The portrayal of queerness in Lee-Song Hee-Il's films through intersectional lens

Abstract

This research investigates the representation of queerness and how individuals' different social identities produce different kinds of tensions among queer people through the concept of intersectionality. The research analyzes the film No Regret, White Night and Night Flight. The analysis includes two themes: 1) The Violence and Harassment against Queer and 2) The Representation of Gender and Sexuality. The study seeks to understand how intersecting components are represented along with the two themes. The result of the study reveals that queers who have a good academic performance or high SES seem to bear much pressure and high expectation to maintain their status or achieve upward social mobility, so it is difficult for them to express their identities freely, because queerness is in conflict with Korea’s traditional gender norms. Besides, queers who are considered as less masculine are targeted to be sexual assault victim. This leads to the difficulty of identity expression among queers and some of them have to act differently from who they are, to avoid being victims of dehumanization. In conclusion, this study argues that social status and hegemonic masculinity lead to different levels of intolerance of queerness in the context of Korean society.