i saw a posting spreading really bad misinformation on multiple jfashion subcultures earlier and as someone who loves jfashion and has been researching it for ten years, i felt like it was my duty to combat this misinformation. i'm going to cover multiple different jfashion and jfashion-adjacent styles in-depth, starting with this post, and in the comments, as well as answering any questions i can. i will be citing as many sources as i can.

cutecore and it's issues

cutecore, as an aesthetic and style, does have it's own issues despite people trying to claim otherwise. it is unfortunately hard to research and cite the origins of cutecore as a community, so i am going to have to cite sources i think should be taken with a grain of salt. however, in my own personal experience in the jfashion community, these are generally true.

"cutecore" originated in the early 2010s as a term that was short for "cute but hardcore."^[1] i remember originally seeing this in reference to gurokawa styles and things like menhera-chan. cutecore was also known as "cutegore" even at this time, and a lot of people switched to saying cutecore instead of cutegore because using the word gore could get you shadowbanned on places such as tumblr and twitter.^[1] it was primarily the name of a music genre, which combined the typical hardcore music sound with kawaii elements, such as anime girls talking or bloody anime girls as song covers, and was later adopted as an aesthetic itself.^[1] allegedly, cutecore as a term was then popularized further by a user named vo1dchan in 2020, who used to post photos of their cutesy room with a very dark and gloomy vibe. i cannot find a solid source for this claim, however i was able to find an archive of certain posts by vo1dchan.

it is important to note that despite now being separated, "cutecore" and "cutegore" originally referred to the exact same community — which was closer to traumacore than proper kawaii aesthetics (and arguably it partially originates from traumacore, which has it's own issues). blood, fake gore, and dark shadowy figures were inseparable from the aesthetic. now, they have been separated, and what "cutecore" stands for and represents now is, by all accounts, kawaii culture.

"cutecore" versus "kawaii" — which is correct?

an ongoing debate in the community is what to label this subculture. this has actually been an a debate topic for longer than i think most people are aware of, as i personally remember when the issue of whether or not non-japanese people using the term kawaii is culturally appropriative was an issue all the way back in the early 2010s. i think the easiest way to sum up this whole debate is... it depends on the intention, usage, and your personal beliefs.

the criticism that modern "cutecore" erases the history of kawaii culture and fashion is incredibly valid. cutecore takes the most well-known, surface-level parts of japanese kawaii culture and focuses primarily on those. lots of people complain that this does not properly represent kawaii culture and gives a warped, even appropriative view of japanese culture generally. there is also the very valid complaint towards the cutegore community that an obsession with covering japanese people (especially women), real or fictional, in blood and injuries is uncomfortable and originates in a lot of american-encouraged violence towards japanese people. however, cutegore as a community has separated from cutecore, and this is where it gets more complicated. i will go into more detail on cutegore and it's origins and issues in the comments.

there is also the issue of misuse of "kawaii" by westerners, especially americans. not everything we consider cutesy can be considered kawaii, and it can be used in a racist manner. using kawaii to refer to anything japanese in origin, regardless of cuteness, is a microaggression — as is referring to random japanese people as kawaii. it is not a slur, and i hope that discourse is long-dead, but it can be misused and used in a derogatory manner. please keep this in mind when using it.

i would like to leave everyone with the words of haruka kurebayashi, a japanese karajuku model and influencer:

anyone can use kawaii. it doesn’t matter if you are a beginner. nor does your nationality, gender, age, or skin color matter. who cares! [...] you are always welcome to enjoy kawaii culture! let's learn together and create a kawaii future together!