Authoritarianism in the Hypermasculinized State: Hybridity, Patriarchy, and Capitalism in Korea

Abstract

Authoritarianism in East Asia's capitalist developmental state (CDS) is highly gendered. A hybrid product of Western masculinist capitalism and Confucian parental governance, CDS authoritarianism takes on a hypermasculinized developmentalism that assumes all the rights and privileges of classical Confucian patriarchy for the state while assigning to society the characteristics of classical Confucian womanhood: diligence, discipline, and deference. Society subsequently bears the burden of economic development without equal access to political representation or voice. Women in the CDS now face three tiers of patriarchal authority and exploitation: family, state, and economy. Nevertheless, new opportunities for democratization may arise even in the hypermasculinized state. We suggest: (1) emphasizing substantive, not just procedural, democratization, (2) exercising a maternalized discourse of dissent, and (3) applying hybrid strategies of social mobilization across states, societies, cultures, and movements. South Korea during the 1960s–1970s serves as our case study.

Gender Differences in the Job Satisfaction of Public Employees: A Study of Seoul Metropolitan Government, Korea

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“…assumptions who point to the workings of 'Western' hegemony are not immune to 'epistemological Orientalism' in that they explain 'mimicry' with reference to a 'Western masculinist capitalism' that 'absorbs if not obliterates, pre-capitalist forms of production, consumption and hegemony'. 52 The following section looks at three instances of 'mimicry' in 'non-Western' practices of world politics and seeks to point to the agency and agenda of the 'non-Western' that are overlooked by 'standard' accounts.…”

Hegemonic Masculinity and Globalization: ‘Transnational Business Masculinities’ and Beyond

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