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- Convenors:
-
Nourit Melcer Padon
(Hebrew University, Jerusalem)
Zuzanna Bulat Silva (University of Wrocław)
Alastair Mackie
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- Stream:
- Sui Generis
- Location:
- Aula 18
- Sessions:
- Wednesday 17 April, -
Time zone: Europe/Madrid
Short Abstract:
Cuteness has become a widespread phenomenon of popular culture across the world, as the popularity of e.g. East Asian concepts of cuteness attest. This interdisciplinary panel seeks to engage with conceptualizations, manifestations and (political) functions of cuteness in contemporary lifeworlds.
Long Abstract:
Recent years have witnessed a burgeoning interest in cuteness across cultures and disciplines. This is far from coincidental, given that "cuteness is a rising trend in global popular culture" (Joshua Paul Dale). One need only think of the dissemination of East Asian concepts of cuteness (kawaii, aegyo) in the wake of the increased global popularity of Japanese and Korean popular culture. While scholars in cultural studies have explored how 'cuteness' is tied to gender stereotypes, the impact of consumption cultures, or to an agenda of making state authority more palatable (e.g. 'Hello Kitty' road blocks in Japan), scholars in the arts have called for more attention to cuteness as an aesthetic category because it indexes conditions of late capitalism. This panel seeks to engage with the phenomenon of 'cuteness' as a marker of transforming contemporary lifeworlds.
We invite papers from various disciplines that cover but are not limited to the following questions: How may 'cuteness' be defined? Is 'cute' inherently superficial or does it have deeper implications? What are important differences between culturally specific notions of 'cuteness'? How is cuteness constructed linguistically in specific cultures (diminutives, special "feminine" and "infantile" adjectives and nouns)? What functions does 'cuteness' fulfil in contemporary socio-cultural worlds? How is cuteness bound with power structures and attachments? And how may various artistic and linguistic expressions contribute to our understanding of cuteness?
We will send panel participants some reading on 'cuteness studies' as this may be helpful for enlivening our discussion by serving as a common basis.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Wednesday 17 April, 2019, -Jason Mario Dydynski (University of Tartu)
Paper short abstract:
This research discusses the existing shortcomings in popular theoretical models of cuteness perception, and offers a cognitive model to better address the joint socio-cultural and biological aspects involved in the perception cuteness.
Paper long abstract:
Cuteness as a scientific concept largely centers around a series of characteristics proposed by Konrad Lorenz (1943) entitled the Kindchenschema. The majority of research analyzing the perception of cuteness, has focused primarily on these proposed traits and how they present themselves in human infants and to some extent living animal species. But, conclusions drawn from these former studies do not necessarily provide insight as to what factors contribute to the perception of cuteness in representations of animals and non-biological objects. Additionally, existing research largely fails to consider the place of cuteness in cultural and social processes.
This research then aims to discuss the existing shortcomings in widely accepted models of cuteness and then move on to establish whether an anthropomorphic analogy, in that of the Kindchenschema, can be extended beyond the perception of human infants or animals to that of inanimate objects, with limited anthropomorphic features. As a tentative solution this research offers a cognitive model for the perception of these characteristics based on semiotic theories in that of Umwelt (Uexküll 1982) and Modeling Systems Theory (Sebeok and Danesi 2000). This research offers a starting point into the exploration of cuteness as both a socio-cultural and biological phenomenon.
Irene Stengs (Meertens Institute)
Paper short abstract:
Focussing on the cute cartoons published by King Vajiralongkorn, this paper investigates the political dimensions of cuteness in present-day Thailand. Building on Brian McVeigh's notion of 'authority cuteness', it is asked what attempted domination and control are behind this royal use of cuteness
Paper long abstract:
This paper aims at a further understanding of the political dimensions of cuteness in present-day Thailand. It takes as its main ethnographic focus the cartoons publicized by Thailand's new king Vajiralongkorn (Rama X). His first royal cartoons appeared in 2017, in the course of the year of mourning for his father, King Bhumibol (1927-2016). The king's cartoons depict - in a white-picket-fence fashion - happy families in the midst of equally happy houses, cars, pets, trees, airplanes and even suitcases. An amalgamation of hearts, angels, cosy nightcaps and anthropomorphic, lovable plants and other objects give these cartoons an aesthetic of cuteness and happiness. King Vajiralonkorn has been publicizing his cartoons through various media, such as the uniforms of his in 2017 established (mass) volunteer organisation, bill boards, special occasion booklets, Christmas cards and as decorations of the, monarchy-owned, Om Sin bank. For one part, it is argued, the cartoons may be understood as the new king's royal signature, specifically designed for public spaces.
Building on Brian McVeigh's (1996) notion of "authority cuteness", which McVeigh understands as an effort by "those in power" to mask their use of power by convincing "those below they are not intimidating" (299), we may wonder what domination and control are behind this royal use of cuteness and how the new king aims to construct a relationship with his subjects. Moreover, as will be shown, the royal cartoons are part of a broader process of 'cute cartoonification' of potentially ambiguous political topics.
Magdalena Craciun (University of Bucharest)
Paper short abstract:
This paper analyses a rejected form of 'cuteness' and demonstrates the central role it plays in the articulation of the subjectivities of young fashionably veiled Turkish women. They construct themselves as the promoters of a new aesthetics of modernity for the 'pious Turkey'.
Paper long abstract:
Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Istanbul between 2012 and 2014, I foreground a rejected form of 'cuteness'. This has been elaborated in a less expected domain, namely clothing for observant Muslim women. In Turkey, since the 1980s, the public demonstration of piety has been relegitimated through the Islamic revivalism and, today, the construction of a 'pious Turkey' under the current Islam-rooted governing party. The mass production of conservative clothing has been a commercial response to this relegitimisation. In the 1980s, the clothes were uniform and in darkish colours, the standard form of veiling consisting of an all-enveloping overcoat and a large headscarf. Since the 1990s, a process of aestheticization of these clothes has begun, a wider range of forms, fabrics and colours being introduced. 'Cuteness' is an outcome of this process, and has been materialized through the embellishment of garments (e.g. frills, ribbons, belts, brooches, pinks, reds, oversized flowers). Nevertheless, 'cuteness' reflects more than an aesthetic preoccupation. Its complexity is explored in this paper through the eyes of young covered women who today reject it: they contest this 'cuteness' because its promoters are men, the clothes betraying their patriarchal stance, and because they see the garments as being of low quality and out of touch with mainstream fashion trends; they avoid it through different means, from not buying such garments to designing their clothes. The papers addresses the role 'cuteness' plays in the articulation of these women's subjectivities as promoters of a new modern aesthetics for the 'pious Turkey'.
Ana Svetel (University of Ljubljana)
Paper short abstract:
Hygge, a Danish concept closely related to the English coziness, gained a wide-spread popularity in the past few years. The paper focuses on how the notion of hygge correlates with the ideas of cuteness and likeability through visual and verbal imagery as well as social and material manifestations.
Paper long abstract:
Hygge, defined as »quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being,« became one of the most fashionable lifestyle buzzwords in the last few years. Its trendy appeal is associated with the notions of 'Nordic' decor, home, comfort, safety, athmosphere and warmth. The concept of hygge reinforces the image of neat, well organized and fair Nordic societies and fit with media and public discourses about this region. Consequently it also strenghtens ethnic stereotyping and therefore has deeper sociocultural implications. Numerous books (e.g. Meik Wiking's The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well), articles and blogs produce a 'hygge' discourse. Its narratives, however, are not only written but also intensively visual. Their cute, homey aesthetics and imagery are reinforced through social media (with Instagram being the domicile of hygge) and play an important role in the construction of digital identites. As Jeppe Trolle Linnet points out »the experience of hygge comes about through a constellation of temporal experience, forms of interaction and social activities, plus material conditions and objects, by which the realization of this experience entails a certain pattern of consuption.« I will focus on how this elusive concept correlates with the notions of likeability and cuteness, which reflect in collective as well as individual (re)presentations and affects. The above mentioned narratives on the one hand illuminate the questions of gender and consumption, while on the other place hygge within the larger array of conceptions such as cuteness, wellbeing and happiness.