Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

A tale of two homosocialities: gender, sexuality, and global political economy in Squid Game

2022; Oxford University Press; Volume: 15; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/ccc/tcac033

1753-9129

Jinsook Kim, Minwoo Jung,

Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation

Sedgwick’s (1985) influential monograph Between Men popularized the concept of homosociality, which refers to the social or affective bonds between persons of the same sex. She emphasized that heteronormative patriarchy builds on the structure of “the male traffic in women,” by which she meant “the use of women by men as exchangeable objects, as counters of value, for the primary purpose of cementing relationships with other men” (p. 123). Extending this theoretical insight, the present article explores the global political economy of homosociality in Squid Game from a transnational feminist perspective. The show’s competing narratives of homosociality, one among global capitalists and the other between poor women, provide a rich context for a critical discussion of global capitalism as a gendered project and homosociality as a form of both gendered dominance and resistance. At first glance, Squid Game appears to tell a story about those left behind by neoliberal capitalism in South Korea. The characters include a gambling addict (Gi-hun), a financial fraudster (Sang-woo), a gangster deep in debt (Deok-su), and an undocumented Pakistani migrant worker (Ali), all of whom participate in a deadly competition for a prize of 45.6 billion won (US$36 million). Equally important are those who created and run the game, appearing to be unconstrained by any legal or political regulations.