Mass Protest by Men with 'Jipge Sonkak' in GS25 Ad Poster
Concerns over 'Backlash' Against Women's Rights Movement
"Investigation into Feminism Indoctrination Group Targeting Students" 청 Petition Also Submitted
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "Why on earth is the finger shape like that?" , "It's just an advertisement, not misogyny."
The so-called 'thumb and index finger pinching hand gesture' is causing intense gender conflict. Men are outraged, claiming this finger gesture represents misogyny by women, while women are pushing back, saying it is just men's victim mentality. Some also view it as a collective backlash by men protesting feminism.
On the 1st, GS25 faced backlash from male customers over a hand gesture image inserted in a camping event poster. The poster shows an image of a pinching hand gesture, as if measuring length with the thumb and index finger.
After the poster was released, suspicions arose that this finger gesture was a mocking and hateful image used in male-dominated (namcho) communities to imply that Korean men have short genital length. Voices criticizing this spread rapidly on male-centered online forums, and as boycott movements began to emerge, the GS25 CEO personally apologized to calm the situation.
Meanwhile, recently, chicken franchise BBQ deleted promotional images related to the side menu 'Sotteok' that sparked misogyny controversy and issued an apology on their website and official social media. This image was similar to the GS25 poster image that had previously caused controversy. The image showed a hand pinching the sausage of the Sotteok, and it was pointed out that the finger gesture resembled images used by users of the misogynistic community 'Megalia'.
In response, BBQ stated, "There was an issue raised that the previously produced promotional image evoked a specific image," and "All Genesis BBQ employees reflect on the failure to prevent the controversy in advance and apologize." The company deleted the image and posted an apology on official social networking services (SNS).
Given the situation, perspectives on this incident are divided. On male-centered online communities, there are criticisms that misogyny is widespread, while on female-centered (yeocho) online forums, there are criticisms that men are over-interpreting a simple image and escalating the controversy.
A male office worker in his 20s, Mr. Lee, said, "The pinching finger gesture is a representative hateful image used as 'misogyny' in male- or female-centered communities," and added, "I believe this is not just criticism but a legitimate response to some kind of mockery."
On the other hand, there are different opinions. Ms. Kim, a female office worker in her 20s, said, "I think there can be hatred between women and men," but added, "I don't think hateful images were secretly drawn in product images or such places. Ultimately, if caught later, wouldn't it be their own loss?" She continued, "There have been many disputes between men and women recently, so I hope both sides make some concessions."
There is also a view that this controversy is a backlash against feminism. Backlash refers to a strong reaction against an idea, action, or object, and movements or forces opposing trends such as gender equality movements are called 'backlash.' It is pointed out that this is a collective backlash by men protesting feminism.
In the past, backlash protest rallies were held. In June 2018, Sungkyunkwan University's 'With You Special Committee' held a rally in front of the main gate of Sungkyunkwan University in Jongno-gu, Seoul, called the '6.5 Sungkyunkwan University Backlash Smash Rally, We Will Win in the End,' condemning such phenomena.
They explained the purpose of the rally, saying, "After Prosecutor Seo Ji-hyun's sexual violence accusation, the campus was heated with 'Me Too' at the start of the semester, but soon faced backlash opposing women's cries and changes," and "We held the rally thinking we could no longer remain powerless." About 50 students and professors gathered in front of Sungkyunkwan University's main gate shouted slogans such as "Break down misogyny and smash the backlash."
Meanwhile, amid intense gender hatred conflicts, a petition was posted on the Blue House's national petition site claiming that a website operated by a group trying to indoctrinate students with feminist ideology exists.
The petitioner stated, "We confirmed information that a group presumed to be teachers has been secretly working for at least four years to indoctrinate students with their political ideology (feminism)," and argued, "It is outrageous for teachers, who should maintain political neutrality, to try to indoctrinate students with political ideology."
They further raised suspicions, saying, "They approached students in vulnerable situations whose minds could be easily swayed to brainwash them, and even did not hesitate to engage in terrible actions as educators, such as encouraging ostracism of students who did not respond well to ideological indoctrination."
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