Reply #24: There is definitely a "cute" subculture in Japan... [View All]

[El Pinko]

...and it definitely does give young girls and women license to behave like insipid children.

The overall culture is very paternalistic, and women in many workplaces are still relegated the coffee-serving duties.

The post was intended to be tongue-in-cheek, dark humored, but also a little serious. Obviously I don't think "kawaii" is actually contagious or that this one thing is the downfall of Japanese society. I don't even have anything against Hello Kitty per se.

But there is a certain level of infantile behavior that is socially acceptable among young women in Japan that is a bit distressing, and I guess I saw this as yet another expansion of that "cute" culture.


But I wouldn't say it's any more distressing than our culture, which puts tattooed, silicone-enhanced women on "Temptation Islands" or having them compete to "hook up" with Flavor Flav or some has-been headbanger.

They've cornered the market on cute, and we've cornered the market on crass. :shrug: