My Love-Hate Relationship with Katy Perry, Zooey Deschanel, Hello Kitty, and Being a Woman Child

I grew up with Hello Kitty and her fellow characters-Keroppi, Kiki & Lala, Pochacoco, Chococat, and more-so I have a soft spot for Hello Kitty and her entourage.  There was my pencil box, a tiny little bubble gum machine, tin storage box, mirrored compact, wallet, hairbrush and other Hello Kitty items that were purchased with my allowance at the local toy shop.

Just the other day, I bought a Hello Kitty notebook from Target, and I'm writing all these adult notes in it, and I'm thinking about how 20 or more years ago I would've been playing MASH in this notebook and writing "I Love Whomever" with hearts around it.  Then, I'm thinking how I love this notebook, but maybe I shouldn't have bought it seeing as how I'm 32, and, of course, I'm thinking, well, I don't give a shit what others think.  Maybe I should though.  It's the whole Peter Pan conundrum all over again.

At that point, I start thinking about how Zooey Deschanel probably has a closet full of Hello Kitty notepads, and, if she has a Hello Kitty arsenal, it's okay that I do too, right?  But Zooey Deschanel wears those abominable baby doll dresses and looks like she should be stuffed in a toy box or doll house.  Then there's her doppelganger, Katy Perry.  Katy Perry wears my favorite candies and there's her cupcake bra, which you can buy a replica of at Etsy. Katy Perry is my favorite walking scratch and sniff sticker; however, I don't want to be a strawberry scented scratch and sniff sticker.  Or do I?  I have enough little girl stickers to cover my entire body. 

I know that my girlie kid likes are a cultural trend that's taking over the country.  I'm not alone.  There are girls like me all over the place (notice that I still refer to myself as a girl) buying Hello Kitty notebooks.  Look at all the headbands, bows, polka dots, and gathered baby doll skirts blowing up the fashion scene right now.  Then there are the outrageous nail polish colors out there that are less than sophisticated like glitter, crackled paint, Malibu Barbie pink, patterns, and neons.  Make-up is headed in this direction too with eyeshadow colors like neon orange, blue, and yellow.  There's also the fake eye lashes some even have crystals at the base.  Mac has always carried art cosmetics, but, come on, Loreal, not you. 

I read arguments saying this trend is a cultural response to the economic downturn and that it allows women to experience the comforts of their childhood in a time of uncertainty, but I don't think that's it at least not completely.  This was starting to happen before the economic downturn.  I have the childish tee shirts to prove it. I think it has a little something to do with botox, vanity visits to dermatologists, wrinkle creams, and the desire to turn back the clock.  We've started to turn the clock way back too all the way back to elementary school and before adolescence when we had dewier skin that hadn't been pimpled and then later crinkled at the eyes.  There's the turning the clock back and there's also the nostalgia factor too. 

I still haven't figured out how and why I became a woman child, and I'm still uncertain whether I'll change my ways.  I do know that when I'm around a woman my age who is dressed smartly in quality, expensive heels that make her calves go pop, a dress that makes her look feminine but tough, is wearing lipstick NOT lip gloss, and has polished hair, I feel a little silly in her commanding presence, but I don't seem to care enough to change. 

The other side of this that is comical too is that there's been the man child label around for years now with the man child going around playing Halo, never getting a real job, and not knowing how to make a meal that isn't Ramen noodles or cereal, change oil in a car, check tire pressure, and much less repair the broken toilet.  Seems that with the woman child around now there ought to be a lot of happy marriages between the woman child and the man child, but I read the other day that the number of people getting married is way down from where it once was not too long ago.  Again, a way to postpone adulthood and responsibility.  

What is certain is that this female cultural trend is perpetuated by corporate America capitalizing off of the woman child, and I don't think this phenomenon is going to change any time soon.

Proof:  Below are two coveted items from my childhood Hello Kitty collection.  For a while, I was putting headache medicine in the Pippo container, and, from time to time, I still carry around the Pochacco mirror compact.