feetmanseoul:
Notions of Confucian propriety for women have either disappeared or very much faded. Well, hey, this IS Hongdae.
feetmanseoul:
Tats are now officially part of a traditional, non-threatening image of femininity. And only a few years ago, Koreans would swear up and down that no one but a gangster would get their entire arm tatted from shoulder to wrist. And on a woman? INconceivabl
feetmanseoul:
Fetishized femininity. If the fetished fetishizes herself, and the objectified is complicit in her own objectification, what's the point of tracking Mulvey's "male gaze?"
feetmanseoul:
Fetishized femininity. Butler would say that the basis of gender identity is its performance. Gender performance here is virtuosic.
feetmanseoul:
The real Itaewon still lives, despite "ladification."
feetmanseoul:
"Smoking in the boy's room." Well, figuratively, obviously.
feetmanseoul:
Real talk, Korean style, requiring a squat and a smoke.
feetmanseoul:
In Korea, smoking used to mark "bad girls" and was something done literally under or behind cover, although nowadays it is more a sign of rejecting these older social norms of disparately gendered notions of gender-appropriate behavior.
feetmanseoul:
Smoke break in heels at Hongdae.
feetmanseoul:
The art of stealth with a 20mm on a full-frame body requires 1) knowledge of the Force and 2) 'nads of steel. Shit is easy if you're across the street with a Hubble Telescope on your camera. At 20mm, you can smell the smoke.
feetmanseoul:
Girls smoking. It's a thing. Can't pass it up.
feetmanseoul:
IMG_2541 copy
feetmanseoul:
Cigarette break.
feetmanseoul:
Cigarettes and coffee... and cute little doggie (?!) at 2 in the mornin'.
feetmanseoul:
Ethnographically speaking, this is my best street shot this season. This girl is awesome! And I'm not saying because I think smoking is great or I'm somehow advocating it, but that she's brave enough to break what is still a major taboo for women. Yet she
feetmanseoul:
Itaewon girls smoking out.
feetmanseoul:
More than just friends, methinks. What appears to me to be female same-sex couples seem to be more common these days, to the point that many couple I think are Hetero turn out not to be when I edit in my iPad. And that's why I'm doubly sure to crop out f
feetmanseoul:
Audrey Hepburnthe Holy Mother of Korean female fashion sensibilities, demure yet headstrong and independent enough to stand out to the point of causing ency amongst other women but not so much it challenges to dominant gender constructions of women. She w
feetmanseoul:
Nuna. "Older sister" in Korean. Meaning an older female friend to the boys.
feetmanseoul:
In just 3 months, you can go from "Arf!" To "Bow wowwww" and then it's all "boom chicka bomb bomb..." All day long. Or just "Kaching!" You gotta man. 'Cause this is all about expending actual capital to gain SOCIAL capital as a female here. Makes the Amer
feetmanseoul:
The female office worker lunch look. Cute dress, Samdidas slippers.
feetmanseoul:
These hats are everywhere. Expect to see black hats on every female in their twenties this fall. Remember, if Hongdae kids are doing it, all will do it. Because I've always said that, In terms of fashion, Hongdae is the canary in the proverbial coal mine.
feetmanseoul:
(In Austin Powers voice) "Is it cold in here?!" 30 degrees Fahrenheit, so, yeah.
feetmanseoul:
Highly gendered consumption has created market forces that turnedg my beloved Hungry Dog diner man cave into a juice bar filled exclusively with girly girls. Because Korean girly girls are not really hungry dogs.
feetmanseoul:
Back in 2006, people still rocked the Nikon COOLPIX for photography and sharing of photographic experiences. And there seem to be a lot of services dedicated to the facilitation of such photographic experiences. Nowadays, the selfie has become a pho
feetmanseoul:
Selfie in a sea of nostalgia.
feetmanseoul:
Christmas selfie.
feetmanseoul:
Super selfie! Korea's most highly developed fine art!!!!!
feetmanseoul:
Selfie anticipation.
feetmanseoul:
The picture behind the ninja-selfie picture.
