The deployment of gender for masculine balance: analyzing multi-platform K-pop performances

ABSTRACT Using content analysis of a Korean pop (K-pop) idol’s performances on a range of media platforms, this article critically examines how and when hybrid masculinities are enacted to achieve what Kathryne Young calls “masculine balance.” K-pop stars appear on a variety of platforms—television appearances, photoshoots, music videos, and on-stage performances—where they perform hybrid masculinities by incorporating feminine, androgynous, queer, and/or masculine aesthetics or expressions. Through the strategic deployment of genders on different platforms, they construct masculine balance as an ideal gender performance that embodies both femininity or transgressiveness and hegemonic or hyper-masculinities. Taking G-Dragon’s performance as a case study, this article extends our understanding on hybrid masculinity and masculine balance by describing specific contexts where men deploy feminine, androgynous, and transgressive gender aesthetics and practices and by identifying strategic ways with which men reach masculine balance and reinforce gender inequality.