Gothic & Lolita, Globalisation of Culture, and Femininity

I've just read a really interesting article/essay on Gothic & Lolita internationally. It is part of a peer-reviewed journal published by the Japan Foundation, and as such is a bit academic, but it points out a lot of interesting things that people in the Lolita subculture probably already know, but those who are interested in it but have an external point of view may find interesting. It is ::here::  It's mostly from a perspective about the flow of culture globally, and how the view of 'Amercian-based culture taking over everything' is not always true, but it makes interesting points about how Lolita fits a niche in the West, and it is a subculture where femininity is not taken from the patriarchal perspective - cuteness and demureness aren't a symbol of weakness and inferiority and as the mainstream see cuteness as reserved for children, whereas in Japan the concept of kawaii is apparently more of an all-ages thing, although I'm not sure Japan is the idyl of tolerance a lot of Western Lolitas dream it is, although personally I think this is because it is still ridiculed and marginalised by the mainstream, and believing that 'somewhere it's better than it is here' gives a glimmer of hope. Anyway, if you have time to read it, I think it is interesting.