Hello Kitty has something to say
Hello Kitty has something to say - I’m sure she does - we all do. She’s a busy kitty, getting around, all over back packs, pencil cases, running shoes, t-shirts, pajamas, carpets, toothbrushes… I know lots of little girls (and one professor) who think Hello Kitty is great and own HK gear, but what message are they picking up from this quiet puss with no mouth?
Where is Hello Kitty’s mouth?
The message here is loud and clear (unlike HK’s voice): don’t just be quiet and passive, be Silent. You have nothing to say - you are forbidden from speaking. Stop thinking and feeling too.
I propose an artistic endeavour where people who are tired of women being told to stay out of the way and keep quiet put the mouth back on Hello Kitty. I invite you to “Take Back the Mouth”. Leave a comment with a link to where we can find your creations.
I am kitty cat - hear me roar!
So what does that say about Dilbert?
Dilbert is an engineer, a group known for their smarts. And though he may be goofy he is certainly given opportunities to share his thoughts in the text that goes with the strip.
I’m not suggesting a boycott of Hello Kitty but I think it’s important to see how insidious the messages about women’s expected behaviour have become. Why doesn’t it seem strange to us that this character is voiceless? Is it because we’ve grown accustomed to women’s silence?
i grew up loving hello kitty, and it’s quite wierd and disturbing that this so called “world ambassador” has no mouth. How is that possible? Well, now as a
somewhat more mature adult, I see this as a problem. I am thinking of making art and putting a mouth on her. Let me tell you there is a lot she has to say about
some of what’s been ‘goin on in the world!
-mel
I don’t see it as that big of a deal, after all they made Hello Kitty shows for kids where she is talking and she still doesn’t have a mouth.
@ Olivia: I think this is exactly why it’s worth mentioning though. If there wasn’t a long history of women being subordinated and silenced it wouldn’t matter. Once you put it into context, and look at Hello Kitty (HK) as a product and representation of our culture, it’s a problem. Think about this: if HK doesn’t have a mouth in those cartoons, who is speaking for her? Does she create her own speech or does someone else speak for her? If it’s another person, does this person represent HK’s true thoughts or what they want HK to say? Does this remind you of women now and in that past who have been unable to act and choose for themselves and forced to submit, please, and do as their told?
wow that is so clever. you really have a point there. can i use the picture if i tell that you made it?
//frida(from sweden)
Actually, hello kitty isnt a message to women to shut their mouths..hello kitty doesnt have a mouth because she speaks with her heart instead of blabbing off meaningless nothings with her mouth like most people do…people are completely missing the real message here, youre all looking at too many trivial details
@ frida k: sure, go ahead and use it.
@ krystle: I’m sorry you think the details are trivia. I believe that the message in the details is often where we find truths about ourselves and our society. Why couldn’t HK speak from the heart (and mind) with her mouth?
If you read up on Hello Kitty you’d know about her feminist underpinings. But instead you do no research whatsoever and look like a fool.
@ Off Putting: welcome and thanks for your comment. I did read up on HK and her roots are not feminist — they’re consumerist. HK was designed by Japanese company Sanrio in the 1970s and first seen on a coin purse and later, well, seen on anything and everything imaginable. Thanks for stopping by.
Hello Kitty doesnt have a mouth because she was initially just an image. an image that represents girls being seen not heard. her popularity is bizarre, and i often wonder who gives their children more hello kitty products, mums or dads?
Considering how popular she is these days, youd think shed have a mouth. but perhaps she is so popular because she is mouthless, ready and waiting for you to adopt her as yourself and speak for her i.e buy hello kitty products or she dies.
sanrio even admits that they want the consumer to project their emotions onto hello kitty, however i believe that hello kitty has no mouth because it is cheaper to manufactor a cat without a mouth, and cat mouths look slightly vagina ish, and in 1974 most people were proud to debase women. her boyfreind or family has no mouth either- and all her friends have mouths, but none are as wholesome as hello kitty
and yes, i well draw hello kittys with mouths, angry mouths with fangs
hello kitty u dont have a mouth beacause u ask the devel to have a mouth