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Good morning all! I'm here to try and distract you from your stress. Part 5 of the Ninety One Series is live:
Main site: https://91series.com/part-5-the-loyalties-of-little-fresh-meat
Medium: https://jessicadoyle.medium.com/ninety-one-series-part-5-the-loyalties-of-little-fresh-meat-5c2ac8401a1a 1/
Main site: https://91series.com/part-5-the-loyalties-of-little-fresh-meat
Medium: https://jessicadoyle.medium.com/ninety-one-series-part-5-the-loyalties-of-little-fresh-meat-5c2ac8401a1a 1/
So this one is about different presentations of masculinity in idol pop, or why Korean male groups usually wear more visible makeup than Western male groups, and why Ninety One spent their first year as an active group having to defend themselves from violent haters. 2/
Which is to say, there's a lot going on. So in this thread I'm going to, one, highlight some differences between Korean and Kazakhstani idol pop, and two, point you to deeper sources so you're not constrained by my relatively simple narrative. 3/
One of my arguments in today's essay is that, for historical reasons, Korea offers a little more room for male idol groups in particular to play around with gender presentation than Kazakhstan does. Let me show you what I mean first and then get you to the scholars. 4/
For example, it's common for Korean male idols to do "girl group dances" on variety shows. Usually this is played for laughs, but not always.
If you watch this video all the way through, you'll see a range of responses, from embarrassed to COMMITTED. 5/
If you watch this video all the way through, you'll see a range of responses, from embarrassed to COMMITTED. 5/
(That's a group called Infinite, by the way. Infinite is my favorite Korean group of all time. Infinite is going to appear in this thread a lot. These two facts are related.)
Male idols in Korea may also get asked to do, or choose to do, special stages in drag. 6/
Male idols in Korea may also get asked to do, or choose to do, special stages in drag. 6/
So here's a famous example: a 2014 performance which starts with Girls Day performing to their hit, "Something," and then gives way to a quartet of male idols from four different groups taking over as "Boys Day." 7/
Another famous example, from 2011. (Infinite again.)
Your first stop on the People Who Know This Stuff Better than I Do tour is @OhChuyun, who cowrote a third of a paper about this performance alone, bless her forever. 8/
Your first stop on the People Who Know This Stuff Better than I Do tour is @OhChuyun, who cowrote a third of a paper about this performance alone, bless her forever. 8/
Here's her Google Scholar page: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QjpMMXIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
and here's a link to the paper in question (co-written with David C. Oh): https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20173077987
This Infinite performance () is not in the paper, but oh I wish it was. 9/
and here's a link to the paper in question (co-written with David C. Oh): https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20173077987
This Infinite performance () is not in the paper, but oh I wish it was. 9/
By the way, I talked back in Part 2 about how useful the short, casual "Bangtan Bombs" were to BTS's building its fandom. Quite a few of those early Bangtan Bombs involved BTS doing girl group dances. Example: 10/
Therefore your next stop is @TheKpopProf, who writes a lot about BTS in particular, and has lectured about the role of the military in "masculinizing" Korean men, including idols: https://twitter.com/TheKpopProf/status/1318711915376480261 11/
Now a resource I've mentioned before: @KDDK and her bibliographical work for @kpop_kollective. It includes sections on gender and sexuality ( https://kpopkollective.com/2014/12/18/for-your-reading-pleasure-a-hallyu-bibliography-part-5-gender-and-sexuality/) and on "Winter Sonata," the K-drama super-popular in Japan ( https://kpopkollective.com/2017/10/20/for-your-reading-pleasure-a-hallyu-bibliography-part-11-winter-sonata/). 12/
And finally, I think I told you to go check out @JamesTurnbull in the last thread, but if I forgot, do it now. He's been writing on issues of gender and sexuality in Korea for over a decade, and he also frequently translates Korean writers. https://thegrandnarrative.com 13/
Okay. So. If you've been reading you know that Korean idol pop inspired Ninety One and other Kazakhstani idol-pop groups. But very, very little of the stuff I've been talking about here--the jokey drag performances, the more serious drag performances--ported over. 14/
Part of this is because there just aren't that many female groups in Q-pop, so there are fewer opportunities to do girl group dances. But also: the range of acceptable deviations from traditional masculine presentation seems to be much smaller in Kazakhstan. 15/
Example: Here's a still from the new video for "Hikaya," by Mad Men, the most successful Q-pop group after Ninety One. You can see that Moora's wearing nail polish. 16/
In Western pop, nail polish on guys is a decades-old trick. But I've seen tweets from MadWaves (Mad Men fans) commenting specifically on how brave it is for Moora to wear nail polish, how that's Just Not Done in Kazakhstan. 17/
In general I have seen a lot less research on gender presentation in Kazakhstan, but @joannalillis's book, Dark Shadows, has a chapter on manifestations of violent homophobia.
(Note that later in the Ninety One Series I will be referencing Dark Shadows a great deal.) 18/
(Note that later in the Ninety One Series I will be referencing Dark Shadows a great deal.) 18/
So treat my analysis with much caution! There's a lot I can't speak on expertly--for example, how much homophobia in Kazakhstan is an ongoing thing and how much of it is Nazarbayev-led and would die out with a change in administration. 19/
This analysis https://oxussociety.org/the-avengers-vs-the-orcs-social-media-nuances-in-kyrgyzstans-almost-third-revolution/ by @OxusSociety is about neither homophobia nor Kazakhstan, but it is great, and it is exactly the kind of material I cannot bring to the table. So read me, but please do explore further. 20/
That's it from me. Thanks for reading along so far! Again, Part 5 is https://91series.com/part-5-the-loyalties-of-little-fresh-meat or https://jessicadoyle.medium.com/ninety-one-series-part-5-the-loyalties-of-little-fresh-meat-5c2ac8401a1a And remember, if this day/week/month is stressful, that Jang Dongwoo and his smile will be back from the military on the 15th. 21/end
