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Guest appearance on the Endless Thread podcast
It was great fun talking to Ben and Amory on the Endless Thread podcast about cuteness in general and the Labubu craze in particular. Here’s a description:
“While some people find Labubus terrifying, millions of others find their big eyes and furry features irresistibly adorable. Why? From Labubu dolls taking over TikTok, to emoji taking over our text messages, cuteness is all over the internet. Ben and Amory talk to Joshua Paul Dale, professor at Chuo University and the preeminent cuteness expert about how cute has conquered all.”
You can listen to the episdode here.
Related posts
Lecture on Cute Studies at the University of Chicago.
I was a consultant for the CUTE exhibition at Somerset House in London. I also wrote an essay for the catalogue called: “The Irresistible Rise of Cuteness” (pp. 8-19).
Joshua Paul Dale, the author of Irresistible: How Cuteness Wired our Brains and Conquered the World, spoke to the CBC about why the Hello Kitty mascot endures half a century after it first came out in Japan.
It all started with a photograph of Lisa from mega K-pop girl band Blackpink, carrying a bag with an “ugly” doll accessory strapped to her bag. The demand for Labubu exploded to epic proportions thereafter and the craze has led to thousands of dollars spent – and sometimes lost through scams. Labubu isn’t the first (remember Hello Kitty?) and it certainly won’t be the last. So why is it that “cute” sells so well? Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman speak to Dr Joshua Paul Dale, Professor, Department of British and American Literature Culture, Chuo University, to find out more.
This is an op-ed I wrote for The Japan Times.