I didn’t get to show his video today in my presentation, but this is a video from 2NE1, girl group produced under Big 3 label YG Entertainment. The song is called Can’t Nobody, and the aside from the funky outfits and catchy backbeat, the lyrics are really interesting. This song was released in both Korean and English and this is the English version.
This next video is the one that I showed with the three guys dressed as girls. The show is called Star Dance Battle (google it with english subs if you want to see more) and the boys are from three different male K-Pop groups (Dongho is from U-KISS, Sungjong is from INFINITE, and Dongjun is from Z:EA). They are parodying a girl group called Orange Caramel, and have named themselves “Milk Caramel.” The song they are performing is called “Magic Boy” (parody of Orange Caramel’s “Magic Girl”).
Like I talked about in my presentation, there is mixed reviews when it comes to males dressing as women. Many agree that it’s entertaining and that these men are entertainers, others argue that by dressing up as women, they are challenging the gender binary and lowering themselves to the status of women, who are seen as less superior.
One guy that has gotten a lot of backlash because he often takes advantage of his feminine looks and dresses as a woman sometimes. Fans of his call him Cinderella, Hee-nim, Princess Heechul, and Flower because of his looks. Yet at the same time, he is a member of the all male group SUPER JUNIOR, and is considered to be one of the “manliest” amongst it’s members. Here are two videos of him. The first is of him at the Super Show 3 concert, dressed as Lady HeeHee, in his impersonation of Lady Gaga, along with several other SUPER JUNIOR members dressed as Beyonce circa ‘Single Ladies’ era. It’s a pretty funny video, and I will even admit that he has much better legs than I do.
The second is a video from the same concert. He is with lablemate Choi JInri (stage name: Sulli), and is dressed in a suit. He definitely falls into the flower boy category, but in my opinion, he’s just as manly as the next guy. Currently, he is nearing the end of his 2 year mandatory military service that is required by all men over 18 in S. Korea.