Amber Liu, K-Pop Tomboy

Reshaping Femininity in Mainstream K-Pop

Bibliographic Data

ID7534722
AuthorsPaola Laforgia (Universidad de Londres, corresponding author), Keith Howard (0000-0002-3892-4685, Universidad de Londres)
Year2017
Issue29
Publication date2017-08-31
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueKritika Kultura (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1656-152X • E-ISSN: 2094-6937
PublisherAteneo de Manila University (PUBLISHER • PH)
DOI10.13185/kk2017.02910
OpenAlexW2751677676
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited13

South Korean mainstream pop music, known simply as K-Pop, has become such a huge phenomenon in recent years that it is playing a decisive role in reshaping Korean culture and identity. Indeed, the K-Pop phenomenon is much more than just something musical, intertwining a complexity of sound, performance, ethnicity and gender. A contextual analysis needs therefore to take all these elements into consideration. This paper aims to show how K-Pop plays a crucial role in promoting ideologies, and defining gender roles. It does so by analyzing the music and image of the Taiwanese-American originating singer Amber Liu. Liu goes against the standard gender identification and behavior that Korean society imposes on women, and by doing so she can be said to represent a shift in the portrayal and performance of femininity through K-pop. But, how is her gender behavior tolerated, and to what extent is this a stage behavior required and promoted by her management company as a way to mark out difference

Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Ethnic group · Femininity · Identity (music · Ideology · Literature · Mainstream · Media studies · Musical · Phenomenon · Political science · Politics · Popular music · Sociology · Anthropology · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Gender Studies · History · Law · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy · Philosophy