Ulzzang

Ulzzangs: changing definitions of acceptable male behaviour
Y has delicate facial features and a slender body type. Y's dyed long-ish hair is impeccably styled and arranged before leaving the house, and Y makes sure never to leave the house without putting on circle lenses and some BB cream. Every night before sleeping, Y would have a personal grooming and skincare routine, applying faciallotions and toner to maintain a good complexion. Y is also interested in fashion and is knowledgeable about the most recent trends. Y enjoys shopping, and is prone to spending large amounts of money on clothes and accessories. Y is male, and he is heterosexual.

The concept of Hegemonic Masculinity was mentioned in lecture last week, as well as how femininity is in most cases culturally devalued ascompared to masculinity. Because masculinity is thought of as the dominant discourse and femininity as the subordinate, we see that in general women have to respond to masculinity while men are expected to avoid femininity. By this I mean that it is in most societies acceptable for women to imitate or behave like men, for example, appearance-wise by wearing pants and having short hair, or havinginterests in predominantly male fields such as sports. At the same time, it is generally not acceptable for men to behave like women, such as by having long hair and applying make-up, or by having interest in feminine topics such as shopping and grooming.

However, over the past few years, we can see this slowly changing with the emergence of the 'pretty boy' trend, as well as an increase inmetrosexuality, especially so in Asian countries like South Korea and Japan. Although the above-most description is an overgeneralization, it is true that there is an emerging trend towards pretty boys and males with interests in grooming and fashion, which tend to be stereotypically feminine interests. Furthermore, not only are there an increase in the number of such males, it is interesting to notethat not only are these males not being mocked or stigmatized for their feminine behaviour, but they are even experiencing an increase in popularity among females. This is especially so in Asian countries, such as South Korea and Japan, as can be seen from the thriving idol industries there. Many male idols today, as shown in dogs_eat_birds’s posthere, “have long hair, thick make-up and sometimessing high pitch songs”.

There is also a Korean craze over what is known as Ulzzang, or ‘best face’, in which 'good-looking' people take photos of themselves and post them online, gaining popularity and fans based on their looks. Although it is true that the majority of ulzzangs are girls, there exist a large number of male ulzzangs as well. The typical male ulzzang tends towards being a prettyboy rather than being ‘macho’, and the fact that these are the types of faces that are deemed by popularity as ‘good-looking’ or ‘best faces’, is a reflection of the perception of beauty among young adults in Asian cultures these days. Many of these ulzzangs are so popular as to even be of almost celebrity-like status, and some do eventually become celebrities.

As can be seen from the variousphotos below, these male ulzzangs are often very fashionable, often wearing clothes that are able to show off their slender bodies [A]. They have more delicate and sharp features with good complexions [B], and they also tend to have slightly long hair, overall giving a more effeminate appearance as compared to the stereotypical masculine man. Furthermore, they are not just effeminate in theirappearances, but also in their poses and body posture. In the photos we can see some of them pouting and making cute faces [C], or having body postures that come across as more submissive and docile rather than dominating and strong [D]. These male ulzzang are also not exempt from the beauty and make-up routines of female ulzzangs, although of course it is much more toned down, with at least circle...