• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.52 no.8
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• pp.41-54
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• 2002

This study discusses the beauty of the ideal body shown by fashion communication media, and explains how aesthetic aspects of, the body are being expressed in contemporary fashion. The beauty of the body may be considered as the beauty of sexual, controllable or consumable object. First. the most vigorously discussed point about the body is its sexual aspect, the most outstanding of which is the voluptuous and the androgynous beauty in contemporary fashion. Second, the body is an object which has been oppressed or controlled under the name of history. morality. and rationality. The things making us regard the body itself as an aesthetic object may be considered as dynamic and functional beauty Third, the sexual instinct and the body are fetishized as consumer goods, and women's bodies are presented as comsumer objects whose most parts could be restored to exchangeable value. The consumable beauty presented in contemporary fashion is the conspicuous beauty and the decadent beauty. So far, the various aspects of the beautiful body has been considered, based on the beauty of the ideal body shown by the fashion communication media. Man exists through on his body. but it is the embodied and formed body that serves as a means to manifest his social status and cultural ties. A natural body is reformed as a cultural phenomenon in various artificial ways. Popular culture has transmitted a series of new body image by creating and reproducing symbols and images, and has made the ideal body. Now there is not only one standard for the ideal beauty in our society. The standard of the beauty has changed continuously. There has been an aesthetic sense which can represent the times during the process of those changes. The various communication media have played a role of mirror reflecting those changes. The ideal body in contemporary times is no more an abstract media to express classical beauty, but an object directly affecting us, who are living in the crisis of subjectivity and identity.

• International Journal of Costume and Fashion
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.18-29
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• 2004

The purpose of this study was to analyze the formative beauty of metro sexual expressed on the 21C men's fashion. in 21C, metro sexual is being accepted as an object to lead the world consumption culture, and it is said to be most appropriate to the definition as a model that can determine the most modern men. Moreover, with well being life style, it shows characteristic that expresses chic sense through fashion. The results of the study were as below. 1. In recent men's wear, sensory feminine that looks young and trendy is being presented through clothes, rather than the image of men who are strong. Therefore, by wearing splendid flower print, bold color and gorgeous accessories, men send off their attractions. 2. The recent body king syndrome gave new aesthetic value on men's body. Therefore, men's body is becoming cultural icon of metro sexual as another face that shows social status and cultural taste. 3. The men's image of metro sexual that is felt from softer skin and hair than women, and well-built body is appealing more through body conscious look. Here, men's body silhouette is being sublimated aesthetically through design with various materials such as see-through and leather etc., and this is body conscious image that can be seen only in metro sexual. Like this, metro sexual fashion sense was expressed by feminine softness sometimes, and beautiful body silhouette sometimes by expressing one's sexiness enough, being away' from conceptual masculine. Therefore, the appearance of metro sexual can be understood that men's body exposure is becoming a social virtue that expresses beauty.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.33-42
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to analyze the internal meanings of dolls and dolls' images expressed in modern fashion show. Dolls are used as sacred object, decoration object, playing object, personified object or cherished object. The expression types of doll image in modern fashion are as following; substitutes of multi-ego, object of sexual desire, objectified creature, and medium of transcending fantasy. First, dolls image as substitutes of multi-ego had been expressed in magical expression, disgusting mask, transparent mannequin, expressionless, horror, conflict, loss of identity, exaggeration or escapism. Second, as object of sexual desire, dolls image are expressed as naked baby, ambiguous expression, naked body, voluminous body, emphasized specific bodypart, heavy makeup or wax doll of sexy actresses. Third, as objectified creature, dolls are human body in passive form. Human bodies are disassembled and reassembled as dolls. Such dolls reflect serious reality. They wrap up human like product and objectify it. Fourth, dolls image expressed as medium of transcending fantasy recollects youth age or expresses imagination on ambiguous virtual reality. Like this, dolls have value as creatures in various fields of modern fashion. Dolls contribute a lot in creating important inspiration. Dolls also expose internal mentality and represent ego. Externally, dolls express human shape becoming more and more materialized and objectified by advancing scientific technology in digital capitalistic society.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1395-1403
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• 2004

Exposure and Concealment have been continued as important way to express fashion and theme as well, especially in women fashion. Exposure can make themselves attractive, and concealment emphasizes this way of being attractive by exposure. Besides the temptable effect of exposure, the ideology which put women next men in society has made a prominence on the fact exposure is significant theme in women fashion. It means that women's image of 'Being seen as Object' (this can be explained by relation passive between active) in society has driven female emphasize in using and focusing on exposure to be attractive. Also the other important thing in women fashion has been considered is concealment. The fact that society has demand women more chaste duty in detail may have meaningful thing in the condition that instigates women take off being attractive to the subject, considering ideology, men. Therefore attractive femininity has to be suggested by virtue and temptation, it is common sense that looking just shallow or too strict are far from criteria of ideal beauty. Namely, the concept for exposure coexists with concealment not only constructively but also naturally in fashion. Technique that can be accentuate for effective exposure differently from method to show unilaterally is needed, and this technique can promote new fashion. And according to the theory of Freud, women means' Absence (lacking penis)', this female's Lack Image induces male castration complex therefore 'Fetishistic Look' which transfers something phallic into specific things or parts of body is adopted, sort of object cathexis. This is revealed as some parts of women body are diverted into object for sexual love, symbolic equivalent. For example, women's parts like legs or breast are remarked as erotogenic zone and as time goes, when no more the zone are felt sexual by exposure, other somewhere felt mysterious (felt something sexual) used to be stressed by exposing. As it were, it can be possible that exposing part on women body (sexual part) moved as time passed because of what previously stated. Especially, the concept of exposure and concealment in women fashion should explain not only from a point of view of style for the beautifulness but also from wearer's immanent intention, further more relationship with ideology. About the present situation becoming bolder in women fashion, it is said that women express confidence as the position of women is elevated higher socially, the more women get freedom. But if we consider this psychoanalysis opinion mentioned ahead, the possibility can not be excluded that the exposure can get emphasizing according as the need of feminine modesty gets decreasing from ideal femininity society, men want. This study about exposure and concealment was made progressed through the theory of Freud who originated psychoanalysis, presented many theories. But nowadays contradictions are being brought up against Freud's theory including conventional philosophy like male chauvinism and adjust studies get suggested. Hereupon, there may be limitation in making no allowance of contradiction and following his theory.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.824-841
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• 2010

In 21st century, subordinated relationship of fashion from the body has been disappearing, and fashion is understood as variable and creative field. This research aims at analysis about the relationship between the body and fashion depending on the theories about the authority and the desire. So, this utilizes between theoretical study and empirical analysis. For concentrated study, research period limits from 2000 to the present time 2010. Contemporary body and fashion have being changed into various forms and values, become complex and de-territory. Especially, body is symbol of ambivalence eroticism that gives point to sexual property, and the object of fetishism and machine having a desire. This study's purpose draw a parallel with between the limits of contemporary body that couldn't be rid of the capital and desire, and the liberty of fashion that escape from the body's influence has being changed independent and fluid space. This research's results are as follow as; contemporary de-territory fashion is expressed as 1) symbol of the object and physical material property, 2) self-transcendental instrument fashion, 3) independent spatial molding, 4) de-centering fashion.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-21
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to typify femininity and masculinity represented in mainstream women's and men's fashion magazines in Korea since 2000 and infer sexual ideology appearing in contemporary Korean society by content analysis with the view of plural sexuality. For the content analysis total 259 editorial fashion photography was analyzed. As the result, 5 femininities and 5 masculinities were typified, and then sexual discourse was inferred out of the frequency of each type and texts with the images. On the basis of previous studies and historical considerations of this topic, the types of sexuality represented in mainstream fashion magazines in Korea since 2000 were classified as follow.: in women's fashion magazines Traditional Femininity and Androgynous Femininity were almost similarily dominant sexuality, and Glamor Femininity, Babydoll Femininity, and Genderless sexuality were alternative. Meanwhile, in men's fashion magazines Traditional Masculinity formed clear dominant sexuality, and Macho Masculinity, Androgynous Masculinity, Adolescent Masculinity, and Genderless sexuality were alternatives. In addition, Androgynous Masculinity in women's fashion magazines occupied the highest frequency, while Glamor Femininity in men's fashion magazines did so. From this sexual discourses represented in mainstream fashion magazines in Korea since 2000 are as follow.: First, mainstream fashion in Korea sticks to the modern values preserving traditional sexual ideology even in this postmodern period of the former 21C. Second, Androgynous Femininity as another dominant femininity with Traditional Femininity connotes the change of conception of femininity in Korean society. Third, Androgynous Masculinity to females is preferred, while femininity to males is still regarded as fetish or adorned object. Fourth, the appearance of various alternative sexualities leads to pluralization of sexuality, and then fashion gradually codifies youthfulness and feminine values, such as body and sexual desire more than before.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2014

Entering the twentieth century, corsets began to disappear with the tendency of concentrating on slim bodies and youth. As corsets proceeded to be discarded, they began to be internalized as a means of controlling the body; 'muscular corset' takes hold. However, the internalized corset increasingly appears to be externalized again in contemporary fashion. This study investigates how natural body is reconstructed as socio-cultural image drawing on the relationship between the signifier and signified of corset. As for the research methodology this study conducts literature survey to investigate the internalization of corset. This study proceeds to examine the subjects of fashion collections from 1980 to 2010 and samples the outfits which represent the externalization of corset through case analysis. Through the discussion of the study, the relationship of signifier and signified in the externalization of corset is argued as follows: first, by maintaining signifier and signified of the traditional corset as underwear, aggressive eroticism of corset has been observed, second, by perceiving corset as the agency of the body, fetishism of corset dissociates the function of sexual object from corset while distorting the relationship of signifier and signified, third, through embodying the notion of muscular corset literally, the ironical representation of corset as a torturing device of female body deconstructs the traditional relation of signifier and signified of corset.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.823-835
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• 2018

The body is an important object of costume expression, and the reflection of the aesthetics of the body according to age, culture, individual or group determines the form of the costume. In particular, British artist Leigh Bowery provided many designers and celebrities with original design ideas. Leigh Bowery's costumes are related to the carnival concept. Thus, this study analyzed Leigh Bowery's life and works, and examined Michael Bakhtin's grotesque carnivalesque theory. Based on Bakhtin's carnival theory around 100 works by Leigh Bowery, in the form of YouTube videos and DVD clips were analyzed in this study. The results of the analysis Leigh Bowery's body and costume research are as follows. First, this study can define fetishism as a characteristic of costumes such as body suits, harnesses, high-heeled boots, and stockings, that stress the body. Second, the character of the body is not expressed as that of an idealized body, but the fat and ugly aspect are revealed. Third, Leigh Bowery's costumes are characterized by ambiguity. The costumes blur the boundaries between women and men. Fourth, common sense, combined with normal and bizarre, brings out a strong sense of carnival humor with ridiculousness arising from the gap between reality and reality. His performance has had a significant impact on victims of discrimination or unequal treatment in sexual, racial, and age-related situations. This study should inspire many designers through the study of Leigh Bowery's body expression and dress, but it also introduces fashion icons that are not well known in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.64 no.2
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• pp.85-109
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• 2012

This qualitative study explored a middle-aged lesbian's life and her identities by the oral life history approach in feminist epistemology, where the participant is not the object but the subject of knowledge. The participant kept her own perspective that her homosexuality was not intrinsic but constructed. In her life's history, she was a "docile body" accepting socially constructed historical meaning of homosexuality, as well as a "resistant body" protesting against social discrimination and oppression for homosexual population. She overcame an embedded negative recognition of her scaled injured body and her sexuality as "deficient". Finally, she showed an amazing resilience and an indomitable spirit for reconstructing the meaning of her body as "blessed." Beyond the deficient body, as an active agent not the pathologic sexual minority, she could cultivate compassion and empathy for others. From the results, it is important how to place gender and sexuality in the context of social work theory and practice. Sexuality, not sexual orientation, is 'our' collective agenda to address the social problems which were associated with social hierarchy, inequality, and injustice.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.21
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• pp.101-112
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• 1993

In representing eroticism in fashion advertising the sentiments of the Post-Modernism thinking of only impulse and pleasure as practical and affirming a human life may he divided into the follwing expression First1 y, Sumbolic Expression The sentiments of Post-Modernism associ ates, the direction sexual intercourse by means of the state and action of wearing the costume or represents indirect symbols with the symbolic expression of an object or phenomenon Secondly, Masochistic, Sadistic Expression. The sentiments of the Post-Modernism in expressing eroticism give people masochistic or sadistic feelings or expressions by means of protographic technigues or the state or background of wearing the model's costume. Thirdly, Homosexual Expression. The sentiments of the Post-Modernism is appropriate to expressing an androgynous and unisex look to people as a role of meeting potential instincts. Fourthy, Feministic Expression. The sentiments of me Post-Modernism also express a subjective woman and represent an extension of her ego through the existence of the woman herself by means of the body-conscious look. Fifthly, Narcissistic Expression. The de-genre such as the introduction high technology and de-campus rnakes consumers have theirself-identity.