UNDER THE PETTICOAT: DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES ON MASS COMMERCIALISATION AND COMMODIFICATION OF LOLITA SUBCULTURE

Abstract

This thesis argues that localisation of the Lolita subculture affects the perspectives of the participants on commercialisation and commodification. The thesis involves interviews and participation observation on Singapore’s Lolita community: HappyRori. The thesis firstly addresses the benefits brought by mass commercialisation and commodification of the Lolita subculture for the foreign consumers, as well as the unwanted negative connotations being added to the subculture during the process of commercialisation. The thesis then studies how Singapore’s Lolita community differs from their Japanese counterpart in terms of consumption habits. Singapore’s Lolita community lacks motivation for the do it yourself movement due to Singapore’s ambivalent attitude towards handicrafts. To add on, Singapore Lolitas passively exercise consumer agency in their purchase as compared to the Japanese, which hence allowed the producers in the market to dictate the direction of the subculture. Lastly, the paper will then investigate how Singapore Lolitas perceive authenticity using the concept of simulacra. The paper will also address the lack of a gatekeeping culture in Singapore, which is a major difference as compared to the Japanese Lolita subculture.