Objectify This

Rape culture in Japan is much more extreme than  it is here in the States. There is a weaker taboo against ephebophilia, the “sexual preference in which an adult is primarily or exclusively sexually attracted to pubescent adolescents,” which has resulted in a culture of so called “lollipop” or “Lolita” pornography of prepubescent girls, of two subgenres of pornography about rape - one about tentacle rape and one just of rape itself, and of of enjo kosai  , which is usually translated as “subsidized dating” of schoolgirls by businessmen.

This last category is the most distinct from Western tradition - and consists of  “a practice in Japan where high school-age girls are paid by older men to accompany them on dates and sometimes to render sexual services. Most observers, especially overseas, regard it as a form of child prostitution, although it need not involve sexual activities. Most customers expect and attempt sexual relations,” according to Wikipedia.

“Enjo kōsai has not been regulated by the Japanese government, as it does not fall within the legal definition of prostitution unless the client expressly pays the girl for sex (which is rare, given the indirect nature of the transactions). Because the age of consent in Japan ranges from 13 to 17, depending on jurisdiction, enjo kōsai clients often cannot be charged with statutory rape.” In his film Love & Pop,  Hideaki Anno depicts four schoolgirls tempted by the financial rewards of Enjo kōsai in a consumerist culture.  Click the link for their stories.

In reaction to this practice of sexualization and commodification of young women, street fashion in Japan emphasizes the individual agency of the wearer - granting the wearer a degree of control and self-expression that would be considered wild, clownish, or costumelike in the United States, but which  serves these  people as a defiance of the social regulation and commodification of their bodies.

In his books FRUiTS and Fresh Fruits, a collection of photographs from the Tokyo street fashion magazine of the same name, Shoichi Aoki documents the extraordinary styles of youth culture, which are often evocative of American counterculture styles such as punk, but which differ in their origin and philosophy. Instead of allowing themselves to be objectified as innocent young girls, residents of Japanese cities assert themselves by visually declaring their autonomy from conventional fashion rules.