Today in fragile masculinity: Controversial ads fuel S.Korea's sexism debate

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

When is a sausage just a sausage? Controversial ads fuel S.Korea's sexism debate

This month three South Korean companies and the Seoul police have had to pull ads and other content after men's rights groups claimed that "small penis" symbols were used, insulting men.

The offending images? Hands with the thumbs and the index fingers pinching towards each other illustrating the reaching out for an object. But the gesture is also often used to indicate something small in size and in South Korea, it is associated with a strident, albeit now defunct, feminist group that used the image in its logo.

Exacerbating the problem, one ad and a menu involved were also advertising sausages.

Following its ad, South Korea's largest convenience store chain, GS25, saw a handful of members from the men's group "Man on Solidarity" protest outside the firm's headquarters. The group's YouTube channel, which posts videos of its protests, has gained more than 200,000 subscribers in just two months.

GS25 withdrew its ad and fried chicken chain Genesis BBQ pulled its menu, issuing apologies and stating they had no intention to demean men. Kakao Bank Corp has apologised for a hand drawn similarly in one of its ads and the Seoul Metropolitan police also removed a hand from a road traffic ad saying it wanted to avoid any misunderstanding.

The controversy is the latest flare-up in long-running tension over gender rights in South Korea that has pitted men and women's groups against each other and which has also resulted in police looking into whether female comedian Park Na-rae broke any laws with a ribald joke made in March.

The joke on a YouTube video involving a Stretch Armstrong action figure whose arms were brought near his genital area resulted in a storm of complaints that a similar joke by a male comedian would never have been acceptable.

Park, 35, and her agency JDB Entertainment issued statements apologising and her YouTube channel was scrapped. Police are obligated to look into the matter after a complaint was filed on a website set up to address citizens' grievances, though it remains unclear if charges will be filed.

Park and her agency did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on the potential police action.

Kim Garo, director of the women's policy division at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, said while the problems of misogyny and misandry were not new in South Korea, the recent targeting of companies and individuals was.

She said it was difficult for the government to interfere when protests took the form of consumer action but it would continue with outreach programmes that invited young men and women to discuss issues such as gender equality and jobs.

POLITICAL FALLOUT
When President Moon Jae-in came to power in 2017, he pledged to be a president for gender equality, vowing to do more to fix disadvantages for women in South Korea.

South Korea has one of the largest wage gaps of any OECD country and low political representation for women who hold just 19% of parliamentary seats. Since Moon, women have seen some improvement in wages and are also eligible for bigger government subsidies than men when starting a new business.

Political scientists say, however, many young men now feel their own needs and rights are not being sufficiently acknowledged, adding to widespread discontent over the lack of job opportunities for young people.

"Anti-feminist sentiment is strong among men in their 20s and early 30s, as well as the generation that is becoming adults," said Jeong Han-wool, a senior fellow at Hankook Research Company. Research for a 2019 book he co-authored found 58.6% of Korean men in their 20s said they strongly opposed feminism.

That complicates the outlook for the ruling Democratic Party as it seeks re-election next year when Moon's single five-year term ends.

The party has also lost support among women after multiple sexual abuse scandals involving politicians, contributing to crushing defeats in recent mayoral elections for Seoul and the port of Busan.

Park Jun-young, a 27-year old engineering graduate school student, says he is among those who think men are now at a disadvantage.

"Feminism in South Korea started with gender equality, allowing women the same access and to break the glass ceiling, but it's turned into something where the nowadays young men - who aren't better off than women the same age - have become a target of criticism," he said.




Response by (probably) the designer of the GS25 poster

1/ Person claiming to be the GS25 designer of the poster said to be misandrist speaks out on GS25 page of Blind, an anonymous app for verified employees.

Says she's a married working mom, apologises for inconvenience/misunderstanding, and that there was zero male-hate intent. https://t.co/9kA5yanReR pic.twitter.com/PX92ktCTno

— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) May 9, 2021

I recommend reading the whole thread, but it's basically (most likely) the designer of the poster apologizing and explaining why she designed the original poster the way she did. Her explanation does not only focus on the hand sign, but also other elements of the poster that men's rights groups considered 'misandry'. She is now being investigated by management.

Update: consequences for the involved employees

Chosun Biz reports that the GS25 designer who made the alleged "small penis" promo post representing "male hate" has been disciplined, the marketing team leader dismissed. GS Retail pres Cho Yoon-sung who heads GS25 convenience stores will also step down.https://t.co/CsNXnJmhAf

— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) May 31, 2021

Other 'misandrist' posters

This madness just won't stop. It's now Seoul E-Land FC's turn to profusely apologise for a promo image some clained represented misandry and the now infamous "small penis size" 🤏 hand. Stresses the design was made by a *man* and that all E-Land PR/marketing peeps are *men*. https://t.co/0qmlNEziZM pic.twitter.com/CbYk9lPVsJ

— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) May 30, 2021

Seriously??? This is going way too far... People getting angry at Brave Girls and promo for GS25 really need to get themselves checked. https://t.co/h3v41JpJQU pic.twitter.com/m7V1ZuckSz

— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) May 7, 2021

WTF??? It's now BBQ Chicken that's apologising for inadvertently using the apparently offensive misandrist small penis Megalia hand on its menu of a hand picking up a rice cake.

All these apologies only reinforce and confirm men's belief that 🤏 is like some Nazi symbol. Insane! https://t.co/F5gP9vcFFF pic.twitter.com/quGR1XraAW

— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) May 7, 2021

Soon in Korea, you won't be able to hold chopsticks anymore without being accused of being misandrist.

Netizens are obviously also taking the piss out of this "controversy" which fuels headlines which further fuel the conspiracy.

Most media just accept "🤏 = male hate" https://t.co/qJTZQyXn7B pic.twitter.com/1HwFMSHcST

— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) May 8, 2021

I'm dying. Kyochon Chicken has deleted social media posts showing *hands* that some think suggests a small penis size which some claim symbolises radical feminism and misandry.

I. just. can't. https://t.co/qJTZQyXn7B pic.twitter.com/uHIVxzMiKe

— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) May 7, 2021

Source: Reuters, image by Reuters/Kim Jong-ji | tweets by Raphael Rashid/koryodynasty on Twitter: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

edit: I added the image - I linked it but forgot to include it in the post lol.
edit2: added a tweet with an update: the designer of the poster disciplined, + marketing team leader dismissed, GS retail president will step down

Comments

[daynr.livejournal.com]

I am not Korean or in Korea so I am struggling to not completely dismiss all the complaints as utterly ridiculous (and like, maybe mock them for clearly protesting too much over what appears to be some male self-consciousness over their own sizes) but I just cannot take seriously the claim that young men are not any better off than woman .... plus they're being criticized. That statement just does not pass the laugh test for me, for probably any society currently existing in the world.

This was very interesting OP, thank you.

[lechuza-yoya.livejournal.com]

this was very interesting, and I do feel for every woman who has to deal with this men.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

Men are so fragile

[frequency.livejournal.com]

the fact that they're claiming all of those ads mentioned are representing misandry is both ridiculous and sad tbh

[chikage-chan.livejournal.com]

[froggster.livejournal.com]

People lost their job over this???!