Unmasking Patriarchy Through Language Indexicality: Masculine Ideals In When Life Gives You Tangerines
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Masculinity in contemporary media discourse is increasingly understood as socially constructed and linguistically mediated; however, limited scholarship examines how generational masculinities are indexed in non-Western transnational television texts. Existing studies predominantly focus on Western media representations, creating a gap in understanding how Asian dramas circulate and influence gender ideologies within Southeast Asian sociocultural contexts. This study investigates how masculinity is linguistically constructed, negotiated, and reconfigured in the Korean television series When Life Gives You Tangerines, with particular attention to its reception within Filipino patriarchal sociocultural frameworks. Anchored in Patriarchal Theory and Indexicality Theory, the research conceptualizes language as a semiotic resource that signals gendered identities, power relations, and generational values. Using qualitative and multimodal discourse analysis, the study examines selected dialogues among male characters representing Generations X, Y, and Z to identify linguistic and pragmatic markers associated with authority, responsibility, vulnerability, and relational engagement. The findings reveal three generationally distinct indexical masculinities. Generation X masculinity reflects authoritative and hierarchical discourse patterns that reinforce traditional patriarchal authority and social dominance. Generation Y masculinity demonstrates negotiated and relational discourse, emphasizing shared responsibility, collaborative decision-making, and evolving gender expectations. Generation Z masculinity emerges through expressive and affective discourse, highlighting emotional openness, validation, and interpersonal sensitivity. The study demonstrates that masculinity in transnational media is not a fixed patriarchal construct but a dynamic identity shaped through interactional choices and generational stylistic variation. The research foregrounds indexical meanings in televised dialogue and contributes to global stylistics and discourse studies, positioning media discourse as a site where masculine ideologies are simultaneously reproduced and transformed. The findings also offer implications for critical language pedagogy, gender-responsive media literacy, and inclusive discourse frameworks within cross-cultural communication contexts.
Article Details
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright © 2024 IJPLH, its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved. For all open access content, the Creative Commons (CC) Attribution 4.0 International Public License terms apply.
How to Cite
References
Addis, M. E., Reigeluth, C. S., & Schwab, J. R. (2016). Social norms, social construction, and the psychology of men and masculinity.
Banerjee, P., Srivastava, M., & Krishnamoorthy, B. (2023). A gender-based comparative analysis of generation x and y on emotional contagion: the qualitative perspective. Business Perspectives and Research, 11(3), 336-354.
Cabañes, J. V. A., & Uy-Tioco, C. S. (2024). K-dramas as a space for cross-cultural exchange? Counter-flow and its entanglements with soft power and promotional culture. The Sage Handbook of Promotional Culture and Society, 340.
Canibel, J. A., Gelbolingo, A. A., & Montañez, M. C. A. (2024). Narratives of Male Struggle Against Patriarchy in Select Filipino Literary Works. K@ ta, 26(2).
de Castro, K. B., & de Guzman, A. B. (2023). A phenomenology of Filipino military grandparents’ disciplinary practices to their grandchildren. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 33(5), 724-737.
Dowley, S. L. (2025). Sexual Attitudes, Generational Belongingness, and Religion: A Quantitative Study of Self-Esteem in Men (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University).
Edwards, B. S. (2025). The Masculinity Complex: Heterosexual Men, American Culture, and Emotional Intimacy(Doctoral dissertation, Pacifica Graduate Institute).
Gal, S. (2012). Language, gender, and power: An anthropological review. In Gender articulated (pp. 169-182). Routledge.
Hameed, R., Ahmad, T., Kanwal, S., & Imran, H. (2025). Modern Family Dynamics; How Millennials and Gen Z Are Shaping New Relationship Norms. Research Journal of Psychology, 3(1), 449-460.
Henzel, E. K. (2023). Dismantling Patriarchy–Western Cultural Narratives: Myths, Symbols, Motifs.
Hine, B. A. (2024). Current Issues Facing Men and Boys: A Case for Urgent Change. Taylor & Francis.
Jamil, I. (2025). Masculinity in Crisis? Exploring Shifts in Male Identity in the 21st Century. Journal of Gender, Power, and Social Transformation, 2(1), 12-17.
Kaistha, S., & Kumari, N. (2024). EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP OF PATRIARCHY WITH AGGRESSION, ANXIETY AND EMOTIONAL REGULATION IN GENERATION X MALES. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Approaches in Psychology, 2(4), 880-896.
Kress, G., & Bezemer, J. (2023). Multimodal discourse analysis. In The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis(pp. 139-155). Routledge.
Lantiere, A. E., Rojas, M. A., Bisson, C., Fitch, E., Woodward, A., & Stevenson, E. L. (2022). Men’s involvement in sexual and reproductive health care and decision making in the Philippines: a systematic review of the literature. American Journal of Men's Health, 16(4), 15579883221106052.
Lafrance, M., & Hoebanx, P. (2025). Understanding the Forgotten Realities of Men. The Forgotten Realities of Men: Critical Reflections on Masculinity in Contemporary Society, 3.
Lawson, R. (2023). Language and mediated masculinities: Cultures, contexts, constraints. Oxford University Press.
Lee, S. H., Chong, C. W., & Ojo, A. O. (2024). Influence of workplace flexibility on employee engagement among young generation. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2309705.
Levon, E., & Ye, Y. (2020). Language, indexicality and gender ideologies. Gender and Language, 14(2), 123-151.
Li, X. (2019). Exploration of Generation Z Using Social Media from an Emotion Perspective. The University of Arizona.
Lindsey, L. L. (2020). Gender: sociological perspectives. Routledge.
Marshall, P. D., Moore, C., & Barbour, K. (2019). Persona studies: an introduction. John Wiley & Sons.
Mazei, J., Zerres, A., & Hüffmeier, J. (2021). Masculinity at the negotiation table: A theory of men’s negotiation behaviors and outcomes. Academy of Management Review, 46(1), 108 127.
Metin, V. (2024). A Language of Their Own: Deconstructing Patriarchal Language and Religious Oppression in Miriam Toews’ Women Talking. Cankaya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 18(2), 294-307.
Moore, E., & Podesva, R. (2009). Style, indexicality, and the social meaning of tag questions1. Language in society, 38(4), 447-485.
Moore, R. (2020). Registers, styles, indexicality. The Cambridge handbook of discourse studies, 9-31.
Nataraja, M. (2025). Bold Moves: Redefining Soft Skills for Gen Z and Beyond. Notion Press.
Norris, S. (2004). Analyzing multimodal interaction: A methodological framework. Routledge.
Riemma, F., de Gennaro, D., Buonocore, F., & Annosi, M. C. (2025). Plural masculinities at work: generational cohorts, organizational culture and men’s work–life choices. Career Development International.
Ramachandran, N. (2025). Korean Dramas Drive Southeast Asia Streaming as Netflix Holds Lead. Variety. https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/korean-dramas-southeast-asia-streaming Netflix lead-1236475194/
Risman, B. J. (2018). Where the millennials will take us: A new generation wrestles with the gender structure. Oxford University Press.
Risman, B. J. (2018). Gender as a social structure. In Handbook of the Sociology of Gender (pp. 19-43). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Rudberg, M., & Nielsen, H. B. (2012). The making of a ‘new man’: Psychosocial change in a generational context. Journal of Psycho-Social Studies, 6(1).
Rutherford, J. (2023). Men's silences: Predicaments in masculinity. Routledge.
Russell, L. M. (1985). Inclusive language and power. Religious Education, 80(4), 582-602.
Saba, K. (2024). Building a just world through peace linguistics: Decolonizing and de-gendering communication. In The Routledge Handbook of Conflict and Peace Communication (pp. 417-428). Routledge.
Sanz, A. P. (2024). The Relationship Between Masculinity, Power, and Change. LA SOCIOLOGÍA DE CSUN, 31.
Slembrouck, S. (2019). Discourse analysis. In The Routledge handbook of linguistic ethnography (pp. 28-39). Routledge.
Spiegel, D. E. (2013). The Gen Y handbook: Applying relationship leadership to engage Millennials. SelectBooks, Inc.
Steele, A. J. (2024). The sociolinguistic construction of gender non-conformity under hegemony: Nonbinarity, Blackness, and the possibilities of resistance (Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University).
Visakko, T., & Lehtonen, H. (2024). Indexicality. In Handbook of Pragmatics (pp. 129-154). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Waters, M. (1989). Patriarchy and viriarchy: An exploration and reconstruction of concepts of masculine domination. Sociology, 23(2), 193-211.
Weber, E. U., & Morris, M. W. (2010). Culture and judgment and decision making: The constructivist turn. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(4), 410-419.
Zahoor, S., & Zaidi, S. M. M. (2024). How Languages Constructs Gender Roles and Reflects Power Dynamics in Literature, Exploring Speech Acts, Conversational Dominance, and Stereotypes. Review of Applied Management and Social Sciences, 7(4), 759-776.