Multi-layered gender perception among young men

Choo, Jihyun | Seoul National University

ABSTRACT

This study explores lived experiences that cause differences among young men (19-34) to more precisely capture their perceptions of gender relations and specify the point of intervention. First, according to the LPA, young men’s perception of gender relations is classified into four types: request of conservatism, transformation, sameness, and acceptance of gender equality as a norm. Except for the conservative group, it is positive in correcting discrimination against women and expanding policies to change dominant masculinity. Second, such differences in perception are related to the following factors: attitudes toward meritocracy and gender relations influenced by social status, parents, homosociality, and the existence of peers or knowledge to share them. These results show that there is a limit to the approach of capturing young men’s understanding of gender, focusing on their attitude toward ‘feminism’. Also, the generation frame that emphasizes the power of digital capitalism or neoliberal order can miss the issue of gender inequality that feminists have pointed out in the family, peers, and labor processes.

KEYWORDS

youth generation, feminism, masculinities, homosociality

Journal of Korean Women's Studies, 2021, vol.37, no.4, pp. 155-193