Warning: this post is very personal, and very Jewish.
I've always wanted to be the type of lolita who wears Moitie, but there's one big reason that I don't: crosses. There are Moitie pieces out there without crosses, but not many, and the iconic Moitie custom laces feature crosses prominently. Additionally, a lot of their other motifs, like coffins, draw from Christian death customs, which I don't relate to.
Even in sweeter styles, crosses can be difficult to avoid; just take Angelic Pretty's Dream Cat Go Round for example:
So why does a fashion from Japan, a country where less than 2% of the population identify as Christian, rely so heavily on Christian imagery?
There are three main contributors to the popularity of crosses and other Christian motifs in lolita specifically: punk subversion, gothic vampire imagery, and classical art. All of these are built up by syncreticism, the tendency of a culture to adopt cultural customs regardless of origin, often changing the meaning in the process. Syncreticism is why Japanese people celebrate secular civic holidays (like New Year's), Buddhist-Confucian holidays (like Obon), and Christian holidays (Valentine's Day and Christmas), all in the same year. In other words, religions are not mutually exclusive. Additionally, this adoption of holidays and customs without the need for belief or exclusivity helps decontexualize symbols to the point where they lose their meaning: they become almost purely aesthetic.
Punk Subversion
A lot of punk motifs, like crowns, tartan, flags, the VW orb, and crosses, originated as symbols of authority. By combining these symbols of authority with working-class attire (often jeans and work boots), as well as spikes, unconventional makeup, dramatic hair, and leather, punks brought (and bring) these elevated symbols down to earth. Punk takes ownership over these motifs, and with that, makes the people their own authority. Surrounded by studs and patches, no-one, even in a Christian-dominated culture, would mistake a cross as sincere.
Japan has a punk movement, which musically and stylistically mirrors UK and US punk. Punk is one of the most internationally enduring countercultures, even if people think it's dead. But without the power dynamics behind punk subversion (the UK monarchy's orb and crown or the American government's flag), the symbols lose their intent and a lot of their bite.
Gothic/Vampiric Imagery
Gothic and vampiric imagery combine a few different stylistic aspects, especially Victorian mourning aesthetics and the association of horror characters with churches. Although mixing horror characters like Dracula with Christian motifs like churches and graveyards was originally meant to be a kind of twisting of the more familiar church imagery, eventually, the association became stronger than the motifs it drew from, and in some places (like Japan), the religiousity of churches wasn't very strong to begin with. One great example of this is the use of church organs to convey that
a character is an evil mastermind. With the religious feeling replaced by the theme of vampires, it's no surprise that the band Malice Mizer, the Vampire Cafe, and pretty much every gothic brand ever decided to draw heavily from that imagery.
Classical Art
This tendency happens most with classic brands like Juliette et Justine. Basically, the greatest patron of European classical art through the past centuries has been the Catholic Church. Naturally, most classical art that we have ends up incorporating at least some religious motifs; for painting dresses, this ends, up being directly printed onto the dress and/or tights. There's also plenty of crosses on tights and accessories, and of course, the infamous halo crowns, which draw on classical depictions of saints and Jesus. Rather than subversion or spookiness, the classical art tendency uses crosses as shorthand for elegance.. This theme brings us to my least favorite dress in lolita, the Christ Corset JSK by Juliette et Justine.
Lolita in Christian Cultures
All together, these motifs don't mean someone is religious, at least in Japanese culture. But in Christian-dominated societies (and especially in the American South [there are three churches within a mile of my parents' house]), where crosses are seen as a normalized profession of faith, they signify Christianity.
I'm not comfortable with being confused for Christian; Christianity (particularly the Catholic Church, from which many of these symbols originate) has not been kind to the Jews. I would like to wear more gothic lolita for sure, but my discomfort with crosses makes it difficult. Even though these motifs aren't meant in a Christian way, I still can't feel comfortable with them.
Jewish Motifs in Lolita
Some people may argue that there is a place for me, that there are Jewish motifs in lolita, like the stars on Angelic Pretty's Magic Amulet.
These may be six-pointed stars, but they're not Stars of David; they're just hexagrams, one alchemical symbol in a sea of other alchemical and astrological symbols. The Star of David isn't the best symbol of Judaism, anyway, because it's been used by some really unpleasant people in the past century.
There's generally not a lot of Jewish symbolism in fashion anywhere, partially because being visibly Jewish can be dangerous. Additionally, the Jewish tradition limits art to abstracts and depictions of non-living things and plants. Still, if someone out there wants to celebrate Jewish lolitas, here's a list of cool motifs to look into:
- Candles (Especially Shabbat and Havdalah candles)
- Pomegranates
- Wine and grapes
- Garlic and onions (cultural)
- Books and scrolls
- Lettering (any language but especially Hebrew)
- Hamsa (symbolic hand, with or without evil eye)
- Shofar
- Calling your mother, she worries
- Mezuzah
- Dark blue
- Fringe and tassles
Honestly, I think a Jewish dress might be interesting, but it's not really necessary. I just want to have fun in lolita like everyone else, and for me, that means leaving the crosses behind.
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