K-pop soft masculinity and gender empowerment : a reception study among Hong Kong fans

Abstract

K-pop’s ascent to global preeminence has been evident in Hong Kong, exemplified by the prestigious MAMA Awards, a major K-pop ceremony that has been held there for seven consecutive years. Research has shown that the rising global popularity of male K-pop idols has sparked a cultural renegotiation of gender norms. Yet, the nuanced impact of this phenomenon on gender empowerment among Hong Kong youth remains underexplored. To bridge this gap, this study employs in-depth interviews with six young Hong Kong fans, aged 22 to 25, examining how informants interpret and engage with male K-pop idols’ masculinities within the context of Hong Kong’s prevailing masculine norms. As a counter-response to negative experiences with Hong Kong’s rigid hegemonic masculinity, informants developed an appreciation for K-pop soft masculinity. Detached from direct cultural proximity, the coined concept “K-pop Soft Masculinity” reflects fan-celebrated interpretations of idol masculinity, emphasizing male idols’ feminine appearances and gap moe (contradictory cuteness, ギャップ萌え) personas. These personas feature pronounced femininity supplemented by contrasting masculine traits; however, informants resist complete feminization and sexual objectification. Building upon this concept, this study explores the transformative potential of K-pop soft masculinity for gender empowerment among informants. Here, “Gender Empowerment” is defined as gaining strength, self-confidence, and deeper reflections on masculinities through their engagement with K-pop soft masculinity. Facing constraints from Hong Kong’s hegemonic masculinity, all informants recognized the potential of alternative masculinities through K-pop soft masculinity, reflecting an initial stage of awareness and reflection. Comparing female and male informant groups reveals that male informants more seamlessly and profoundly integrate K-pop soft masculinity into their daily life, due to their shared gender identity with male K-pop idols, indicating higher levels of behavioral change in gender empowerment. Furthermore, this study employs an intersectional lens to examine how personal factors shape the varied degrees of embracing K-pop soft masculinity within different gender groups. Female informants, influenced by their experiences with patriarchal authority—particularly paternal relationships—either adapt to patriarchy and thus feel discomfort with K-pop soft masculinity, or resist patriarchy and adopt K-pop soft masculinity as a potential tool for resistance. Male informants, influenced by social class, either encounter barriers imposed by higher-class expectations and possess access to broader gender-empowering resources beyond K-pop idols, or, as with an informant from a lower social class, utilize K-pop soft masculinity to affirm alternative gender expressions more freely and profoundly. Social constraints from idols themselves, mainstream K-pop fandom, and broader Hong Kong society further complicate informants’ adoption. By analyzing these narratives, this study illuminates individual agency in gender expressions within global pop culture and its interaction with local gender discourses. Despite constraints from individual identities and structural forces, fandom of male K-pop idols provides space for informants to reimagine and redefine ideal masculinity. Consequently, this study enriches discourses in masculinity studies, fan studies, and East Asian popular culture studies with original, timely, and empirical insights into cultural reception and identity formation processes within K-pop fandom, presenting possibilities for alternative masculinities empowered by male K-pop idols.