Clik here to view.
벅찬년 and Slut-Bitches: Feminization as a Slur in the Korean Gay Community
(Source: Zeeto) Like a lot of people, I don’t feel particularly comfortable being labelled. Once a label is stuck on you, separating it from your identity is like trying to scrape a price sticker from...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Uee Drinks Soju, Isn’t a Virgin, Likes Sex: Was This Korea’s First...
(Source: Celebrity Republic) A request from a reader: Hello Grand Narrative readers! I’m reaching out for some help for a research project I’m working on about female empowerment trends in Korea...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Where Can You Find Spermicide and The Sponge in Korea??
(“Thought I’d liven up one of the rooms at the OBGYN.” Source: Reddit) A request for help from a reader, edited for anonymity. Thanks in advance to anyone that can give her any assistance: ******…I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Two Must-Listens About Korean Popular Culture
(Source: The Korea Society) First up, I wouldn’t usually make an announcement about an event in far-off New York, but I have no hesitation in making an exception for friend and fellow Korean Popular...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Korean Sociological Image #90: Watch Out For Those Italian Men…
Two back-to-back YouTube commercials for SK Telecom’s “T Roaming” Service, which have a blatant double standard: In the first, actor Son Ho-jun freaks out when his girlfriend tells him she’s going on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Busan Drag Prom This Saturday!
See the Facebook event page or community page for the details (English and Korean). All proceeds to go to ISHAP, an amazing human rights group who provide anonymous and free HIV, AIDS and STI testing;...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“She Accused Me With Her Eyes”: The Sexual Politics of Skirt Length on Korean...
Remember this picture from a Seoul subway escalator, from last year? (Source: 허지은@limpidlimpid) For those of you who can’t read Korean, the text in the center image read “Please cover your skirt.”...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Korean Sociological Image #91: Shameless Hussy Corrupts Korean Youth
With the decriminalization of adultery in February, Koreans seem more open about sex than ever before. But advertisers are slow to challenge traditional gender roles. That Korean youth would include my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Calling all Korean-Western Couples!
(Source, edited: ufunk) I’ve been asked to pass on the following by Dr. Daniel Nehring, a British sociology lecturer: My project looks at the experiences of Korean-Western couples currently living in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Korean Sociological Image #92: Patriotic Marketing Through Sexual...
Join with me please, in bursting out laughing at the caption to this image on the Chosun Ilbo website… Models pose with the taegeukgi or national flag in front of the Lotte World Tower in Seoul on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Turning Boys Into Men? Girl-groups and the Performance of Gender for South...
(Sources: Left, Big Forehead Kisses; Right, 병무청 Twitter. The heading reads, “Thank you for choosing [to join] the military [early],” the subheading, “You are Korea’s real men.”) What could be more...
View ArticleClik here to view.
(Still) Empowering Korean Women: Over-the-counter contraceptive pills
Increased access to the pill in the US provides a reminder of how good it’s always been in South Korea. (Source: YouTube) Have you heard? Women in Oregon can get hormonal contraceptives directly from...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Women Are Voting With Their Vaginas”
(Source: HanCinema) Just a quick quote of mine from Fabian Kretschmer’s article for the German Taz newspaper, about Seoul’s very cool, very inclusive, very female-friendly sex-toy shop Pleasure Lab....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chinese Eunuchs Confuse Me
What role do Neo-Confucian notions of the “life force” (ki) play in buttressing modern Korean patriarchy? (Warm Nest by Eugenia Loli; CC BY-NC 2.0) Many years ago,Taeyeon Kim’s “Neo-Confucian Body...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Korean Lolita Nationalism: It’s a thing, and this is how it works
Turning Boys Into Men? The Performance of Gender for South Korean Conscripts, Part 3 Once upon a time, it would have been considered strange, even shocking to have a 16 year-old girl do a “sexy dance”...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Morning-after Pill Remains Prescription Only
In the continued financial stand-off between doctors and pharmacists, Korean women’s health and sexual freedom remain a low priority. (Source: withhyunbin; CC BY-NC 2.0) Remember back in 2012, when the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Watching SPICA’s “Tonight” is an Awesome Teaching Moment About the Male Gaze....
Tonight has been interpreted as an uplifting, carefree song about female friendship, maybe even about a lesbian awakening. So why is the MV soo male-gazey? (All screenshot sources: Youtube)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Watching SPICA’s “Tonight” is an Awesome Teaching Moment About the Male Gaze....
(Source: Unknown) “The thing is, it’s patriarchy that says men are stupid and monolithic and unchanging and incapable. It’s patriarchy that says men have animalistic instincts and just can’t stop...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Watching SPICA’s “Tonight” is an Awesome Teaching Moment About the Male Gaze....
Tonight is a strikingly sensuous MV about a time of freedom and female friendship. But to what extent is it undermined or enhanced by its many erotic moments? To what extent are those just plain sexual...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Radio Interview on Korean Feminism and the Media, Tonight at 7:30
At 7:30 tonight, I’ll be briefly appearing on Inside Out Busan at Busan e-FM, to talk about Korean feminism and the media. Please tune in if you can, and feel free to ask me here to expand upon or...
View Article