Should We Say Goodbye to Hello Kitty The Japan Times article “Time for Goodbye, Kitty?” (2004) called Hello Kitty, a product of the Japanese company Sanrio, an attribute of consumerism, kitsch, and anti-feminism. Overall, the article is written with a purpose not only to criticize Hello Kitty as the most widely known icon on a worldwide scale but also to shed light on the perception of the Japanese culture as a whole. Hello, Kitty has become an international success on the economic level, being appointed an ambassador of raising funds for promoting educational programs, predominantly targeted at girls. Kitty has been widely criticized for the ambiguity of her success: on the one hand, she was a “spokesperson” for girls’ education and signed contracts with large corporations like MasterCard on the other (Tsutsui & Ito, 2006, p. 163). Furthermore, Hello Kitty has been compared with Barbie that perpetuates unrealistic expectations of female body features; but in this sense, the negative effect Hello Kitty is said to have on girls is her inability to voice her opinions (Yano, 2013, p. 4). Hello Kitty as a Kitsch Kitsch is defined as “something of tawdry design, appearance, or content created to appeal to popular or undiscriminating taste” (Yano, 2013, p. 24). It usually implies criticism that is grounded in the characteristic of the social class. According to Bordieu, cited in Yano, the dynamic power of the social class influence the aesthetic choices, thus, the choices of the working classes lie in the shadow of the aesthetic choices made by the upper classes. This means that the concept of kitsch is an important part of such a shadow. The characteristic of Hello Kitty as Kitsch is two-fold: some do view it as kitsch, while others embrace it as the most recognizable attribute of the Japanese kawaii culture. The kitsch characteristic of Hello Kitty is also based on the behavior of adult consumers that buy the products. Adults act below their age-appropriate behavior, buying relics that are usually considered children’s attributes. In this scenario, Hello Kitty is linked to the notion of kitsch because it connects adult men and women that are attached to the cute image to constant consumerism. Cuteness is an attribute of modern Japanese culture that receives the most critique from radical feminists like Denise Uyehara: “Pink and cute – that should only be for babies” (as cited in Goldstein, Buckingham & Brougere, 2004, p. 69). However, it is important to note that the opinion laid out in the Japan Times article is the opinion shared by the minority of the Japanese population that meets consumerism and the kawaii culture with relatively low levels of criticism. The Japanese government, in its part, understands the popularity of the Hello Kitty product and shows support for Kitty as an ambassador for various cultural campaigns. The image of Hello Kitty does, indeed, perpetuate the global consumerism, flooding the stores and shopping malls with various products, even in the United States. Apart from this, Hello Kitty is often called the reenactment of kitsch and emotionalism (Tsutsui & Ito, 2006, p. 164). Is Hello Kitty Anti-Feminist According to Stange, Oyster, and Sloan (2011), throughout the years of its existence,