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The Lolita Complex: - Scholarly Commons Home

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Resisting the Power of Pornography<br />

In transporting the <strong>Lolita</strong> identity to the streets or the public arena, the<br />

Gothloli exposes the little-girl image, taking it out into the open whereby it<br />

is no longer secretive or mysterious (and by extension “naughty”). As such,<br />

however, she ventures into unprotected territory. Through her actions of<br />

public display the Gothloli actually invites voyeurism and thus her safe<br />

haven, sought via the yearning to return or hang on to the security of the<br />

childhood space is potentially corruptible.<br />

However, as I have argued, the Japanese <strong>Lolita</strong> subculture as a<br />

collective power should be identified as a “transgressive model for<br />

representing female sexuality” 208 which can be understood in terms of an<br />

insurgence against the so-called <strong>Lolita</strong> <strong>Complex</strong>. According to David<br />

McNeill, “if the <strong>Lolita</strong> enthusiasts share a philosophy it might be best<br />

understood as a reluctance to embrace the ‘dirty world’ of adulthood”. 209<br />

<strong>The</strong>rein lies the paradox that, in a country where the age of consent is<br />

thirteen years old and pornographic imagery of cute little girls is rife, the<br />

Gothloli rebels against a position of vulnerability by, as I have emphasised,<br />

taking back the power of the little girl and owning it.<br />

Page | 214

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