Aesthetic pressure in audiovisual narratives: A semiotic content analysis of South Korean and Luso-Brazilian TV series

Abstract

Across Eastern and Western cultures, aesthetic norms continue to oppress women, with certain aspects transcending socio-historical differences. To visualize symbolic violence in media, we selected three series from diverse but related cultural and social contexts: South Korea’s My ID is Gangnam Beauty, Portugal’s The Good Girls Club, and Brazil’s Hidden Truths. Utilizing a qualitative and interpretive semiotic content analysis method and an intersectional decolonial feminist lens, we observe how these audiovisual media explore aesthetic norms semantically. Findings indicate that neoliberal and postfeminist discourses frame beauty practices as forms of empowerment in the three series. However, they often hide the structural forces pushing women toward unrealistic standards, with physical, financial, and psychological costs. The South Korean series explores bullying for not having hegemonic identities and bodies, and how women need to have a ‘feminine’ body to be accepted in their society. In the Portuguese series, the characters must prove themselves ‘sexy’ and capable of being valued by others. In Brazil’s series, the focus was to show how sensuality and hegemonic beauty standards continue to reinforce a collective imagination associated with success. The study raises awareness of how the media can use semiotics to promote inclusive and responsible representations of female beauty.