Comments on: Empowerment…Lolita style?

By: » New About-Face Article on Lolita Style Gender Focus

» New About-Face Article on Lolita Style Gender Focus — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 19:35:33 +0000

[...] I have a newÂ column up at About-Face called “Empowerment…Lolita style?” [...]

By: karak

karak — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 19:42:33 +0000

I’m super-late to the party, but I’m a longtime Lolita who really loves being policed by others. My favorite part is the handwringing above, wondering if I “really understand” the inspirations of my fashion and if I am able to really know what I’m presenting.

I thank you for your patronizing bullshit, but I know very well the origins of my fashion, how others perceive it, the wider implications of dressing like this, and so and so forth. Surprisingly enough, in my empty bow-wearing head, I have a college degree and several years of work experience, as well as being an activist and strong feminist.

And lastly– I am not a girl. I am an adult woman who makes well-researched and well thought out fashion choices. I hazard that I even may have put more thought into lolita that you, gentle commentators. I mean, I’ve only been into the subculture for several years.

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By: Meme Angel

Meme Angel — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:30:34 +0000

I am an Amaloli (Sweet Lolita) and I live the Lolita lifestyle. I agree about the feminism thing. I love Lolita and the modesty it provides and the innocence. It is not at all about sex, nor should it be classified a sex symbol.

By: Miss Versailles

Miss Versailles — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 01:48:01 +0000

Thank you for that comment Chera, you said exactly what I wanted to say. I love Lolita, and while it may entice perverts, blaming the girl in the clothing is the same as blaming the child he molests. If Lolita is using innocence as a sex symbol, how can wearing a skin tight, belly-baring halter top not?

By: Jarrah

Jarrah — Tue, 25 May 2010 20:11:56 +0000

Thanks everyone for your comments and feedback. I would be really interested to learn more about the different genres of Lolita. Clearly there’s not a simple answer to whether or not it’s empowering – it may vary on an individual basis. I look forward to the planned feature film and hope it will address some of these issues in greater detail!

By: Chera

Chera — Fri, 21 May 2010 03:44:02 +0000

I don’t think there is anything demeaning or restricting about lolita, mainly because it is a CHOICE. Not only that, but those who dress lolita are not actually required to wear it constantly or to conform to the lolita “lifestyle.” Lifestyle lolitas are such by choice, and there are many who only embrace it as a style. As for the “rules” of lolita, it’s basically just what makes an outfit lolita. It doesn’t mean that you have to wear exactly that, but if you’re going to declare your outfit as lolita, those are the elements that go into it – you can still wear something different and call it “lolita inspired.”
Lolita is a more conservative fashion, and again, that is a choice. It’s not focused on being unsexy, it’s focused on being cute, elegant, and proper. This doesn’t mean that all proper ladies wear only bell-shaped skirts to their knees, and bake and knit and have perfectly crafted curls. All of the hobbies associated with lolita are just things that many lolitas find to be fun, once again, by choice.
Regarding the price of the outfits, that’s just the big brand name stuff. There are brands for every style of clothing, just think of all those expensive boutiques downtown with tops and jackets typically costing $500 a pop. Yes, brand clothing is overpriced, but not any more so than with any other brand clothing. And, like other styles of clothing, there are cheaper alternatives in lolita. Many learn how to sew because it’s more cost-effective and you can make clothing to your own tastes and measurements. Besides sewing, there are also cheaper sources such as Bodyline and Anna House. The only unmistakeable downside in purchasing lolita clothing is the lack of availability – lolita stores located outside of Japan are rare, so you’d usually have to pay outrageous shipping prices to get your goods (most sites have deals for things like large orders and group orders though.)
So basically, the lolita fashion and lifestyle isn’t meant to be demeaning to your sexuality or gender equality or anything. It’s a choice for those who think that stuff is fun and cute, and we don’t judge people who have different tastes.

By: Harle

Harle — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:34:03 +0000

I do see lolita fashion as empowering. These girls are dressing and in some cases living in a way that is fulfilling for them, despite popular culture’s beauty ideals.

If they want to borrow some Victorian fashion I don’t see anything wrong with that. Fashion of all kinds borrows from different time periods and different cultures. Everything old is new again, and style is constantly being reinvented. Can you pick and choose the parts you like? Of course you can, we aren’t slaves to the past. We’re the students and survivors of it.

I also didn’t necessarily see anything “sexual” here. Sure, some people could alter it to be that way, but that’s their choice. Though it obviously does take inspiration from the kind of clothing little girls used to wear, along with porcelain dolls, there’s really nothing inherently sexual about the style itself.

I think it’s important to remember that there is more than one way to be a feminist, especially today.

By: Linny

Linny — Fri, 14 May 2010 06:28:09 +0000

Lolita is a style of clothing, what people use it for can be very different. We can’t go blaming someone else for being a pervert over a cute girl, and we can’t blame a style of clothing for someone being shallow, or materialistic, or obsessed with the way they look…feminism, or other views.

I for one like the gothic lolita style and implicate it on some of my clothing choices. I like cute things yes, I dress rather “dark” you could say. Am I obsessed with myself? No. Are my clothes revealing? No. How would I treat an outright pervert? A bitch slap to the face.

I wear what I like, so I hope that you don’t mix one clothing style with all these different things about the people who wear them. I know we like to see things as a whole, but not everything is one way.

Maybe that group of girls did it for that reason, but I do not. I choose to be beautiful in the way I want with no consideration to men. I’ve had lots of mean comments for dressing the way I do, and they just prove what low lives they are.

By: Mary G.S

Mary G.S — Thu, 13 May 2010 05:16:03 +0000

I believe that sadly woman’s sexuality is today used as some way to seal stuff. I think it is cool that these girls are rejecting being seen as sex objects but I do not think that means that they have to go as far as they do. For example if a woman likes make-up and cooking that is fine but I do not think that should define what it means to be a woman. What it means to be a woman is a far more complicated then was a woman does to pass time. Since I lost my mother to cancer when I was little I have been trying to understand what it really means to be a woman and it has been a challenge to not have my mother there to talk about stuff like that. About.com has been helpful in trying to understand that more and I am glad that people are speaking out angst sexism.