Why Rising Girl Groups in K-Pop Contribute to Decreasing Gender EqualityEpstein’s focus on how national identity is reshaped by Korean pop culture, coupled with Turnbull’s passion on Korean feminism and sexuality allow them to dive deep into the effects of rising popularity in K-pop girl groups. They argue that despite newfound attention to women in the music industry, which may give way to female empowerment and equality, much of how they are portrayed showcase gender roles of inferiority “that sustain gender discrimination by reinforcing the cultural logic of consumer capitalism” (Epstein and Turnbull 2014: 318). Through analyzing the music videos and lyrics of T-ara’s discography, I concur that they commonly allude to a power imbalance between the male and female entities, exemplifying Epstein and Turnbull’s argument.
In T-ara’s “I Know the Feeling”, the lyrics show their efforts in attaining their crush’s attention: “I try to look pretty by putting on makeup I put on the clothes you liked and came out To look better, I even cut my long straight hair short” By focusing on the physical aspects that women can change, it emphasizes outward appearance as more crucial than inner qualities when appealing to men, an idea T-ara is disseminating to female fans through their music. As for T-ara’s music video for “So Crazy”, the group members work for soldiers in the Navy that pay no attention to them. The men start to notice them however, when a pageant style contest is held and the soldiers become the judges. The pursuit is in the power of men in this case because it is reliant on whether they notice the women, demonstrating the traditional power dynamic of women awaiting men to make the first move in fear of being viewed as too assertive. Despite the rise in girl group popularity, elements pulled from T-ara’s lyrics and music videos serve as examples for Epstein and Turnbull’s argument of further disempowerment and inequality in genders. With a large following of both male and female fans, the role that T-ara and other girl groups commonly portray in their music is largely incongruent with the nation’s attempts in trying to adopt an egalitarian ideology. |
AuthorClara
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Reference
Epstein, Stephen and James Turnbull. “Girls’ Generation? Gender, (Dis)Empowerment and K-Pop.” The Korean Popular Culture Reader, edited by Kyung Hyun Kim and Youngmin Choe. 315-35. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2014.
MBK Entertainment. “T-ARA[티아라] ‘완전 미쳤네 [So Crazy]’ M/V”. YouTube video, 6:13. Posted August 13, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maSoUetHock
“T-ara – I Know the Feeling (느낌 아니까).” Color Coded Lyrics.
https://colorcodedlyrics.com/2013/10/t-ara-i-know-the-feeling-neuggim-anigga (accessed 12/08/2018).
MBK Entertainment. “T-ARA[티아라] ‘완전 미쳤네 [So Crazy]’ M/V”. YouTube video, 6:13. Posted August 13, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maSoUetHock
“T-ara – I Know the Feeling (느낌 아니까).” Color Coded Lyrics.
https://colorcodedlyrics.com/2013/10/t-ara-i-know-the-feeling-neuggim-anigga (accessed 12/08/2018).