Doing ‘Masculine’ Makeup on Digital Platforms: Korean Male Beauty Creators and the Reconstruction of Heterosexual Masculinity

• In Event: Critical heterosexualities in the Sociology of Sexualities

Abstract

This paper examines how heterosexual masculinity is rearticulated rather than destabilized through men’s cosmetic practices on digital platforms. Makeup has historically been coded as feminine and, when adopted by men, associated with queer or gender-transgressive performances. However, the rapid expansion of male beauty content in South Korea presents a different configuration. In a cultural context shaped by K-pop aesthetics and the global circulation of Korean popular culture, digital beauty creators negotiate cosmetic practice without relinquishing heterosexual legitimacy.

Drawing on the concept of hegemonic masculinity, this study analyzes how Korean male beauty YouTube creators frame makeup as compatible with heterosexual masculinity. Through discourse and visual analysis of selected channels, I show how cosmetic practice is articulated as self-management, competitiveness, professionalism, and romantic desirability—qualities aligned with dominant gender hierarchies. Rather than queering masculinity, these creators re-secure heterosexuality by distinguishing their practices from femininity and sexual dissidence, thereby renewing the boundaries of acceptable male embodiment.

By situating digital cosmetic practice within the sociology of heterosexuality, this paper argues that heterosexuality operates not as a stable default but as an ongoing project requiring recalibration. The Korean case demonstrates how practices once marked as feminized can be absorbed into hegemonic heterosexual masculinity through platform-mediated performances. In doing so, the paper contributes to critical heterosexuality studies by showing how gendered consumption becomes a key site for the reproduction and subtle transformation of heterosexual norms in the digital age.

Author

• WooBeen Suh, Yonsei University