Global consumer culture is significantly shifting aesthetic paradigms, yet critical discourse research often overlooks how commercial gender negotiations operate in East Asia. Consequently, the specific linguistic mechanisms driving the commercialisation of masculinity in a Japanese perspective remain opaque. To address this gap, this study aims to reveal how advertising language strategically constructs alternative masculinities. Employing Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework, this research examines English-language texts from six representative Japanese beauty video advertisements. The analysis uncovers a three-stage discursive trajectory: advertising language progressively reframes grooming from pragmatic bodily maintenance (the functional paradigm) to a continuous project of human capital enhancement (the self-optimisation paradigm), and ultimately to a consumable form of radical self-expression (the identity commodification paradigm). These findings culminate in the formulation of the "Commodified Strategic Masculinity" (CSM) model. The study implies that consumer capitalism depoliticises complex socio-gender issues, selectively appropriating progressive traits to cultivate new markets while subtly reinforcing male-centric power structures.

Keywords: Commodified Strategic Masculinity; Critical Discourse Analysis; Masculinity; Advertising Language; Consumer Culture

Ainslie, M. J. (2017). Korean soft masculinity vs. Malay hegemony: Malaysian masculinity and Hallyu fandom. Korea Observer, 48(3), 609–638.

Amzah, N., Ismail, H., & Ng, L. S. (2023). Climate change in the movie Weathering with You: Critical discourse analysis of environmental issues. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature®, 29(3), 285–307. https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2023-2903-20

Beasley, C. (2008). Rethinking hegemonic masculinity in a globalizing world. Men and Masculinities, 11(1), 86–103.

Bridges, T., & Pascoe, C. J. (2014). Hybrid masculinities: New directions in the sociology of men and masculinities. Sociology Compass, 8(3), 246–258.

Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. Routledge.

Connell, R. W. (1995). Masculinities. University of California Press.

Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept. Gender & Society, 19(6), 829–859. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243205278639

Cook, G. (2001). The discourse of advertising (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Dasgupta, R. (2012). Re-reading the salaryman in Japan: Crafting masculinities. Routledge.

Del Saz-Rubio, M. M. (2019). The pragmatic-semiotic construction of male identities in contemporary advertising of male grooming products. Discourse & Communication, 13(2), 192–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481318817616

Demetriou, D. Z. (2001). Connell's concept of hegemonic masculinity: A critique. Theory and Society, 30(3), 337–361.

Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. Longman.

Foster, J., & Baker, J. (2022). Muscles, makeup, and femboys: Analyzing TikTok's "radical" masculinities. Social Media + Society, 8(3), Article 20563051221126040. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221126040

Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Pantheon Books.

Gill, R. (2008). Culture and subjectivity in neoliberal and postfeminist times. Subjectivity, 25(1), 432–445. https://doi.org/10.1057/sub.2008.28

Grau, S. L., & Zotos, Y. C. (2016). Gender stereotypes in advertising: A review of current research. International Journal of Advertising, 35(5), 761–770.

Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiessen, C. M. (2014). An introduction to functional grammar (4th ed.). Routledge.

Hiramoto, M., & Kapoor, S. (2023). "Hi handsome, hi handsome!": Masculinity and discourses of well-being in Indian male cosmetic advertisements. In G. Brookes & M. Chałupnik (Eds.), Masculinities and discourses of men's health (pp. 307–334). Springer.

Jung, G. (2023). Men who wear make-up: Young Korean men's masculinity management in the neoliberal Korea. Critical Sociology, 49(7–8), 1269–1288.

Kenalemang-Palm, L. M. (2023). The beautification of men within skincare advertisements: A multimodal critical discourse analysis. Journal of Aging Studies, 66, Article 101156.

Kuhn, T. S. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago Press.

Li, X. (2020). How powerful is the female gaze? The implication of using male celebrities for promoting female cosmetics in China. Global Media and China, 5(1), 55–68.

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE Publications.

Machin, D., & Mayr, A. (2012). How to do critical discourse analysis: A multimodal introduction. SAGE Publications.

McQuarrie, E. F., & Mick, D. G. (1996). Figures of rhetoric in advertising language. Journal of Consumer Research, 22(4), 424–438.

Monden, M. (2018). The beautiful shōnen of the deep and moonless night: The boyish aesthetic in modern Japan. University of Hawaii Press.

Morioka, M. (2013). A phenomenological study of "herbivore men." The Review of Life Studies, 4, 1–20.

Muldoon, A. (2023). Softboys in the age of millennial masculinity. International Conference on Gender Research, 6(1), 279–285.

Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Rose, N. (2013). Governing "advanced" liberal democracies. In A. Barry, T. Osborne, & N. Rose (Eds.), Foucault and political reason: Liberalism, neo-liberalism and rationalities of government (pp. 37–64). Routledge.

Tanaka, K. (2005). Advertising language: A pragmatic approach to advertisements in Britain and Japan. Routledge.

Tsichla, E. (2020). The changing roles of gender in advertising: Past, present, and future. Contemporary Southeastern Europe, 7(2), 28–44. https://doi.org/10.25364/02.7:2020.2.3

West, C., & Zimmerman, D. H. (1987). Doing gender. Gender & Society, 1(2), 125–151.

Williamson, J. (1978). Decoding advertisements: Ideology and meaning in advertising. Marion Boyars.

Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.