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Embracing my inner Kitty freak

Even though Hello Kitty has no mouth, she inspires smiles.

Published Feb. 10, 2009

My crush started out innocently enough: a pencil here, a sticker there. But, by the time I turned 16 I had entered a full-on love affair with Hello Kitty.

I had gone through previous phases of cute character obsessions, beginning in fourth grade with all things cow-printed. I then moved on to Julius the Monkey from Paul Frank, and somehow I eventually settled on Hello Kitty around high school. My devotion hasn't wavered since.

Something about her mouthless face makes me smile. Her big head's clean, round Japanese lines impart a sense of squeaky-clean happiness in a world that is much less sterile. The childlike vulnerability of her face is so loveable. It makes me want to pick up every product featuring Hello Kitty and give it a hug.

I was at first ashamed to admit how much I loved her. I would sneak into the Sanrio -- the company that created Hello Kitty -- store at my local mall, pretending, as I checked out, that the purchase I was making wasn't for myself but instead a gift. Everything was so neatly packaged, shiny and pink -- how could I resist?

But my obsession soon became obvious. I didn't mind too much, because this helped my collection grow. For my 16th birthday, a friend gave me a 36-inch tall stuffed Hello Kitty. I still display it prominently on my bed at home.

Throughout high school I carried a Hello Kitty lunchbox, which included a Hello Kitty cold pack. I would laugh off snarky remarks, but I was also somewhat surprised to find my lunchbox an item of curiosity. Girls would ask me where I got it, and I occasionally caught a smile aimed in Kitty's direction. Were others as obsessed as I was?

As a college student, embracing my inner Kitty freak has been somewhat of a challenge. On move-in day, when I walked up the steps of my dorm carrying a Hello Kitty lamp -- consisting of a thick pink base where Hello Kitty sits with a lamp shade protruding from her head -- I'm sure I got my fair share of looks. I'm not really ashamed of my love, though it is just a little juvenile for a 19-year-old. Most of polite society sees Hello Kitty as something for kiddies.

But the marketing geniuses at Sanrio have found ways to make Hello Kitty accessible to adults, too. Mall jewelry chain Zales sells a $795 diamond and pink sapphire necklace in the shape of Hello Kitty's oversized head. Not the type of thing you'd see on the playground, if you catch my drift.

It's amazing how elaborate the biography Sanrio has created for Hello Kitty is. They say she lives in London with her parents and sister. I sometimes think I could discover a black hole in the streets of London where I would trip like Alice in Wonderland into Hello Kitty's world, where there is no pain or suffering, and the day's biggest concern is what color bow to wear.

In much the same way some people feel Barbie empowers girls to see themselves as potential doctors, mothers or lawyers, Hello Kitty, to me, has the same chameleon quality. She can be anything she wants. She can be glamorous, silly or even historical, and she maintains high levels of extreme cuteness, or as the Japanese call it, "kawaii."

Something about Hello Kitty's familiar nonthreatening face just makes me smile. I'm proud to be a Hello Kitty freak. Sanrio first caught me with their cheap cuteness but now I can recognize and appreciate Hello Kitty for what she is: a both a cultural and cult icon.