Some people have gotten mad at me in the past for saying this but...no. I do not think you should not be able to wear whatever you want and call it lolita. The reason isn't because I'm a perfectionist control freak (though I am, horribly so) or because I want everyone to look like Japanese lolita. The reason is quite simple actually.

Lolita is a Japanese fashion, and as of now people who have even heard of it will automatically think of not Japan when they see us, but Gwen Stephani. Those who have no idea who we are and what we are wearing may think of pornography. There is still little recognition of the non-Japanese global lolita community.

Part of this is because we are not sure ourselves of what we are I think. A lot of us are trying to follow an ideal that exists in a completely different culture from our own without even having access to the most basic media on the subject. Others take a defensive attitude that says "lolita should be whatever I want it to be." But if we do this, then we're never going to establish ourselves as our own subculture, style, etc. And we'll never receive the recognition that we deserve. In order to proove that we are indeed a subculture we need to show a sense of solidarity, and to separate ourselves from other styles in a recognizable way. Only after we have done that can we afford to play around with our own styles. We have to create it first.

One of the biggest problems is language. I can't count the number of times I have seen people refer to anything lolita as "gothic lolita" or "egl" when there is nothing remotely gothic or Mana about the outfit. In any established subculture the people will have some sort of jargon (special vocabulary), literature, dress, or shared knowlege that brings them together and makes them "them." When people don't even know what the basic terms for their subculture are it's pretty strange to expect outsiders to know and recognize them too. And even if you don't want a lolita subculture, it still holds I think.

We will never be Japanese lolita. We do not have access to the clothing and we have not gone through the things a normal Japanese goes through on an everyday basis. But after having seen so much of Japanese lolita culture, I have realized I don't want us to be like them. I use to be ashamed of being American, but recently I've been losing that. As meaningless as it is coming from me, I'm proud of American lolitas (and lolitas from other countries as well). But in order to make sure we have a place in society, we are going to need some kind of restrictions and uniformity, or no one will recognize us for who we are.

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