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Flowerboys and the appeal of 'soft masculinity' in South Korea
The British Broadcasting Corporation ^ | September 8, 2018

Posted on 09/09/2018 1:12:57 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

A man wearing make-up on the street may elicit unwelcome glares, questions about his masculinity and even his sexuality. But in South Korea, ideas about how to look good as a man are changing attitudes and influencing the world, as the BBC's Saira Asher reports.

When the BBC posted a video about the make-up routine of a 16-year-old YouTuber in Seoul on Facebook, the reactions ranged from intrigued to downright vitriolic.

Some assumed this meant he was gay, while others admonished him for his choice saying "real men don't wear make-up". There were, of course, those that argued for his freedom to live life however he pleased and against the "fragile masculinities" on show.

But Kim Seung-hwan is used to it. He says he's been called gay by some Koreans online for as long as he's been doing make-up tutorials.

When asked about whether he thought he looked feminine after he put on make-up, he was confused by the question as if he had never even thought about it....

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; Business/Economy; Military/Veterans; Society; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: fashion; flowerboy; flowerboys; korea; kpop; makeup; man; masculinity; men; softmasculinity; southkorea
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Soi-boi’s on the march...


21 posted on 09/09/2018 7:26:48 AM PDT by rockrr ( Everything is different now...)
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To: Blue Jays

Parents have even been charged with crimes for allowing their kids to play like we used to every day.

In one case the kids were in the backyard!


22 posted on 09/09/2018 8:15:53 AM PDT by varyouga
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Time will tell if this is a fad, for now, or any sort of permanent cultural change.

My belief - As Koreans have become much more international, and will continue to do so, and in spite of the current popularity of young Korean music groups, I think international influences that are not in favor of normalizing makeup for men will prevail in Korea, not the other way around.


23 posted on 09/09/2018 11:40:45 AM PDT by Wuli
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To: Noumenon

“For Duty and Humanity!”

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

L


24 posted on 09/09/2018 11:54:38 AM PDT by Lurker (President Trump isn't our last chance. President Trump is THEIR last chance.)
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