IDENTITY ON DISPLAY: THE RHETORICAL LANDSCAPE OF ASIANNESS IN JELLA'S MAKEUP BLACKFACE DEBATE

Abstract

Jella (젤라) is a South Korean beauty influencer who creates makeup tutorials, skincare how-to, cosmetic reviews, and daily vlogs. Her beauty-related content production is unique in that she caters to dark-skinned women who use tanned or bronze, sun-kissed skin-color foundations. Jella's makeup style is depicted as "yellowish-brown tanning makeup" and is differentiated from other Korean beauty creators' performances of mainstream beauty. Jella's distinct makeup can be seen as a form of resistance to mainstream beauty discourse in the Korean context, where light skin is historically preferred for cultural and social upward mobility.