The Cultural Construction of the Computer as a Masculine Technology: An Analysis of Computer Advertisements in Korea

This article explores how meanings and values about the computer in Korea have been constructed in a broader social and cultural context. I examine some computer advertisements that emerged during the 1990s, which have formed and transformed specific identities of the computer. In terms of the 'gendering' of the computer, these have constructed its image as a masculine technology since it entered the Korean market in the early 1980s. Gender relations are embedded in and shape the computer, constituting its specific meaning and gendered possibilities of use. Both gender and technology are not culturally neutral, but have particular meanings in social and cultural processes, whereby technological competence is defined as an important part of masculinity, constructing the very cultural notions of masculinity and femininity.