Piehole

Since 1974, the fictional character Hello Kitty has become a cult icon of cute, adorning everything from vinyl coin purses and pencil cases, to commercial jet planes and Fender guitars. The white bobtail cat with large black dots for eyes, red bow and total absence of a mouth is universally, and perhaps inexplicably, recognized as adorable to women of all ages.

In the early seventies a brand new Japanese company, Sanrio, commissioned artist Yuko Shimizu to design a mascot for merchandise for preteen girls. Its popularity quickly skyrocketed, adorning cars, purses, jewelry, and other high-end products. By the late nineties, celebrity divas like Mariah Carey were sporting Hello Kitty as a fashion statement. Not long after, Hello Kitty high-end jewelry made of diamonds, semiprecious stones and 18 karat gold began selling in Neiman Marcus stores for up to $3,000. Hello Kitty clearly was no longer for preteen Japanese girls, but upper class and high-powered women all over the globe, too.

Sure, little girls and tweens running around with Hello Kitty backpacks and key chains don’t draw much scrutiny, but we’ve noticed that many professional women (erm, ourselves included) love Hello Kitty. What is the simple feline’s appeal to older women?

Hello Kitty was originally designed to cater specifically to the Kawaii segment of Japanese culture. Kawaii is literally “cuteness,” “lovableness,” “adorableness.” Is it possible that, for the women over 40 set, the constant requirement to maintain and project a professional, powerful, and (dare we say it) masculine demeanor has resulted in a quiet form of rebellion – via cute Kitty?

What do you think? Does Hello Kitty tap into our inner desires for childhood cuteness?

In a recent Piehole post we toasted the craft beer industry for its steady growth in the midst of a tough economy. It turns out, though, that throughout the Midwest, and in Ohio especially, alcohol in all forms may be recession-proof. According to data released by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) last week, the geography of binge drinking in the U.S. highlights the Midwest as the country’s “Binge Drinking Belt,” with Wisconsin, Illinois, and the Buckeye State leading the pack. Binge drinking, according to the CDC, amounts to consuming five or more drinks for men and four or more for women within a short period of time.

With 20 percent of Ohioans 18 and older reporting that they binge drink, Ohio ranks 9^th in the U.S. for the highest rate of binge drinkers. While we can’t be certain what makes our region so boozy, Peter Ambrose, regional vice president of behavioral health operations for WellPoint Medical Management, told The Dayton Business Journal, “Because of the economy, there are more people stressed out and medicating themselves through alcohol.” But while Americans may be willing to pony up the cash for alcohol, they may not be aware of the habit’s long-term expense. The costs to our country, according The Huffington Post, reached $746 per person, or about $1.90 per drink, in 2006 due to alcohol-related crimes, health care costs and lost productivity.

Does Ohio have a drinking problem? Could too much drinking slow an economic recovery?