BETWEEN EMPOWERMENT AND PATRIARCHY: THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN MY NAME
Keywords:
Female representation, Woman Empowerment, Patriarchy, My NameAbstract
The portrayal of women in action or martial arts television series is frequently bound to patriarchal tropes, often depicting them as weak, powerless characters subjugated by male authority. In the series My Name (2021), directed by Kim Jin-min, the narrative follows a female protagonist, Yoon Ji-woo, as she negotiates her survival and identity in a hyper-masculine world dominated by patriarchal values. Utilizing a feminist textual analysis, this study examines how Ji-woo is portrayed through markers of physical power, financial independence, and non-traditional gender roles that disrupt conventional societal stereotypes. Specifically, this study investigates whether Ji-woo’s journey reflects individual agency and a reclamation of power, or whether structural patriarchy still dictates her trajectory. The findings indicate that while Ji-woo subverts traditional expectations of female vulnerability, her character arc fails to meet the criteria of radical feminism due to her ultimate reliance on male-dominated institutions and patriarchs for validation. While she relies on male allies and systemic structures to execute her revenge, this dynamic does not inherently negate her feminist agency; rather, it highlights the complex negotiations required when operating within an oppressive system. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that My Name represents a complex view of contemporary gender roles by celebrating individual female strength while simultaneously illustrating the constraints of a deeply entrenched, male-dominated structure. Keywords: Female representation, Women’s Empowerment, Patriarchy, My NameReferences
Anya Safira, B. (2024). Resisting Patriarchy Through Pop Culture: Streotypes Of Korean Women In A Global Perspective. http://devotion.greenvest.co.id
Bourdieu, P. (1990). La domination masculine. Actes de La Recherche En Sciences Sociales, 84(1), 2–31. https://doi.org/10.3406/arss.1990.2947
Bowman, D. (2022). Hard bodies in virtual worlds: Assessing the reception of abby’s spectacular body in the last of us part ii (naughty dog, 2020). In Gender and Action Films: Road Warriors, Bombshells and Atomic Blondes. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-514-220221007
Bubíková, Š., & Roebuck, O. (2022). Female Investigators: Rewriting the Masculine Narrative of Crime Fiction. American and British Studies Annual, 15. https://doi.org/10.46585/absa.2022.15.2432
Butler, J. (1990). Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.
Caruth, C. (1991). Unclaimed Experience: Trauma and the Possibility of History. Yale French Studies, 79. https://doi.org/10.2307/2930251
Connell, R. W. (1998). R. W. Connell’s “Masculinities”: Reply. Gender and Society, 12(4), 474–477. http://www.jstor.org/stable/190181
Connell, R. W, & Messerschmidt, James W. (2005). Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept. Gender & Society, 19(6), 829–859. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243205278639
Derksen, J. (2017). P for PROJECTION. Public, 28(56). https://doi.org/10.1386/public.28.56.126_1
Gill, R. (2007). Postfeminist Media Culture: Elements of a Sensibility. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549407075898
HALBERSTAM, J. (1998). Female Masculinity. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv11cwb00
Jermyn, D. (2017). Silk blouses and fedoras: The female detective, contemporary TV crime drama and the predicaments of postfeminism. Crime, Media, Culture, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/1741659015626578
José Esteban Muñoz. (1999). Disidentifications Preface and Intro.
Jurik, N. C., & Cavender, G. (2017). Feminist Themes in Television Crime Dramas. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.013.17
Kabeer, N. (2005). Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: A Critical Analysis of the Third Millennium Development Goal. Gender & Development, 13, 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552070512331332273
Kandiyoti, D. (1988). Bargaining with patriarchy. Gender & Society, 2(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/089124388002003004
Kim, J. (2021). The Resurgence and Popularization of Feminism in South Korea: Key Issues and Challenges for Contemporary Feminist Activism. Korea Journal, 61(4). https://doi.org/10.25024/kj.2021.61.4.75
Lauzen, M. M. (2024). It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World: Portrayals of Female Characters in the Top Grossing U.S. Films of 2023.
Lefebvre, H. (1991). The production of space. The Production of Space. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203132357-14
Mosedale, S. (2005). Assessing Women’s Empowerment: Towards a Conceptual Framework. Journal of International Development, 17(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.1212
Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Screen, 16(3), 6–18. https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/16.3.6
Pinedo, I. (2021). The Killing: The Gender Politics of the Nordic Noir Crime Drama and Its American Remake. Television and New Media, 22(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476419875572
Pinedo, I. Cristina. (2021). Difficult Women on Television Drama : The Gender Politics of Complex Women in Serial narratives. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Raj, M. R., & Jayasundara-Smits, S. (2023). Subverting Patriarchal Narratives Scripting Social Change through the Representations of Yeong-hye and Jiyoung Social Justice Perspective: Human Rights, Gender, and Conflict Studies SJP Members of the Examining Committee.
Population Policies Reconsidered: Health, Empowerment, and Rights.
Tuchman, G. (2000). The Symbolic Annihilation Men by The Mass Media.
Walby, Sylvia. (1989). Theorising Patriarchy. Sociology, 23(2), 213–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038589023002004
