Sunday, May 14, 2006
Kitty Car
A car full of hello kitty dolls parked in a disabled car parking space in front of a supermarket.
In Japan there is a tremendous tabu upon the sexuality of women. This can be seen in the fact that while men pee on the streets women use "sound princess" devices to hide even the sound of their pee. Or again in the fact that women who express their desire are seen as being monsters, such as Hanya.
As argued by Foucalt and others, any desire that is repressed returns in other forms. The more a desire is repressed, the more it comes back in a modified cleansed, neutered way.
While Japanese women are not allowed to give expression to their desire directly, Japanese society is awash with expressions of de-wombed maternal love. Being cute (kawaii) is very positive and important. Perceiving things as cute (kwaiiiiiii) is likewise postive and important. And surrounding oneself with cute things, such as many "hello kitty" cat dolls is likewise a ritual expression of womb based sexuality without the womb. In this car there are babies everywhere but they are all made of polyester and nylon. There were even baby sized dolls on the back seat.
The hello kitty characters on the back seat are the size of young children. The numberplate is held on by Hello Kitty headed screws and the water jets for the windscreen are squirted from a Hello Kitty capped nozzle.
Hello Kitty is copyright the Sanrio corporation.
In Japan there is a tremendous tabu upon the sexuality of women. This can be seen in the fact that while men pee on the streets women use "sound princess" devices to hide even the sound of their pee. Or again in the fact that women who express their desire are seen as being monsters, such as Hanya.
As argued by Foucalt and others, any desire that is repressed returns in other forms. The more a desire is repressed, the more it comes back in a modified cleansed, neutered way.
While Japanese women are not allowed to give expression to their desire directly, Japanese society is awash with expressions of de-wombed maternal love. Being cute (kawaii) is very positive and important. Perceiving things as cute (kwaiiiiiii) is likewise postive and important. And surrounding oneself with cute things, such as many "hello kitty" cat dolls is likewise a ritual expression of womb based sexuality without the womb. In this car there are babies everywhere but they are all made of polyester and nylon. There were even baby sized dolls on the back seat.
The hello kitty characters on the back seat are the size of young children. The numberplate is held on by Hello Kitty headed screws and the water jets for the windscreen are squirted from a Hello Kitty capped nozzle.
Hello Kitty is copyright the Sanrio corporation.
Labels: japan, japanese culture, nihonbunka, 日本文化
This blog represents the opinions of the author, Timothy Takemoto, and not the opinions of his employer.