The Cognitive Construction of Girls' Power Concept in K-Pop

Duanyang Wu

2025

Abstract

The construction of girls' power within the K-pop industry has sparked critical debates over its expression of female empowerment. While existing scholarship has examined the disadvantages of the K-pop industry's operation, attention has been paid to systematic barriers is insufficient. This study analyzes the overall construction of girls' power concept from the perspectives of the evolution trend, reflection on visual performance, and lyrics narration. This study then systematically points out three existing obstacles in the girls' power construction process: the paradoxical limited gender expression, the structural gender asymmetries in creative decision-making hierarchies, and the capitalist interference that turns feminist discourse into market-oriented commodities. Through critical discourse analysis, this study reveals how patriarchal capitalism employs post-feminism and neoliberal logic to distort girls' core expression. Based on this, the study proposes feasible suggestions to counter the barriers, including adjusting gender quotas, deepening feminist expression, and getting rid of over-commodification, aiming to dismantle structural barriers while preserving the transformative potential of feminist expression in the industry.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Wu D. (2025). The Cognitive Construction of Girls' Power Concept in K-Pop. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Politics, Law, and Social Science - Volume 1: ICPLSS; ISBN 978-989-758-785-6, SciTePress, pages 330-335. DOI: 10.5220/0014374200004859

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icplss25,
author={Duanyang Wu},
title={The Cognitive Construction of Girls' Power Concept in K-Pop},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Politics, Law, and Social Science - Volume 1: ICPLSS},
year={2025},
pages={330-335},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0014374200004859},
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 Cognitive Construction of Girls' Power Concept in K-Pop
SN - 978-989-758-785-6
AU - Wu D.
PY - 2025
SP - 330
EP - 335
DO - 10.5220/0014374200004859
PB - SciTePress