Construction of Social Identities - Assignment Example

Construction of Social Identities Introduction With the development of human civilization or perhaps since the period of initiation of the civilization, fashions have been a key ingredient in determining the social identities. The people of ancient civilizations like that of Greeks or Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa even had a particular fashion statement of their own that distinguished them from the rest of the world. From the point of time humans started clothing their bodies, they automatically inculcated to design their robe in a particular manner. Cloth was never seen or used in the human civilization as a mere means to cover the body. Fashion has always directed humans to create a self-identity and is craved according to the geographical location and cultural or religious discourse. Dress is not just mere apparel; it is symbolic of social, cultural and economic identity. It is a very poignant determining factor for social status and cultural block. Looking at the fashion of a gentleman or lady, one can determine the respective class, society or his geographical belonging. Thus, dress is a medium to hide many lacunas of human life and characteristics with gleaming shine or brightness. Lolita in Japan and the Influence on Society Since the inception of fashion in human civilization, it had been quite instrumental in designing and determining socio-cultural identity transcended sometime beyond the mere periphery of ethnic identity. The greatest instance in this regard is the subculture that evolved from the Lolita culture in Japan. A fashion statement which becomes so popular in the Asian province of Japan, actually originated from the Victorian style of clothing. With this the fashion trend from the Rocco period also influenced the Lolita fashion. Lolita fashion attained its unique stature by mingling gothic elements into the pertaining fashion statement to its context. Through the passage of time, Lolita fashion has evolved into myriad of sub styles which gave birth to a devoted subculture in Japan. The Lolita look essentially consists of a skirt or dress up to knee-length along with a few other kinds of dress elements such as headdress, blouse, petticoat, knee high shocks along with shoes that are of rocking horse kind or high heel or platform shoes (Yoshinaga & Ishikawa, 2007). The exact origination of Lolita fashion is not clear but it gained its popularity and started reaching many parts of the world during the movement that started during the period of late 1970s when famous brands and labels namely Pink House, Milk and Angelic Pretty began to sell clothes that was about to be considered as “Lolita” by the contemporary standard. The concept of “Lolita fashion” has no relation or direct connection with the novel by Vladimir Nabokov bearing the same name. The novel is quite famous but the fashion trend named “Lolita” has apparently nothing got to do with the novel ands its iconographic representation. To be precise, the novel “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov has lots of sexual perspectives and innuendoes within the plot of the novel but the fashion trend and its adherents tried to follow a concept religiously that presented them more as a Victorian children or like a doll made of porcelain. The look suggested that of a “cute” or something preferably “beautiful” rather than being “sexy”. Most of the Lolitas view their fashion trend as something related with innocence and strongly adhere that they have nothing to do with the sex at all. The Lolita concept of fashion is more close to the word “wasei-eigo”. The objective of the paper is to establish definite social identities remaining at the centre of the fashion statements and various apparels. To establish this connection, it is essential to find the objective operating behind the growth of this particular fashion statement. This objective can be obviously traced from the irony of the name itself the fashion trend was evolved with a specific social objective to fight against the growing tendency of women to display their body and display their skin in the contemporary society, more precisely instigated to the younger women. Lolita fashion is more than just a trend or a particular trend setter in the cannon of fashion is a movement. In the context of the movement, the girls ranging from the age - group of pre-teens to late 20s give a tough fight to the contemporary fashion with humility and modesty. Lolita fashion was culminated to make a girl feel young, sweet, and beautiful to its off-limits and this depends particularly on which types of Lolita fashion, a girl adhere. For a better understanding of the fashion as a movement, the statement by a follower of the Gothic Lolita becomes important and evident in this regard, “We certainly do not do this for the attention of men. In fact, the fashion frequently alienates them. Frequently, female sexuality is portrayed in a way that is palatable and accessible to men, and anything outside of that is intimidating. Something so unabashedly female is ultimately kind of scary—in fact, I consider it to be pretty confrontational” (MacDonald, 2008).  Lolita fashion has extended its realm and there are many other subcultures and also many divisions of the Lolita fashion and culture. All these divisions give rise to separate cultural and social entities. Lolita Fashion is divided into Gothic Lolita, Sweet Lolita, Classic Lolita, Punk Lolita among others. There are other poignant themes and style included in the fashion statement like that of Wa Lolita, Qi Lolita , Oji (Boystyle), Hime Lolita, Guro Lolita and Sailor Lolita. Lolita fashion is one of the most prominent fashion styles all across the world. The influence of Lolita fashion in the Eastern part of the world, i.e. in Japan, is immense. Lolita fashion has certain sub – divisions. Gothic Lolita, or GothLoli as it is known as, is one of the most followed one. The popularity of GothLoli is particularly evident in the young generation of Japanese girls, especially among the Harajuku girls is particularly noteworthy. As discussed earlier, Lolita fashion represents the Victorian Era. And this reason has been very influential for its popularity in the land of rising sun. Contrary to the popular belief, Lolita fashion does not facilitate sexual arousal. Rather, according to the modern fashion experts and sociologists, the fashion of Lolita depicts the youthfulness of the person along with cheering behavior. In fact, it has been the prime reason for the popularity of the fashion trend among the Japanese girls of the modern generation. The Harazuku girls of Japan have in fact taken up the Lolita fashion to be the central theme of social identity. The youthful and the cheerful attitude that the community presents mostly symbolize with that of the Lolita fashion (Japanese Life Style, n.d.). Today, the Lolita fashion trend has numerous sub – genres. The most high - flying sub – genre of Lolita fashion is that of Gothic Lolita. Gothic Lolita emphasizes upon an attitude of Victorian girl having a mood of Goth. As it is well – known fact that Japanese teen agers have enhanced inclination towards looking cute and youthful appearance, GothLoli has been one of the most famous sub – genres of modern fashion (Neko, n.d.). The fact that this particular fashion trend has been increasingly accepted by the Japanese populace (not only teen agers but also the middle aged women and ladies) can be recognized by the social behavior and the corporate strategies of the cloth manufacturers. The fashion trend has been one of those trends that are mass – marketed in Japan. The popularity of the trend is immense as one can find the presence of GothLoli or that of the Lolita fashions in almost everywhere in Japan be it television shows, manga books or in the highways of the leading and reputed towns of Tokyo and Osaka, especially among that of Harajuku girls of Japan (Hemi.Net, 2006). The other important aspect of the Lolita fashion trend has been the increased public attraction for the Japanese girls. The common practice among the Japanese girls has been that of wearing Lolita apparels and posing for pictures to the tourists especially from that of Western nations. Conclusion It can be said without much hesitation that the fashioning trend of Lolita hold supreme importance in the society of Japan. It is evident from the analysis that the impression of Lolita has been much more influential than that of being just a fashion statement. The above discussion makes it very clear that even the construction of the social identity in Japan has been influenced by this popular fashion trend. The youthfulness and the creepy cute impression that is perceived to be central to the theme of Japanese young girls have been definitely overwhelmed by the trends of Lolita. References Hemmy.Net, 2006. Gothic Lolita. Fashions. [Online] Available at: http://www.hemmy.net/2006/02/02/gothic-lolita/ [Accessed May 27, 2010]. Japanese Life Style, No Date. Harazuku. Harazuku Guide. [Online] Available at: http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/tokyo/harajuku.htm [Accessed May 27, 2010]. MacDonald, H., 2008. A Gothic Lolita Speaks. Publishers Weakly. Neko, N. No Date. Lolita and Japanese Society. Lolita Fashion. [Online] Available at: http://www.lolitafashion.org/lolita_culture.php [Accessed May 27, 2010]. Yoshinaga, M. & Ishikawa, K. Gothic Lolita. Phaidon, 2007. Bibliography Aoki, D., No Date. Interview: Jenna Winterberg and Michelle Nguyen. About.Com. [Online] Available at: http://manga.about.com/od/mangaartistswriters/a/JWinterberg.htm [Accessed May 27, 2010]. Barnard, M. Fashion Theory: A Reader. Routledge, 2007. Breward, C. Fashion. Oxford University Press, 2003. Jimenez, D. 2008. A New Generation of Lolitas Makes a Fashion Statement. The New York Times. [Online] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/nyregion/thecity/28trib.html?_r=3&oref=slogin [Accessed May 27, 2010]. Kane, Y. I. & Thomas, L., 2008. Japan's Latest Fashion Has Women Playing Princess for a Day. The Wall Street Journal. [Online] Available at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122713804938242481.html [Accessed May 27, 2010]. Kratz, C. & Reimer, B. Fashion in the Face of Postmodernity. AltaMira Press, 1998. Lolita Charm, No Date. About Lolita Charm. Home. [Online] Available at: http://lolita-charm.blogspot.com/ [Accessed May 27, 2010]. Read More