Between 2014 and 2018

Korean pop music girl groups underwent a generational style transformation from the third-generation sexy style to the fourth-generation Girl Crush style

which has often been interpreted by the public and some researchers as an awakening of female consciousness from "an object being gazed upon" to "a subject that de-gazes." This study

drawing upon Judith Butler's theory of gender performativity

calls this linear progressive narrative into question. By selecting the music show stages of AOA's "Short Skirt

" Girl's Day's "Something

" and BLACKPINK's "DDU-DU DDU-DU" as samples

and conducting a comparative analysis across five dimensions—choreography

stage design

center position selection

facial expression management

and camera language—this study finds that the stage images of the two generations of girl groups do not correspond to a binary opposition of "being gazed upon" versus "de-gazing

" but rather constitute a strategic citation of two different gender scripts. The third-generation sexy style cites the traditional feminine script of "the desired object

" while the fourth-generation Girl Crush style cites the script of "the self-empowered subject

" which is often associated with masculinity or queer performativity. The two share the essence of gender performativity—femininity is never "naturally so

" but is "done" through repetitive symbolic acts. This stylistic transformation does not equate to an essential awakening of female power

but rather represents an adjustment of performative strategy within patriarchal norms

revealing the dual predicament faced by contemporary women who are expected to embody both traditional femininity and modern strength.