The Lolita Complex: - Scholarly Commons Home

Though reasons for adopting the Lolita style vary, members of the
movement, whether in Japan or worldwide, are usually dismissive of the
sexualised Nabokovian reference to the subculture’s terminology. Tanya
Godoy claims that the cute Lolita look might be considered sexy from a
Western perspective, due to “fixed images that we associate with certain
types” of dress, such as “a doll’s outfit”, but she believes that “once you re-
contextualise it then it takes on a different meaning”. 8
However these two aspects, “cuteness” and “sexiness”, serve to
complicate the Lolita phenomenon, invalidating the general opinion that the
movement is meaningless and thus beyond investigative depth. A particular
ramification is the problematic “Lolita Complex”, a syndrome said to be
widespread in Japan that represents an obsession with little girls and cute,
often sexual, little-girl imagery. The existence of this element thus
contradicts and counteracts Godoy’s argument about perception.
The Lolita subculture, even in the adoption of the name, provokes
discourse not least in connection with the complex and paradoxical issues it
raises. It also makes, both consciously and subliminally, particular
statements about the culture and society from which it is conceived. This
latter aspect is a major focus of this study.
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