Digital Bodies, Demonic Others: A Post-Human Semiotic Analysis of Gender in K-Pop Animation Hybrids
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jsshrs/V2E6/2026-12Keywords:
Post-human semiotics, Gender representation, K-pop, Digital embodiment, Demonization, Animation hybridsAbstract
The purpose of this article is to examines the semiotic construction of gender in K-pop animation hybrids through a post-human theoretical framework by focusing on the interplay between digital embodiment and supernatural alterity. Using a qualitative content analysis of selected visual and narrative materials from aespa and K/DA. This study investigates how virtual avatars, AI doubles, and demonized ‘others’ function as gendered sign systems. Drawing on post-human semiotics and multimodal discourse analysis, the research explores how identity is fragmented, duplicated, and reassembled across human and non-human bodies. The findings suggest that gender in these media texts is no longer anchored in stable, biological representation but is instead distributed across networks of signs that include digital bodies, performative aesthetics, and affective cues.
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Copyright (c) 2026 sarvenaz safavi (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
