The Girl Crush Style in K-Pop: Feminist Empowerment or Patriarchal Reproduction Under Capitalist Logic

Qishu Liu

2025

Abstract

In recent years, the Girl Crush style, which is shown as powerful, confident, and edgy, has gained significant traction in K-pop. This article analyzes Girl Crush style to explore the integration and contradictions between the development of K-pop girl groups and the transmission of feminist ideas. The study finds that the empowerment associated with this style often remains superficial. While the girl crush image embodies confidence, strength, and rebellion, its core driving force remains the profit motives of the entertainment industry and the expectations of the traditional male gaze. The article further argues that the feminist themes promoted by Girl Crush ultimately serve commercial objectives and reinforce existing gender norms within the constraints of capitalism. Based on this analysis, the article proposes several specific strategies--enhancing idols' creative autonomy, expanding the proportion of female producers, and embedding authentic female perspectives in content--to foster genuine feminist expression, increase gender consciousness, and sustainable industry development in K-pop over the long term.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Liu Q. (2025). The Girl Crush Style in K-Pop: Feminist Empowerment or Patriarchal Reproduction Under Capitalist Logic. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Politics, Law, and Social Science - Volume 1: ICPLSS; ISBN 978-989-758-785-6, SciTePress, pages 226-231. DOI: 10.5220/0014359900004859

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icplss25,
author={Qishu Liu},
title={The Girl Crush Style in K-Pop: Feminist Empowerment or Patriarchal Reproduction Under Capitalist Logic},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Politics, Law, and Social Science - Volume 1: ICPLSS},
year={2025},
pages={226-231},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0014359900004859},
isbn={978-989-758-785-6},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Politics, Law, and Social Science - Volume 1: ICPLSS
TI - The Girl Crush Style in K-Pop: Feminist Empowerment or Patriarchal Reproduction Under Capitalist Logic
SN - 978-989-758-785-6
AU - Liu Q.
PY - 2025
SP - 226
EP - 231
DO - 10.5220/0014359900004859
PB - SciTePress