Today, I came across a newsletter in Beagle Hall which said "Hello Kitty is a symbol of sexism because she has no mouth".
It struck me because author, speaker and filmmaker Jean Kilbourne also spoke of how advertisements silence women, in literal imagery (such as having women have one finger over their lips) or implied (such as a "smile away your troubles" and "let your eyes do the talking").
Perhaps there is really a subtle message in society that tells women they are better appreciated for looking beautiful and being innocent rather than speaking up.
After all, it is not uncommon to find men who are afraid of having a female partner too 'strong'. Being 'stronger' may encompass many aspects, such as physical size, strength and skill, and financial or career achievement - most often measured by the size of the pay check. Or simply the personality. In Singapore and Taiwan, you have men buying foreign brides. Many of them claim Singaporean women are too demanding for them. One Taiwanese man made it clear when he said, "I just want a simple and innocent girl." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCk_kA2o4wk )
Thinking about where this may be more relevant to my immediate life, I consider the band 3OH!3 and their song "don't trust me" which became a popular hit.
The singer sings of a girl at the bar who he calls a 'whore' and who he 'hooks up' with. And he goes:
"And the best is (best is),
No one knows who you are,Just another girl alone at the bar."
"Don't trust a whore,
Never trust a whore,
Won't trust a whore..."
Never trust a whore,
Won't trust a whore..."
The idea here being that some women are labelled 'whore', and such women are valued for being good to 'hook up' with (for being beautiful/ sexy) but they are not to be trusted (and presumably hence not good for being being in any relationship with), and so it is a good thing that the woman is without a name ("no one knows who you are"), perhaps so one may enjoy the woman for her beauty but without consequences or with no strings attached - such as would be the case if a woman does not speak out.
The singer further goes:
"Shush girl shut your lips,
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips.
I said, Shush girl shut your lips,
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips."
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips.
I said, Shush girl shut your lips,
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips."
This phrase is repeated many times, it is perhaps the most catchy part of the song, and it speaks for itself in how the nameless girl should not speak.
As for Hello Kitty, it never crossed my mind as being a symbol of sexism. But now that I am aware of it... Hello kitty is from Japan - known for it's kawaii (cute) popular culture and a thriving sex industry full of kinky fetishes for school girls and such. Hello Kitty is also a female bobtail cat, targeted at a female customer base, she looks ever so cute, innocent and pretty, and oh, it's also just a little hard for her to speak.
Signing out,
Sugi5. (:
