A colleague shot over an article my way recently discussing
something near and dear to my heart: Korean beauty standards.
In a brief summary, the article by Epstein and Joo discusses the expectations
of women in Korean media to maintain a beautiful, slim pair of legs, and for
men to keep up a bulky, muscular physique with a six-pack as the seemingly
standard measure of male beauty. The author traces the growth of the trend over
the last ten years as Korea has really captured the world's attention and
continues to face mounting pressure on the world stage to maintain expectations
of exported South Korean beauty. They also discuss possible causes and shifts
beyond simply the extra attention
Quite a long article, but interesting. I've noticed a lot of
the same tendencies and shifts, having had awareness of Korea and what-not for
about 6 years. The pressures that men are put under to conform to these ideals
is often understated and quite often understated or overlooked entirely- it all
goes back to that false concept of 'effortlessness' in its creation, and
ambivalence towards its reception.
"The men
convey the impression that posing before their reflections offers them visceral
pleasure and that they care little whether they are being observed but will
accept admiration as natural and deserved. Unlike the representations of female
pop-stars, manhood, it seems, doesn’t require an external gaze, just self-satisfied
awareness of physical prowess."
You see, while women seem to typically be lauded for their
efforts in losing weight or growing more attractive, for men, the expectation
is that it comes as naturally and easily as possible,
"The
current popularity of the built male body highlights essential differences
between male and female physiques, and demonstrates the seemingly natural
strength of men over women."
and often any acknowledgement of the efforts that men take
are looked upon as both unseemly and as a betrayal. The whole idea of make-up
is a very real microcosm of this dichotomy- whereas everyone encourages and
demands women paint themselves silly with all varieties of products, male
celebrities seem incapable of discussing their own extensive use of the
products despite the obviousness of it in all of their public appearances.
As always, this trickles down into the masses as well. There
has been a greater push for men to conform to beauty standards than ever and it
is no longer considered unusual for men- straight men, even, GOD FORBID- to
wear make-up in preparation for interviews, photography sessions, or even
weddings. After attending three different 'Gangnam style' (shudder) weddings, I
saw that not only did the bride plaster herself up every whitening substance
available, the men did as well- and even the father of the bride wore visible
makeup at one of the weddings, matched right along with his Gucci tuxedo.
The standards discussed in the article are, as always, an
example of the complex relationship between media presentations and the society
that both worships and produces them. In gay culture, this is even more true
because typically competition among gay male populations is ever more intense-
not to mention the dangerous and mentally damaging idea that a man should get
all of the gay out of his system in the course of his early twenties before he
takes up his duty and marries a woman (a philosophy that was, and is, often
condescendingly explained to me by gay Koreans I speak to).
After spending an (unfortunately) extensive time right in
the middle of the gay culture of Seoul, this strange dichotomy of women's legs
and men's abs was reflected clearly across the lines of sexual positions (성향, 'tendency' as discussed in a previous post).
Whereas the top, or penetrator, followed Korean cultural norms of needing a
six-pack, bulging muscles and all the rest, bottoms had different expectations-
pretty, often make-up plastered faces, slender and feminine figures accented by
incredibly tight clothing, dyed hair, colored contacts, and often minor plastic
surgery, usually paid for by an older boyfriend.
Many people currently aware or participating in the 'scene'
may disagree, but I stand by those observations, especially having spent
extensive time outside of the notorious Itaewon and venturing into the 'old
city' where streets are lined by bars secretly catering to gays and hold, to
this day, underground gay host bars where young, possibly homeless male
prostitutes sell themselves to older, often married men.
Of course, among younger (and less desperate) generations,
the lines blur, but anyone who spends a night out climbing the infamous 'Homo
Hill' of Itaewon will see, if they look carefully, the exact picture I've
painted here. As the pressure on the gay community lessens and minds across
society slowly open up, however, I predict this dichotomy between 성향 will continue to slowly erode as men of all shapes and
sizes grow a little more comfortable in their own skin.
That said, though, just as in America articles like "Why The Gays Hate Their Bodies" are still regularly coming out, I certainly do not predict or expect all
societal pressures for the male body to disappear. I imagine that over time the
pressures will continue to mount and more and more men- straight or gay, top
and bottom- will only be more likely to hate their bodies and struggle to
conform to those impossible-to-attain physical standards as established by the
media.
Though I did enjoy the article, I also really question
whether or not growing displays of the male physique is the result of an
increasingly active base of sexually-hungry female consumers.
"In
presenting such images, however, men are also now reminded that they have to
“work harder” to sell themselves as commodities to women who are postponing
marriage or foregoing it altogether in greater numbers: the muscularity can
suggest a position of both strength and vulnerability."
While I suppose it is one theory, something about it just
rubs me the wrong way, but perhaps that is just the rainbow glasses fogging my
worldview. Anyone else in the world have a thought or opinion?
-Enzo
References:
Stephen J. Epstein and Rachael M. Joo, "Multiple Exposures: Korean Bodies and the Transnational Imagination," The Asia-Pacific Journal, Volume 10, Issue 33, No. 1, August 13, 2012.
HommeMaker, Why the Gays Hate Their Bodies, http://hommemaker.com/2012/08/20/why-the-gays-hate-their-bodies/
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