로맨스 문화를 통해 본 여고생의 성의 사회화에 관한 연구

Abstract

The aim of this study is to illuminate the sexualization process of high school girls who will stick to men, love, and marriage. More concretely, this study intended to examine how high school girls identify themselves as women and become 'girls' as the object of the boys' love. The reseach methods applied in this study is in-depth interview and participating observation. This study consists of two parts. In the first part, by studying the social and cultural context of high school girls' romance culture, I dealt with the condition which, influences the girls to cling to romance culture. High school girls are under the oppressive exam hell and control of femininity. In addition, mass consuming culture produces commodification of romance for them. So high school girls' consumption of romance becomes an everyday experience. Secondly I analyzed the way how high school girls come to make romance culture of their own. High School girls make their daily life romantic by chattering about love, dreaming romantic fantasy and having affairs with boys. High school girls identify themselves as the categories that school culture and romance culture's combination make. 'Bum-saing(a pattern high school girl)' and 'Nallari(loafer or play girl)' are general categories that high school girls identify. But the the meaning and superiority/inferiority of those categories is reversed when romance culture gives them another meaning and interpretation. 'Bum-saing' and 'Nallari' compete with each other according to 'not/make love affair', 'different style of love affair', and 'the high/low feminine attrativeness'. High School girls recognize and estimate them as girls by how they are treated by the boys and how much sexual intimacy they permit to the boy. So boys are very important to make their femininity concrete. Therefore, high school girls become 'girls' by making themselves the object of boys in romance culture. And high school girls try to be seen as attractive girls. They use thechnique of beautification and 'nai-sung(sneakiness)'. Beautification is the technique for high value on their attractiveness. They are giving themselves up to make their appearance and style. 'Nai-sung' is the practice of exaggerated femininity. High school girls insight the expectation of boys and use the technique of 'nai-sung' for gratify it. High school girls come to know the proper expression of femininity through disagreement and contradiction about 'nai-sung '. As a consequence, high school girls learn the sensitivity and role as women and regenerate femininity. So feminism has to offer to high school girls alternative culture.