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  1. Contemporary Gender Roles and Neoliberalism

Contemporary Gender Roles and Neoliberalism

As neoliberal ideology was adopted worldwide “gender discrimination in labor markets,” sourced “especially [from] the division of labor in the household”, saw the systematic justification to uphold women’s primary role in the domestic sphere (Mohammed, 2008, p. 30). Therefore, because the role of provider is expected to fall on the male figure, the money earned by “women who enter the labour market [is] treated as [supplemental for the family]” (Mohammed, 2008, p. 30). To manifest this, companies shift priority away from skill training or long-term career considerations, deeming the female labor force as temporary or casual. This dismissive mindset, supplemented by a devaluation of the work women perform, has led to sexist policies. In Korea, workplace discrimination can also take shape during the hiring process through microaggressions and aesthetics requirements (Holiday & Elfving-Hwang, 2012).

While aesthetics are an important unisex aspect of Korean culture, for women, the pressure to appear as what is deemed acceptable is greater due to discriminatory institutions. Some companies “enforce specific height and weight restrictions for women graduates”, and being overweight or ‘not pretty enough’ can result in a resume being passed over (Holiday & ElfvingHwang 2012; Lee, 2012). In an interview for sociologist Dr. Helen Lee’s (2012) article, a woman revealed that her male coworkers admitted that they “definitely ask for pictures” on resumes so they could only hire “hot girls” at companies such as Samsung. This reinforces a toxic mindset that women are not equated to the level of education they have worked for, rather they are reduced

2 For further information on the history of Christianity in Korea, please see Kim & Kim 2015.

to objects for the selection of the male gaze.3 Under fierce competition among several well and overqualified applicants, applicants can turn to plastic surgery to alter their features in the hopes to increase their competitiveness.

In the domestic sphere, women continue to face a double standard. The appearance of their bodies is weaponized against them from grade school (Holiday & Elfving-Hwang, 2012).4 In 2015, during a street interview in Seoul, Korean YouTuber Joo Won interviewed groups of teenage girls, asking them if they thought they were overweight. The majority of participants responded yes, despite being visibly healthy weights. When asked for a reason, participants responded that “guys prefer skinny bodies,” thus highlighting the pressure to conform to patriarchal gender roles that situate a woman’s worth to her relationship with a man (Won, 2015). This pressure, influenced by expectations from the media and the workplace, creates a popular but unhealthy body image—one that can be unachievable without plastic surgery and extreme dieting.5 Thus, though neoliberal ideology prefers to relegate women to the domestic sphere, women continue to face gender-based discrimination. This exemplifies the double shift Korean women must contend with, knowing that they will be scrutinized in either social sphere.

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