A presentation at the second East Asian Popular Culture Conference , Kyushu University, January 12, 2021
Abstract:
Japanese kawaii has a global presence, but is especially popular in East Asia. The gendered development of kawaii has implications for the rest of the world as this eminently sharable aesthetic gains popularity and influence outside its country of origin.
Kawaii is often assumed to be a top-down commodity aesthetic driven by corporate profit. Yet recently various transnational, bottom-up subcultures and practices have arisen that continue the work of exploring alternative gendered identities initiated by kawaii culture in Japan.
This paper considers examples of new communities that deploy this aesthetic to promote inclusivity and support marginalized voices.
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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.