The Lolita Complex: - Scholarly Commons Home

There are several areas of concern voiced in relation to the Lolita
subculture. One is, again, connected with the movement’s attachment to
kawaisa. Garger has referred to a “lamentation” in terms of “the societal
infantilization that kawaii culture represents” and highlighted that “some
even blame it for creating a generation of youth unable to face reality”. 129
According to Alicia Kirby, there is disdain associated with a
“movement that has taken cute fashion into the realms of self-parody [as] a
refusal by the young to grow up” and embrace the adult world. 130 Says
Kirby, the Lolita style especially irks the more conservative, particularly the
“elderly Japanese [people, who have been known to] tut with disapproval.
Shocked and ashamed by the way young people are dressing, they see it as
another symptom of the breakdown of society and of tradition and
respect”. 131
Participation in the Lolita subculture, then, does not only stand for a
symbolic urge to shirk traditional responsibilities, it is also literally a vehicle
for doing so. The Gothloli, in her embracement of frills and childish
frippery, does behave in a way that is frivolous, immature and morally
irresponsible. And, although this behaviour may be seen as an effect, it is
conscious.
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