoting Interracial Relationships Between Korean Men and White Women
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
South Korea, which has, for a long time, prided itself as a mono-racial nation, is experiencing a significant shift in its demographic from racial homogeneity to multi-raciality. Such change is fueled by the rise in interracial relationships between Korean men and non-Korean women. In this article, I address the question: How are Korean masculinity and national identity reconceptualized through interracial relationships? I build on feminist theories on race and eroticism to critically examine the YouTube videos uploaded by couples comprised of Korean men and white women. These videos garner hundreds of thousands of views and become spaces of lively debate about issues of masculinity, nationalism, and femininity. I argue that the viewer responses to the videos mobilize misogynistic binaries that pit supposedly problematic Korean women against the supposedly ideal white women. I demonstrate how misogyny in Korea is being rearticulated to conform to the nation’s demographic shift.
期刊介绍:
Men and Masculinities presents peer-reviewed empirical and theoretical scholarship grounded in the most current theoretical perspectives within gender studies, including feminism, queer theory and multiculturalism. Using diverse methodologies, Men and Masculinities"s articles explore the evolving roles and perceptions of men across society. Complementing existing publications on women"s studies and gay and lesbian studies, Men and Masculinities helps complete the spectrum of research on gender. The journal gives scholars interested in gender vital, balanced information on the burgeoning - and often misunderstood - field of masculinities studies.