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Resisting the Power of Pornography
In transporting the Lolita identity to the streets or the public arena, the
Gothloli exposes the little-girl image, taking it out into the open whereby it
is no longer secretive or mysterious (and by extension “naughty”). As such,
however, she ventures into unprotected territory. Through her actions of
public display the Gothloli actually invites voyeurism and thus her safe
haven, sought via the yearning to return or hang on to the security of the
childhood space is potentially corruptible.
However, as I have argued, the Japanese Lolita subculture as a
collective power should be identified as a “transgressive model for
representing female sexuality” 208 which can be understood in terms of an
insurgence against the so-called Lolita Complex. According to David
McNeill, “if the Lolita enthusiasts share a philosophy it might be best
understood as a reluctance to embrace the ‘dirty world’ of adulthood”. 209
Therein lies the paradox that, in a country where the age of consent is
thirteen years old and pornographic imagery of cute little girls is rife, the
Gothloli rebels against a position of vulnerability by, as I have emphasised,
taking back the power of the little girl and owning it.
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