The Concept of the Gentleman: PSY’s “Gentleman M V”

Abstract | Abstract

The ideal of the gentleman has been globally reborn in PSY’s colossal YouTube hit “Gentleman M V”. This video thematizes the concept of the gentleman, but it is also a reformulation of gentlemanly behaviour. The article analyses the ideal of the gentleman in the light of its gender aspects and its class connotations. The hypothesis of the article is that the insecure status of masculine identity in an age of post-second-generation feminism demands the seemingly parodic treatment of the concept of the gentleman, as in this video. Yet this hypothesis is also a research question. Why is there this strong element of parody in the video? The answer to the question may depend on a consideration of contemporary male identities. It may also be based on a reading of how the music video incorporates these types. Three such types are described in the article: the new man, the metrosexual male and the new lad. It is the conclusion of the article that “Gentleman M V” incorporates the last two of these.