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Copyright by Yi Li 2018

The Report Committee for Yi Li Certifies that this is the approved version of the following report:

Lolitas, Not Living Dolls

APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE:

Dennis Darling, Supervisor

Mary Bock

Lolitas, Not Living Dolls

by

Yi Li

Report

Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts

The University of Texas at Austin May 2018 Dedication

I dedicate this report to my grandma, who taught me how to be a strong and independent woman.

Acknowledgements

First, I would like to thank all the fans who helped me with this project, especially Tiffany Thomas, Tiffany Grenier, Lindsey Browning, Audrey Browning, Tianjie Pei, Xue Wang, Sae Saito, Brooke Sharretts, Kathy Cao, for sharing so many wonderful stories with me. Also, I would like to thank Professor Dennis Darling and Doctor Mary Bock for their guidance and encouragement. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, grandpa, and all my friends for being there for me all the time.

v Abstract

Lolitas, Not Living Dolls

Yi Li, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2018

Supervisor: Dennis Darling

Lolita is a starting in Japan during 1990s. It is based on Victorian and Edwardian children’s clothing with a Rococo influence. Although Lolita fashion appears to be extremely delicate and feminine, many Lolita fans do not like to be simply described as “living dolls”. They all have different motivations and different attitudes towards this culture. And this culture allows them to be tough and strong inside while sweet outside.

vi Table of Contents

Multi-media Story ...... 1

Appendix ...... 12

Bibliography ...... 13

vii Lolitas, Not Living Dolls

Dec.3, 2017, more than 50 Texas Lolita fans gathered in Hotel Ella in Austin to celebrate International Lolita Day. Lolita fashion is a subculture starting in Japan during 1990s.

Amye Cortiaus, 21, traveled from Houston to participate in this event. International Lolita Day is celebrated twice a year on the first Saturday of June and December.

1

Lolita fashion has several different sub-styles, such as gothic, classic, sweet, punk, guru, and others. Ava Tafolla is wearing classic Lolita.

Lolita fashion is influenced by Victorian and Edwardian children’s clothing, so it often comes with bright colors and cute decorations.

2

Kathy Cao’s friends help her with her hair accessories. Usually, Lolitas spend hours doing their makeup and styling their outfits.

Like most of the Lolita fans, Tiffany Grenier, 30, high school teacher, began to know about this subculture from and .

3 Petticoats, corsets, knee-length socks, Mary Janes, flowers and feathers, Victorian and Edwardian styles—these are the features of a Japanese subculture called Lolita fashion. Although Lolita fashion appears to be extremely delicate and feminine, many Lolita fans do not like to be simply described as “living dolls”—they think it indicates weak personalities. For Lolita fans, this fashion is more than doll-like clothes and makeup. They all have different motivations and different attitudes towards this culture. And this culture allows them to be tough and strong inside while sweet outside. Video: https://youtu.be/9KbGwLohREA(Why do you like Lolita Fashion?) Many people think of “Lolita” as the the slang term for sexually precocious young girl, because of the novel written by Russian American novelist . But within the Lolita fashion subculture, which originated in Japan during the 1990s, the term only refers to cuteness and elegance. The subculture is based on Victorian and Edwardian children’s clothing with a Rococo influence, all of which are styles from 18th to early 19th century. According to Laura Porzio, an academic researcher who did a study of this subculture, Lolita actually emerged as a reaction to “the rigidity and homogeneity of the bodies of contemporary

Japanese women and men” and tried to “propose new possibilities for corporality and gender.” The fashion has spread its idea not only in Japan but the world, including the U.S.. “Everyone that’s involved with Lolita is very in touch with their femininity, they are proud of it, they are strong because their femininity, we are lucky we can celebrate

4 that through a fashion,” said Audrey Browning, 23, who has been a Lolita fan for six years. Additionally, some Lolita fans use the dress as a way to express the idea that they have the right to wear what they want. “I know a lot of women are scared to wear very feminine dresses, because they are scared that people would think they are girly and need protection,” said Tianjie Pei, 21, a college student. “I have the right to decide what I want to wear. I like to wear pretty dresses, I like to look like a princess, how I dress doesn’t mean who I am.”

According to Anthropology professor Pauline Strong, are ways that people set themselves apart from the dominant culture, they can be a way to express independence, they can be a form of rebellion, they can also give people a sense of belonging. The first group of Lolita fans in Texas got into this culture around 2000. The majority of them learned about this subculture from mange and anime. Compared to Japan, Lolita fans in the U.S. are more willing to have large groups. They schedule meetups and share experiences through online forums and social media platforms. ATX Lolita is a group that boasts 467 members on its Facebook page. They usually have one to two meetups every month and every person in the group has the right to create their own event. “It helps me to reach out a lot more and it makes me very outgoing,” said Tiffany Grenier, 30, who used to be the leader of the Austin group. “Every major city has a place where Lolitas meet up,” Grenier introduced. “Even in places, over the years I thought would have no Lolita community, like out in the middle of nowhere in Texas, there are actually people that are meeting up. 5

Members of the ATX Lolita group play card games in one of their meetups. They usually do a variety of different things in meetups, such as having tea parties, visiting museums, reading books, etc.

The cards they play are also in the Lolita style.

6

Catherine Ramos shows other Lolita fans how to draw a Lolita version of Hangman.

While some of the Lolitas only dress in this fashion for events with groups, some of them are “lifestyle Lolitas” who incorporate this fashion into their day to day life. Lindsey Browning, 38, a writer with 13 years experience in this fashion, is one of them. She wears Lolita clothes whenever she goes out or works at home and is currently decorating her house in the Lolita style. She even once took a public kickboxing class in a full coordinate—head to toe Lolita garb. As a person who deals with chronic illness, Lindsey feels that being able to dress in the way she loves helps to encourage her. “Taking the time to put on a dress can make me feel more positive about the day and better about myself.”

7

Lindsey Browning is doing her weekly grocery shopping in her Lolita clothes.

Reginald Hebert, Browning’s husband, is very supportive with her hobby and also involved with Japanese culture, but he is a little shy about drawing attention to himself.

8

Another customer approaches Browning, praises her dress, and asks if it’s from Japanese culture.

Lindsey said that children often look at her at the checkout counter and treat her like a princess. “It makes people happy to see someone wearing something that makes it seem like magic is real.”

9 But wearing Lolita in public alone does take courage. The dramatic look usually makes people curious and they often ask questions, sometimes awkward questions. “We have been asked if we are getting married once and if we are in a play twice,” Tiffany Grenier described when she and her boyfriend both dressed in Lolita style to a Sushi restaurant. Moreover, sometimes wearing Lolita style in public can cause people to stare or take pictures without consent. Video：https://youtu.be/n4TR1lnRm68 (People asking questions about Lolita)

“People would come to you, they scream at you, they want to take pictures of you, they will take pictures of you without your permission, they will make their kids take pictures with you,” Tiffany Thomas, 29, a former Air Force member, said with a long pause. “It’s very weird.” Misunderstandings about this subculture also requires Lolita fans to be strong inside. “The normal community doesn’t think you are normal, so you have to be very mentally tough,” said Tiffany Thomas. People might make judgements only based on the Lolita dress and don’t really see the person who is wearing it. “Of course people are gonna think it’s weird, because they have never seen this before,” said Audrey Browning. “But it’s not right.” Here are some of the stories behind Lolita’s delicate dresses. Videos：

https://youtu.be/g2FQOm_AEGA(“Lolita and military are kind of similar”) https://youtu.be/Ef16fWJJQxo(“I don’t use my real name in Lolita”) 10 https://youtu.be/u_cEGuLDO10(“It really makes me comfortable with expressing who I am”) https://youtu.be/HMQUubWUnsQ(“I just call it a dress”) https://youtu.be/EgKWFOHMJuY(“This is far more expressive and unique”)

11 Appendix

List of the videos attached: 1. Why do you like Lolita Fashion? 2. People asking questions about Lolita 3. “Lolita and military are kind of similar” 4. “I don’t use my real name in Lolita” 5. “It really makes me comfortable with expressing who I am” 6. “I just call it a dress” 7. “This is far more expressive and unique”

12 Bibliography

Thomas, Tiffany. Personal Interview. Various Dates. 2018 Pei, Tianjie. Personal Interview. Various Dates. 2018 Wang, Xue. Personal Interview. Various Dates. 2018 Strong, Pauline. Personal Interview. Various Dates. 2018 Grenier, Tiffany. Personal Interview. Various Dates. 2018 Thaera, Greg. Personal Interview. Various Dates. 2018 Browning, Audrey. Personal Interview. Various Dates. 2018 Sharretts, Brooke. Personal Interview. Various Dates. 2018 Browning, Lindsey. Personal Interview. Various Dates. 2018

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