The Kokubunji International Association website
A presentation for the Kokubunji International Association, Tokyo, Japan, February 17, 2018.
In English you can say: “Don’t be cute!” It’s a common expression used when someone is being too clever. You can use it even if that person is not cute at all. Kawaii is different. Kawaii comes from the earlier kawayui, meaning pitiable or vulnerable. But the modern kawaii does not have that meaning anymore; at least, not the same as cute can mean clever. No one would say: “Don’t be kawaii!” Plus, you can’t look at something that is pitiful but not kawaii and call it kawaii.
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.