“It is not a strength that is couched in mainstream sports where there’s so many barriers and such difficulties entering into that realm,” he said. “Here the focus on strength through a wide variety of abilities and comportments allows us to really see a near possibility. We can almost imagine ourselves in there.”
The women on the show also powerfully challenge the stereotype that Asian women can be weak and hyperfeminine, the experts say. Like their male counterparts, the women are leaders in sports from bodybuilding to wrestling. And they aren’t shy about showing off their toned arms and broad shoulders. The show, in part, Thangaraj said, “completely dismantles” the limited notion of Asian and Asian American womanhood.
Rachael Joo, an associate professor of American studies at Middlebury College, whose research focuses on sporting media and South Korean and Korean American communities, underscored that the show still has a sexism problem. While it claims to search for the perfect physique, “regardless of gender, age and race,” the women on the show are eliminated early, already dwindling in numbers by the third episode. The rules may be equal, Joo said, but they aren’t equitable.
Some of the contestants also display unchecked sexism, Joo said. Many of the male competitors regard their female peers as weaker links, unable to see them as formidable opponents. And in some of the co-ed deathmatches, male contestants received backlash for how they appeared to behave against their female competitors.
Netflix did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment
Joo said it coincides with a heightened attitude against gender equality in South Korea.
Critics say the anti-feminist movement in the country has gained steam in recent years, particularly under President Yoon Suk Yeol, who in October announced his intention to abolish the country’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
“That … to me was so indicative of this rising anti-female sentiment in Korea,” Joo said. “Like, ‘Women don’t belong here and I’m going to put you in your place and I’ll just show you with as little effort why.’”
Chin similarly noted that the show was a “missed opportunity” to address or correct the pervasive sexism.
And while the vast collection of strong, athletic Asian bodies on the show is a powerful sight for Western audiences, the focus on physique and physical fitness has become increasingly integral to success in Korean society, Joo said. That’s not always healthy.
“There’s a lot that’s been written on plastic surgery in Korea, and in many ways, it’s a corollary to that, where body perfection is just another way to show that you’re a little better than the person next to you,” Joo said. “People who are looking for jobs in their 20s, maybe even 30s, are expected to work at this as a part of their-self improvement.”
There’s still a long way to go before Asian bodies are portrayed in a nuanced and responsible way. But experts say that the show will undoubtedly change a few minds.
“Size and muscularity is not the definition of strength and fitness that we’ve all always assumed,” Thangaraj said. “Rather it forces us to think about the ways in which these athletes have trained and put in time and put in devotion and put in passion.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
