hereticalseraph

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Oh boy, people are still beating the whole “Lolita fashion must be a sexual thing because of the name” dead horse, huh? We’ve been having this discourse for years, people. Don’t know how many times we need to beat this into people’s heads before it finally sticks, but here we go.

So, while there is some loose association going literal decades back between the fashion name and Nabakov’s novel… no. Lolita fashion has never been a fetish thing. Long before the name became associated with the fashion we recognize today, the origins are rooted in 1960’s Victorian revival, the romanticization of a simpler prairie life, and the resulting Natural Kei style that arose from it- the first recognizable old-school Lolita fashion branched off from that around the 1990’s.

The term “Lolita” at the time in Japan was used to describe things associated with childhood that were sexualized or romanticized. As in, a rose-tinted view of childhood and carefree attitudes associated with it. This is why Lolita fashion has always had close ties to Alice in Wonderland! The linked post goes into a LOT more detail about the origins of the fashion as a whole and the history of the name and how it stuck, I highly recommend reading it for yourself.

But anyway, since we can’t have nice things, people infantilize (and of course sexualize) cute/girly aesthetics, fashions, subcultures, and those who partake in them. Hell, take jojifuku- which unlike Lolita fashion, is based on actual children’s clothing- for example. The origins of the fashion stem from a sense of nostalgia and being able to wear the cute (but expensive and quickly outgrown) clothes from shoujo magazines that many families couldn’t afford. The fashion as a whole is based around childhood nostalgia. Not even a fashion where adults wear literal children’s clothing started as a fetish thing.

Honestly the fact that people see adults enjoying traditionally “childish” things and immediately jump to the conclusion that they must either be doing it for sexual reasons or are just “mentally children” (a disgustingly ableist concept) is… VERY concerning.

While you can say there is some childishness to Lolita fashion as a whole, I’d say it’s a more abstract sense of childlike wonder and carefree attitude (ie in the Alice in Wonderland sense) as opposed to outright “dressing like children.” Plus, as Lydia mentioned above, children today do not dress like Lolita fashion, even when in costume. As for doll-like… well, think less “baby doll” and more “porcelain doll.”

If your immediate reaction to hyperfemininity (or anything associated with femininity) is to infantilize and/or sexualize it… That’s a you problem.

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もちもちワッフル（いちご＆いちご）

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2025-01-14

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fairyclub

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Ank Rouge will release their Valentine's dress in collaboration with Jamie ank.

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Comm

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tokyo street snap

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Ank Rouge

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💖 Kawaii Babe Shop! 💖  // Photo Credit: [x]

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leftovers of this limited edition bandaid sticker pack i made for a recent con are now up online 💖✨

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