Breaking the Lolita Lifestyle Mold

From Tumblr

Living the lifestyle of a Lolita is different for everyone. The clothes are wonderful and really make me happy. The different types of styles, colors, prints, hairstyles, and people that are involved with the sub-culture are fascinating to me. At the same time, there are so-called "typical" Lolita activities, hobbies, interests, and overall way of thinking that I just don't share.

"Oh, Christina, you special snowflake you! *rolls eyes*"

Call it what you want, not everyone's interests fall under the same few categories of:

• Tea, herbal treaments, vegetarinism, or organic. OK, I will admit that I'm a vegetarian (but not by choice, eating meat makes me physically sick!), and I do drink tea, but not everyone relates to these topics. I know quite a few meat-eating Lolitas (actually, I can even see some of them being able to go hunting, but regardless). 
• Pink, light blue, or black. What happened to the rest of the color chart? Green, purple, yellow, or even (gasp!) orange! Are these colors immediately off-limits? I can see how an orange-colored coordinate is very uncommon, but what's wrong with a Lolita liking orange? 
• Mana. Mana sucks to me. I can't stand his music. But Gackt? Rammstein? Trey Songs? 3OH!3? Now that's some music! I'm an open book to the music industry, and truly listen to just about anything (even certain country songs have a place in my heart). Yes, Gothic Lolita is a huge part of my wardrobe, but if Mana didn't exist, I'm pretty sure my life could continue uninterrupted. 
• Needing a boyfriend who loves Lolita/wears Lolita with you. My boyfriend hates Lolita fashion. He likes that it makes me happy. Otherwise, he thinks I look absolutely ridiculous in it, especially if I wear prints. He also does not like the sub-culture, the idea of guidelines, and the entire premise of "dressing like a little girl" (his words, not mine). At the same time, he's a perfect fit for me, and makes me incredibly happy. So why do Lolita cross out potential partners because they are not interested in Lolita culture?
• Being crafty. Not everyone can sew/knit/crochet. Not everyone can deco. Everyone does not have the creative gene. 
• Needing to make every single part of your life about Lolita fashion. Lolita is awesome, but it is not everything I am. I remember once seeing posts on the communities about how to "loli-fy" your job. If you work in construction, wearing a fancy, frilly outfit does not make any sense. Also, I have other interests, like video gaming and computer programming. Maybe I would rather a Nintendo controller purse than a leather one with a giant bow on it once in a while.
• Loving other parts of Japanese culture. Yes, the majority of Lolitas in past surveys have shown they have heavy interests in other parts of Japanese culture, but there is still a minority who really like Japanese fashion and that's it in terms of Japanese. Not everyone likes Japanese animation, music, food, etc.
• Not cursing, being vulgar, or anything above the rating of PG. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid to say that the majority of Lolitas are older, and because of that, there is no law that says we cannot have potty mouths, be unlady-like, or enjoy a sexual joke or two. Unfortunately, Lolitas are not perfect. We are human like everyone else, and occasionally we might say a curse word or two. We might even imply a sexual innuendo. Wearing frills does not mean we cannot be that way once in a while (or all the time, who's stopping you?).

As today spawns the start of the new year 2011, I say be yourself! Do you want to be a Lolita that also live-action role-plays on the weekend? Awesome! Have you a knack for electrical work and enjoy the feeling of a frilly skirt? Go for it! Would you rather drink Mountain Dew all day and throw wet tea bags out the window at people walking by instead of consuming them? Fantastic (but seriously, it might not be a good idea... )!

This post was inspired by a question I got from someone who assumed I only played Japanese role-playing games because I love wearing Lolita fashion. Stomp on ignorance and do what you want!

What other things that people assumed you did (or did not) enjoy or do because of your interest in Lolita fashion? What about other interests you have?