Radical cyberfeminists as language planners: South Korea’s Womad

ABSTRACT

In response to tumultuous gender relations in South Korea, many feminist and anti-feminist communities have increased their online presence since the 2010s. At the extreme end of this spectrum is the radical cyberfeminist community Womad. In this paper, we examine Womad’s online dictionary, which prescribes specific language to be used on their platform, which we interpret as an example of micro language planning. Our analysis of their dictionary reveals that similar to previous feminist language reforms around the world, Womad’s new words correct lexical asymmetries that present men as the norm and eliminate words that invoke patriarchal connotations. However, what distinguishes Womad’s language reform are their words that denigrate men, which sharply contrasts with linguistic anti-sexism. Womad’s separatist and consciousness-raising agenda is distinctly evident in their dictionary, and as a radical group, they are not motivated by widespread acceptance of their reform. Instead, their intention is to combat patriarchy by challenging existing gender norms and expanding the space for diverse feminisms through their radical approach. Specifically, Womad’s transgressive language serves as an important tool in achieving their goals. Due to policing by other users and administrators, Womad can ensure that their language planning efforts are maintained within their community.

KEYWORDS:

• Micro language planning
• corpus language planning
• radical feminism
• South Korea

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The classification of Megalian and Womad as misandry groups has sparked controversy due to the debate surrounding their so-called hate speech, which stems from their mirroring, their strategy that reverses power dynamics between men and women. As a result, supporters of Megalian and Womad argue that their aversion toward men is targeted towards the hatred for women and misogyny rather than directly at men. However, Womad users have taken this argument a step further by reclaiming the accusations of misandry and boldly asserting that they indeed harbor negative feelings toward men, thus advocating for the concept of misandry (namhyŏm him chwŏ). These discussions highlight how the term ‘misandry’ is utilized, even though the accusations of misandry towards Megalian and Womad are not endorsed by all parties.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Academy of Korean Studies [grant number: AKS-2019-R-63].

Notes on contributors

Kathy Lee

Kathy Lee is an assistant professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Korea University. Her research interests include discourse analysis, language policy, and language ideologies.

Sunyoung Yang

Sunyoung Yang is an assistant professor in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on the influence of new media and technologies on society with attention to youth, labor, and gender issues.