The Lolita Complex: - Scholarly Commons Home

A potential explanation for the seeming refusal to grow up observed in
the Gothloli’s attraction to cute, innocent and childlike things is illuminated
when one begins to examine some of the societal issues in Japan, the
birthplace of the Lolita movement, a nation that has been described by
journalist Yuri Kageyama as having an “infantile mentality”. 114 Kageyama
has expressed her concerns for the future of Japan in connection with the
marketing of the kawaii phenomenon, claiming that as the world’s second-
largest economy it will contribute to the demise of Japanese culture. 115 She
has cited Hiroto Mirusawa who supports her anxiety, agreeing with the
opinion “that cute proves the Japanese simply don’t want to grow up”. 116
As discussed earlier in relation to Mathews and Whites’ studies on
Japanese youth, this resistance to growing up is pertinent to, but not
confined to, the Gothloli and represents wider concerns, especially as the
kawaii phenomenon can be seen as an effect as well as a cause. The
attraction to cute things reflects a general malaise and may or may not be the
cause of Japan’s cultural downfall but as a form of escapism from society’s
pressures it equally reflects a rejection of societal expectations. As Ilya
Garger has pointed out, the kawaii image “is an appealing anodyne in a
country marked by… the rigidity of its social hierarchy”. 117
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