The Lolita Argument
What is the wholesale attraction Gothic Lolita style and subculture? It has the appeal of being controversial. There are two sides to the argument of Lolita fashion and culture:
Opposition: Lolita fashion appeals to pedophiles and glorifies the Lolicon culture; the style was developed in order to entertain men with an inclination towards underage, prepubescent or pubescent girls.
Defense: Lolita fashion is aggressively feminine; Lolitas confront the male ideals for fashion, and instant of conforming with what men would normally find attractive, Lolita appeals to what women want to wear to express their cute/girly side. The style isn’t meant to be attractive to the opposite sex; it’s meant to be a female indulgence.
Those are the two sides of the spectrum. If you’re going to put on the dress, you have to be able to form an opinion and defend yourself. And many Lolitas do; but the best of the culture understands that Lolita shares its name with several different derivative terms for the sexualization of underage girls. To embrace your own culture, you have to be able to stand up for it too, in the face of opposition. Especially when the opposition makes a great point.
The fact is, “Lolita” is a term for a sexually attractive young girl; the novel of the same name by Vladimir Nabokov introduced it and with the novel’s popularity, grew the popularity of the term. It was adapted into two films. And eventually lolicon/roricon/loli made its appearance in Japan. Lolicon is a form Hentai, Japanese animated pornography that became popular in Japan in the 1970s, and became widely available to the public. Funny enough, in the late 1970s is when the first Lolita fashion labels began to appear; Pink House, Milk and Pretty. Most articles state that the exact origin is unclear.
Anyone can draw the connection. It looks like Lolita fashion originated with Lolicon, and evolved from there. Even if Lolita fashion did start out as a way to emulate little girls in order to appeal to males with pedophilic tendencies, what’s important, is what it’s evolved into –So what if its origins are shady? Currently, Lolita subculture celebrates femininity, –and it means something different to each Lolita anyway; self-expression is subjective.
