Origins of "Lolita"

[blackmaylay.livejournal.com]

For you educational use. Please correct me if I'm wrong. The word "lolita" came from the novel called Lolita (writen by Vladimir Nabokov), which was about the affair between a middle age (perverted) guy who feel in love with a 12 year old girl named Lolita. Someone with the "lolita complex" is a person who is a pediphile (admires childern sexualy). Someone who acts like a child or has the mind of a child has the "wendy complex," which came from the story Peter Pan. Sometimes it can be confused with the "lolita complex." By dictionary definition the word "lolita" is "A seductive adolescent girl"

Comments

[zero-angel-eva.livejournal.com]

yes that is true.... I think the Japanese called it that because high school aged girls looked like young girls. I don't think it was ment to be sexual or maybe it use to... I don't know... I just don't see how lolita today can be suductive since the fashion is pretty conservative and ment to be innocent

[kissindra.livejournal.com]

Using the word "lolita" as part of the description DOES imply sexuality in innocence but like you said the fashions are generally very concervative in terms of high collars/lack of skin showing. ANYTHING can be made sexual depending on the point of view of the person looking at it. For some people covering up is more sexy than just putting everything on show *shrugs* I don't think any of us needs to worry about other peoples oppinions because we are generally just interested on a fashion basis and not a sexual one.

[memeloli.livejournal.com]

The gothic lolita look does have its origins a bit with the lolita term. The look consists of an attitude of being a bit alluring with the looks and glances along with feeling care free and naive like a child. In the book lolita the man who falls in love with lolita is trying to recapture his first love from his child years that had died, lolita brings back all these emotions and feelings (im in no way trying to justify the perve btw). Besides that its really just a look that makes most have a feeling of innocence at the same time being incredibly fashionable. Sexuality without it all hanging out if you will.

[dieinpink.livejournal.com]

i guess it's the thing.. lolita fashion is making girls look younger, cuter and such. which leads to them being a "lolita" in the book-sense of the word because they seem to be young and innocent, but sexy at the same time.. i guess that most of the ones wearing it see it this way though, i guess it's just about fashion.. the japanese have something with the loli-complex though.. look at all the manga.. child-schemes wherever you look. most hentai are best proof >.< those cuuuuute girls with the huuuuuge eyes and the cute face and such >.< *shakes head*
all you wrote is right as much as i can say it ^^

[jasminetoad.livejournal.com]

Lolita is also just the diminuitive form of the name "Delores". (like Delores Hayes, in the Nabokov book). I knew an old lady named Delores who went by Loli or Lolita - I thought that was funny!

not exactly.

[ex-suffocati898.livejournal.com]

Re: not exactly.

[weetziefae.livejournal.com]

AGREE!!!

i love the book!!

Re: not exactly.

[hikari.livejournal.com]

Well, sort of. Lolita is about a pedophile. It's just that it's a lot more than simply a story about a man who lusts after children. There is no denying the fact that Humbert Humbert is a pedophile. He is having sex with his twelve year-old step-daughter, and that makes him a child molester, no matter how "precociously seductive" she may be (m-w.com definition). What seperates Lolita from plain old smut is it's incredible depth.

Someone with a "lolita complex", on the other hand, it not nessicarily a pedophile (although a pedophile can be a person with a lolita complex). The lolita complex is a sexual desire for girls with a "sensualy innocent" quality (oxymoron, I know, but that's the best description I can think of). People (generally men) can find this quality in eighteen or ninteen year-olds, in addition to children. Admittedly, 18-19 is still pretty young, but someone couldn't be called a pedophile for having sex with someone of that age (although they could be smacked with some stadutory rape charges). As you might guess, people with the lolita complex are usually men, middle aged and up.

I highly suggest that everyone reads this book, especially if you're interested in EGL fashion (nice to know a bit about where the word comes from), or even if you just like good literature.

Re: not exactly.

[memeloli.livejournal.com]

Thats exactly what I ment by the im not defending him part.By technicality he is well a pedafile its just theres also a deeper story behind it.

Re: not exactly.

[hikari.livejournal.com]

Very true. In the book, Humbert explains his selective lust for young girls... not just any young girls, but "nymphets", who are bewitching, alluring, etc. (as you said). The definition I gave wasn't meant to explain Humbert's condition, but rather what having a lolita complex means today. In "real life" people, not the character from the book. Sorry, there were sort of two parts to my post, and I didn't clarify which was which (part was about the book, and part was about what lolita complex means in present times). My fault.

Re: not exactly.

[cherrycity.livejournal.com]

An unrelated thought, but that reminds me of Lewis Carrol (creator of Alice, from Alice in Wonderland) always had a certain affinity for young girls (usually before puberty), by befriending them and taking pictures of them, saying that he was taken with their innocence and purity. Isn't some of the EGL clothing loosely based on Alice's style too? (Or, more accurately, I suppose, the styles of that period?)

Re: not exactly.

[saturnia.livejournal.com]

certain maidens "between the age limits of nine and fourteen"

More precisely, he is an "ephebophile", an adult who is attracted to adolescents who have reached puberty.

Re: not exactly.

[saturnia.livejournal.com]

but the thing is he says it's not all puberscent girls he's attracted to... just ones who are aware of their own developing sexuality

Yes, which eliminates prepubescents, ie. children, which means he is not a pedophile. I am referring to the developmental ages of the girls he is attracted to. Nothing says he has to be attracted to all pubescent girls.

Re: not exactly.

[ange-vole.livejournal.com]

actually -
that all depends on what state you are in.
However - 18 or 19 is not the age of statatory rape,
unless the woman does not consent.
Generally the age is "16".
In other words, the woman can consent and nothing can happen to the man - but if the parents wish to press charges they may - UNTIL she is 18.

This is an odd discussion for a fashion forum o_O

Re: not exactly.

[hikari.livejournal.com]

You're right. Now that I think about it... isn't it stadutory rape if the man is over 18, and the girl is 16 or under? So if a man over 18 and the girl is 17, nothing will happen unless the parents of the girl press charges? Or maybe that's not it and I missed your point completely. Er.. sorry! I should have looked that up before I talked about it.

Re: not exactly.

[ange-vole.livejournal.com]

it's rape even if the guy is under 18.
Technically, the woman is suppose to be over 18.
If she's 16, she can consent - but if her parents wish to press charges, they may. Although - they might have a hard time, depending on the circumstances and the age.
Basically - if two teenagers under 18 are going at it - it's illegal - and charges can be sent.
(I had to look all of this up because my boyfriend is 11 years older than myself ... we got together when I was 16, and lived in different states with different laws. It was rather complex *8P )

[ange-vole.livejournal.com]

I've never seen the movie,
but if I remember correctly,
Lolita was rather "stuck up" and she would only take the best.
I believe that's why they use the term ... simply because she was always decked out in beautiful clothing - and would only accept beautiful clothing.
It's not about complex - but about characterazation.

I could be completely wrong though *8/

[hikari.livejournal.com]

I've never seen the movie either, but I always thought the connection to fashion related to a part in the book in which Humbert buys Dolores lots of expencive clothing that is intiontionally "childish", much like clothing of EGL fashion. I wish I could remember some of the exact descriptions of the clothes he buys for her, but no luck (in addition, I can't seem to find my copy of the book... which means it might be time to clean my room).