Popular U.S. commercial rap music videos are widely understood to (re)produce cultural narratives of gender. However, limited research has examined the relationship between the consumption of idealized representations of femininity and masculinity in rap music videos and young women’s and men’s self-evaluations. Kim’s PhD research aims to explore how U.S. and Dutch adolescents and emerging adults perceive ideals of gender-appropriate behavior, physical appearance, and mate desirability in commercial rap. Grounded in Social Comparison Theory and Self-Discrepancy Theory, the project further investigates whether and how young people compare themselves with these mediated ideals and how such comparisons shape their self-images.

In addition, Kim examines the ways in which strip club dancers in the U.S. South may function as informal “street A&Rs,” acting as promoters and clout boosters within the Southern commercial rap industry. Her dissertation is supervised by Prof. Tom Ter Bogt (Utrecht University), with Prof. Dionne Stephens (Florida International University) serving as second supervisor.

Alongside her doctoral research, Kim is affiliated as a postdoctoral researcher (started in November 2025) with the Re/presenting Europe project at Leiden University.