Kidult

Last updated

A kidult is an adult whose interests or media consumption is traditionally seen as more suitable for children. It can also mean a parent who acts childish with their children, but does not take on their duties as a disciplinarian. [1]

Contents

Most kidults tend to use their interests as a form of escapism, or as a break from their stressful adult lifestyle. There has been a significant increase in this due to the high pressure found in modern living and conditions. [2]

Similar portmanteau terms for such people are rejuvenile [3] and adultescent. [4] A related concept is that of Peter Pan syndrome, where a person is reluctant to grow emotionally after childhood. [5]

History

The concept of the "Peter Pan syndrome" or "puer aeternus" indeed refers to individuals who resist or avoid the responsibilities and challenges associated with adulthood, choosing to remain in a state of emotional or psychological immaturity. [6] Today, often called Peter Pan syndrome, it means a person remaining emotionally at that of a teenager or even a child. The name is derived from the archetypal literary eternal boy, Peter Pan. In connection to this concept, the idea of departing "Neverland" mirrors the reluctance to embrace the inevitability of growing up.

The term kidult was first used in the 1950s by the television industry to refer to adult viewers who enjoyed television programs targeted at children. [7] Thunderbirds , for example, was designed specifically to capitalize on this "kidult" demographic and aired in the evening rather than in the afternoon to accomplish this. [8] [9]

One of the most well-known and extreme cases of Peter Pan syndrome and the kidult mentality was of Michael Jackson. Jackson had explicitly stated that he did not want to grow up, and owned a large collection of arcade games, toy cars and fantasy and sci-fi memorabilia. Michael also had a fascination with the Peter Pan character and attempted to create a theme park on his property called Neverland Ranch. [10]

Modern usage

In the early 21st century, there was a sudden increase in reporting that for an adult to have interests traditionally expected only from children is not necessarily an anomaly. This is mostly due to the rise of the entertainment industry. [3] The entertainment industry was quick to recognize the trend, and introduced a special category, "kidult", of things marketable for kids and adults alike. [1] [11]

Adult members of the public cosplaying as various Disney characters at the D23 Expo D23 Expo 2011 - a variety of Disney characters (6064388902).jpg
Adult members of the public cosplaying as various Disney characters at the D23 Expo

Enormous successes of films such as Shrek and Harry Potter , [12] of animated television series such as My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic the target demographic of young girls, of young adult fiction books traditionally targeted for teenagers [13] and the fact that Disneyland is among the world's top adult (without kids) vacation destinations [1] seem to indicate that "kidulthood" is a rather mainstream phenomenon. Kidulthood also appears to exist on the Internet, with grown adults treating each other like children, especially in discussion on X (Twitter), by calling people "homegirl", "girlie", and "sweetie". And unlike puer aeternus, "rejuveniles" successfully marries adult responsibilities with non-adult interests. [1] When Christopher Noxon appeared on The Colbert Report on June 29, 2006, to promote his book Rejuvenile , he remarked that "There's a big difference between childish and childlike".

Karen Brooks has written about what she calls the "commodification of youth": entertainers sell "the teen spirit" to adults who in the past were called "young at heart". [14]

In South Korea, the buzzword kideolteu was used in 2015, highlighting the market trend of increasing toy sales (such as drones and "electric wheels") to adults. [15] Between 2020 and 2022, there was a reported 37% growth in toy sales in the United States, with adults purchasing more toys during the COVID-19 pandemic. [16]

Toy Sales in the USA surged 37% between 2020 and 2022 according to a Bloomberg study. Though toy industry executives initially attributed this surge to parents purchasing toys for children undergoing COVID lockdowns, a Toy Association survey found that 58% of adult respondents had also acquired toys and games for their personal use during this same period. [17]

There has also been an association found between kidults and video games [ failed verification ] with the average age of a gamer across the world being 35 years old. [18]

More recently, the release of the Barbie movie in 2023 as well as the sudden popularity in the Barbiecore aesthetic and a general boost in adoration of the franchise has sparked a wave of people, specifically women, reconnecting with their youth and their childhoods. The overwhelming success of the film has led to an increase in adults attempting to "heal" their inner child, driven by nostalgia. [19]

Kidult fashion

Kidults in South Korea and London Cutesters often wore cartoon character shirts like these. HK Mong Kok Fa Yuen Street evening cartoon children clothing stall Sept-2012.JPG
Kidults in South Korea and London Cutesters often wore cartoon character shirts like these.

The precursor to kidult fashion (also known as kidcore) [20] [21] is Japanese "kawaii" street fashion of the 1970s–1990s. [21] This street fashion was highly influenced by Japanese nostalgia of the era. [21] Due to cultural differences, much of contemporary kidcore fashion looks different than kawaii. [21] However, the core desire to rebel against gender roles and reject social expectations is fundamentally unchanged in contemporary kidcore and its other predecessors. [21]

Mentions of kidult fashion in South Korea exist in the research as far back as 2002 [22] though it's unclear how popular it was at the time. One paper from 2016 analyzes the kidult trend in Korean women's fashion in a time frame that spans between 2006 and 2015. [23] Designers studied in this article were primarily based out of New York, France, and Italy, suggesting cultural exchange as an influence on this trend. [23] Mid-2000s and 2010s, South Korean kidult fashion focused heavily on famous logos and cartoons, as well as toys. [23] [24] By 2016, K-pop celebrities like Exo were wearing cartoon-oriented graphic tees. [24]

Kidult jewelry was often inspired by simplistic costume jewelry worn in childhood, such as this rainbow beaded necklace. Rainbow bead necklace - heart shaped.jpg
Kidult jewelry was often inspired by simplistic costume jewelry worn in childhood, such as this rainbow beaded necklace.

Other mid-2010s adopters of this trend were those from the nu-rave subculture in London. [25] People involved in this subculture wore slogan tees, cut-off shorts, hair scrunchies, [26] skinny jeans and hoodies. [25] Clothing that contained cartoon characters were common. [25] [27] These outfits were typically worn during kidult activities, such as dance parties with floors filled with inflatable toys [25] and breakfast cereal cafés. [28]

In the late 2010s, kidult fashion saw a shift from cartoon tee shirts and casual wear to a more holistic embrace of youthful femininity, particularly based out of candy, feminine toys like Polly Pockets, and 1990s/early 2000s nostalgia. [29] [30]

Accessories like friendship bracelets, beaded jewelry, hair clips, and childlike purses were part of the trend. [30] Celebrity men like Ryan Reynolds, [31] Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, and Frank Ocean were seen wearing beaded kidult jewelry in the 2020s. [32] E-girls and e-boys were also known to embrace youthful fashions at this time, but their sense of style was more influenced by scene and emo subcultures of the 2000s, 1990s grunge, cosplay, anime, K-pop [33] and Japanese street fashion. [34]

One of the more recent examples of kidult fashion is the Sylvie-Bag by Gucci made out of Lego by the Chinese artist Andy Hung. [35]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Kawaii</i> Japanese culture of cuteness

Kawaii(Japanese: かわいい or 可愛い, IPA:[kawaiꜜi]; 'lovely', 'loveable', 'cute', or 'adorable') is the culture of cuteness in Japan. It can refer to items, humans, and non-humans that are charming, vulnerable, shy, and childlike. Examples include cute handwriting; certain genres of manga and anime; and characters such as Hello Kitty, as well as Pikachu from Pokémon.

<i>My Little Pony</i> Entertainment franchise developed by Hasbro

My Little Pony (MLP) is a toy line and media franchise developed by American toy company Hasbro. The first toys were developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D'Aguanno, and were produced in 1981. The ponies feature colorful bodies, manes and a unique symbol on one or both sides of their flanks. Such symbols are referred to in the three most recent incarnations as "cutie marks". My Little Pony has been revamped several times with new and more modern looks to continue its appeal to the market, with each new look called a "generation" by the show's collectors and fans. The franchise is mainly targeted at young girls, although in the 2010s, it gained a cult following by an unintended audience of adult, mostly male fans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merchandising</span> Promotion of product sales

Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more items or products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easy-Bake Oven</span> Toy oven

The Easy-Bake Oven is a working toy oven introduced in 1963 by Kenner and currently manufactured by Hasbro. The original toy used a pair of ordinary incandescent light bulbs as a heat source; current versions use a true heating element. Kenner sold 500,000 Easy-Bake Ovens in the first year of production. By 1997, more than 16 million Easy-Bake Ovens had been sold.

Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows is a neoclassical dark wave musical project based in Frankfurt,

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Pan syndrome</span> Term for a socially immature adult

Peter Pan Syndrome is a pop psychology term used to describe an adult who is socially immature. It refers to “never-growing” adults who have reached an adult age, but cannot face their adult sensations and responsibilities. It is a metaphor, based on the concept of not growing up and being trapped in childhood. Individuals with Peter Pan Syndrome display behaviours associated with immaturity and a reluctance to grow up. They have difficulties in social and professional relationships because of their irresponsible behaviours and narcissistic properties. While it has often only been associated with males in the past, it can affect anyone, regardless of sex or gender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trucker hat</span> Hat style popular with American workers

A trucker hat, mesh cap or netback cap is a type of baseball cap. It is also sometimes known as a "gimme [as in 'give me'] cap" or a "feed cap" because this style of hat originated during the 1970s as a promotional give-away from U.S. feed or farming supply companies to farmers, truck drivers, or other rural workers.

A teenybopper is a young teenager who follows adolescent trends in music, fashion, and culture. The term may have been coined by marketing professionals and psychologists, later becoming a subculture of its own. The term was introduced in the 1950s to refer to teenagers who mainly listened to popular music and/or rock and roll and not much else. Teenybopper became widely used again in the late 1960s and early 1970s, following an increase in the marketing of pop music, teen idols and fashions aimed specifically at younger girls, generally 10–15 years old.

Japanese street fashion refers to a number of styles of contemporary modern clothing in Japan. Created from a mix of both local and foreign fashion brands, Japanese street fashions tend to have their own distinctive style, with some considered to be extreme and avant-garde, with similarities to the haute couture styles seen on European catwalks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fashion doll</span> Doll designed to be dressed to reflect fashion trends

Fashion dolls are dolls primarily designed to be dressed to reflect fashion trends. They are manufactured both as toys for children to play with and as collectibles for adults. The dolls are usually modeled after teen girls or adult women, though child, male, and even some non-human variants exist. Contemporary fashion dolls are typically made of vinyl or another plastic.

Puer aeternus in mythology is a child-god who is eternally young. In the analytical psychology of Carl Jung, the term is used to describe an older person whose emotional life has remained at an adolescent level, which is also known as "Peter Pan syndrome", a more recent pop-psychology label. In Jung's conception, the puer typically leads a "provisional life" due to the fear of being caught in a situation from which it might not be possible to escape. The puer covets independence and freedom, opposes boundaries and limits and tends to find any restriction intolerable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slim-fit pants</span> Trousers tailored to fit very close to the body

Slim-fit pants or skinny jeans are tight trousers that have a snug fit through the legs and end in a small leg opening that can be anywhere from 9" to 20" in circumference, depending on size. Other names for this style include drainpipes, stovepipes, tight pants, cigarette pants, pencil pants, skinny pants, gas pipes, skinnies, and tight jeans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Pan</span> Character created by James Matthew Barrie

Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical island of Neverland as the leader of the Lost Boys, interacting with fairies, pirates, mermaids, Native Americans, and occasionally ordinary children from the world outside Neverland.

ThunderCats is a media franchise, featuring a fictional group of cat-like humanoid aliens. The characters were created by Tobin "Ted" Wolf and featured in an animated television series named ThunderCats, running from 1985 to 1989, which was animated by Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation, and co-produced by Rankin/Bass Productions.

Chūnibyō (中二病) is a Japanese colloquial term typically used to describe early teens who have grandiose delusions, who desperately want to stand out, and who have convinced themselves that they have hidden knowledge or secret powers. It translates to "middle-second syndrome". It is sometimes called "eighth-grader syndrome" in the United States, usually in the context of localizations of anime which feature the concept as a significant plot element.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soft grunge</span> Fashion trend and music genre

Soft grunge was a fashion trend that originated on Tumblr around the late 2000s and early 2010s. Beginning as an outgrowth of the 2000s indie sleaze fashion trend but with a greater influence from the 1990s, particularly grunge fashion, the style began as a reaction against the glamor fitness culture which was dominant in popular culture at the time. It is characterized by its merger of cute and aggressive fashion hallmarks like chokers, tennis skirts, leather jackets and boots, flower crowns, distressed denim and pastel colors. Soft grunge reached its peak popularity around 2014, by which time it had been embraced by high fashion designers including Hedi Slimane and Jeremy Scott and been worn by celebrities including Charli XCX. Its internet-based merger of subculture, fashion and music made it one of the earliest examples of an internet aesthetic. In the early 2020s, the style experienced a minor resurgence due to videos posted on the video sharing application TikTok.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020s in fashion</span> Fashion-related events during the 2020s

The fashions of the 2020s represent a departure from 2010s fashion and feature a nostalgia for older aesthetics. They have been largely inspired by styles of the late 1990s to mid-2000s, 1980s, and late 1960s to early 1970s Early in the decade, several publications noted the shortened trend and nostalgia cycle in 2020s fashion. Fashion was also shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a major impact on the fashion industry, and led to shifting retail and consumer trends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indie sleaze</span> Late 2000s-early 2010s aesthetic trend

Indie sleaze was a fashion style popular in the United States and United Kingdom from approximately 2006 to 2012. Characterised by an affordable, messy and lethargic take on vintage fashion styles, especially the 1970s, the style was particularly popular amongst the hipster subculture and indie rock bands.

An Internet aesthetic, also simply referred to as an aesthetic or microaesthetic, is a visual art style, sometimes accompanied by a fashion style, subculture, or music genre, that usually originates from the Internet or is popularized on it. Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, online aesthetics gained increasing popularity, specifically on social media platforms such as Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok, and often were used by people to express their individuality and creativity. They can also be used to create a sense of community and belonging among people who share the same interests. The term aesthetic has been described as being "totally divorced from its academic origins", and is commonly used as an adjective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coquette aesthetic</span> Fashion trend

Coquette aesthetic is a 2020s fashion trend that is characterized by a mix of sweet, romantic, and sometimes playful elements and focuses on femininity through the use of clothes with lace, flounces, pastel colors, and bows, often draws inspiration from historical periods like the Victorian era and the 1950s, with a modern twist.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Kidult", Oxford Dictionaries
  2. ↑ "What is 'kidulting', the trend becoming popular among millennials?". Firstpost. 2023-08-16. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  3. 1 2 Christopher Noxon, Rejuvenile: Kickball, Cartoons, Cupcakes, and the Reinvention of the American Grown-up , 2006, (online book preview)
  4. ↑ "Adultescent", Oxford Dictionaries
  5. ↑ "About Us". The Kidult Life. 2019-10-30. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  6. ↑ "Peter Pan Syndrome: What it is, warning signs, relationships, and more". www.medicalnewstoday.com. 2022-08-30. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  7. ↑ Morris, William (23 November 1956). "Words, Wits, and Wisdom". Milwaukee Journal. p. 60.
  8. ↑ Anderson, Sylvia (2007). Sylvia Anderson: My Fab Years!. Neshannock, Pennsylvania: Hermes Press. p. 21. ISBN   978-1-932563-91-7. Our market had grown and a 'kidult' show ... was the next step.
  9. ↑ Bentley, Chris (2005) [2000]. The Complete Book of Thunderbirds (2nd ed.). London, UK: Carlton Books. p. 12. ISBN   978-1-84442-454-2.
  10. ↑ "Kidults, the adultescent market", Fameable, February 15, 2016
  11. ↑ "Forty-Year-Old Virgins", by Tony Dokoupil, December 15, 2007
    • Quote: "So what's driving this rejuvenile movement? Marketing, mostly."
  12. ↑ "Are you a Kidult?", The Guardian
  13. ↑ "The grown-up world of kidult books", The Telegraph, 11 January 2003
  14. ↑ Karen Brooks, "Nothing Sells Like Teen Spirit: the Commodification of Youth Culture" in: Youth Cultures: Texts, Images, and Identities, 2003, ISBN   027597409X, pp. 1-16
  15. ↑ be, success (2015-11-30). "연말 유통 트랜드 분석, '드론, 전동휠' 아웃도어 키덜트 제품 인기".
  16. ↑ Gilblom, Kelly (June 17, 2022). "Adults Who Love Toys? The Toy Industry Loves Them, Too". Bloomberg.
  17. ↑ Wiederhold, Brenda (2024-02-15). "Nostalgia as Self-Care: Embracing the Kidult Culture". Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. doi:10.1089/cyber.2024.29308.editorial. PMID   38359393 . Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  18. ↑ "Gamer Demographics from 2024: No Longer a Men-Only Club". 2021-11-02. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  19. ↑ "The kidult trend is here to stay | Analysis". Campaign Asia. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  20. ↑ Yaeger, Lynn (2023-01-22). "Ready for a Cute Overload This Spring? Kidcore is Coming". Town & Country. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 Salamone, Lorenzo (January 26, 2022). "What is kidcore?". nss magazine. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  22. ↑ Lee, Hyo-Jin, and Geun-Young Ryu. "A Study on the Kidult Fashion in Korea". Proceedings of the Korea Society of Costume Conference. The Korean Society of Costume, 2002.
  23. 1 2 3 Zhai Jia; Lee Youn Hee; 이윤미 (2016). "Expression and characteristics of kidult in contemporary women's collection". The Research Journal of the Costume Culture. 24 (5): 670–686. doi: 10.29049/rjcc.2016.24.5.670 . ISSN   1226-0401.
  24. 1 2 "Kidult fashion catches on". kpopherald.koreaherald.com. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  25. 1 2 3 4 Manning, James (June 6, 2016). "Twelve things that wouldn't exist without nu-rave". Time Out Worldwide. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  26. ↑ Paisner, Guy Pewsey, Patricia Nicol, Sarah Cohen, Guy (2015-06-26). "Museum sleepovers, spacehopper races and cartoon marathons: kidult". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2023-04-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ↑ Martin, Clive (22 December 2014). "Cutesters: the Horrific New Trend That's Consuming London". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  28. ↑ Godwin, Richard (2014-12-16). "The cutester: meet London's latest social stereotype". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  29. ↑ Sidell, Misty White (2019-03-11). "Aging Millennials Soothe Themselves With Childlike Fashions". WWD. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  30. 1 2 Radin, Sara (2019-09-07). "Why Are We All Dressing Like Children?". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  31. ↑ Clark, Murray (2022-08-10). "Ryan Reynolds Is Like a Kid in a Jewellery Store". Esquire. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  32. ↑ Furness, Joseph (2022-08-05). "Harry Styles and Frank Ocean Are Leading the 'Kidult' Jewellery Trend. Here's How to Get in on It". Esquire. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  33. ↑ "What is an E-Girl and E-Boy? | EDITED | the Retail Data Platform". Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  34. ↑ "How to dress like an E-girl in 2022: your definitive guide". Heat. 5 June 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  35. ↑ Collado, Noelia (2018-11-13). "La fantasía de moda de la era 'kidult': un bolso Gucci de Lego | Actualidad, Moda". S Moda EL PAÍS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-07-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.