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July 30, 2004
Yano and the "Personal Massager"
Except not this Yano, but rather that Yano, whom Christine is aware of. Confused? Good, that's the effect I was going for, since I'm feeling that way myself, and wanted to share. Matters may become clearer after reading ASIAN POP: How Hello Kitty Came to Rule the World / With little advertising and no TV spinoff, Sanrio's 30-year-old feline turned cute into the ultimate brand
In the United States, Asian American girls and women have long been a core segment of Hello Kitty's market, shopping both at retail outlets in Chinatowns and Japantowns in big cities and at Sanrio's own company-operated stores. More recently, Hispanic American females have discovered and become big consumers of Hello Kitty goods. In the course of her research, [Christine] Yano asked her contacts at Sanrio, "What's in it for Hispanics?" Their answer, she says, was "family values."
Or not. The article doth also mention:
Then there are porn stars like Kiko Wu ("the Net's first real Asian amateur") or Bianca Lee, who have been known to cavort lustfully with Hello Kitty merchandise; in one photo on her Web site, Lee deploys the Hello Kitty vibrator, a cheerful, pink-plastic instrument equipped with a figurine of the famous feline (clutching a little teddy bear) at one end. Sanrio, which cautiously guards Hello Kitty's wholesome image as far as all of its licensed products are concerned, prefers to call the gadget a "personal massager."
Also seen recently at Boing Boing: Sex toys still banned in Alabama, guns okay:
A decision issued yesterday by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says Alabama doesn't have to lift its silly, arcane 1998 law banning the sale of sex toys. The Constitution does not include a right to sexual privacy, the panel of three judges ruled. Americans would disagree, including this one.
Which is where the title comes from. Pretty much.
Thanks to the Good Twin, for sending a link to a different ASIAN POP article, but this is getting too long as it is, seeing as I'm on hiatus and all. . .
Posted by Aaron at July 30, 2004 05:54 PM
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» Hello Wha? from amcgltd
Aaron linked up this comprehensive summary of the "Hello, Kitty" phenomenon, which included this "too much information" bon-mot: Then there are porn stars like [...] Bianca Lee [...] in one photo on her Web site, Lee deploys the Hello... [Read More]
Tracked on August 2, 2004 12:25 PM