The Power of Hello Kitty

I'm going to bring up a touchy subject (for the men anyways)...

Do you think there is a growing trend (outside Asia) that more and more guys are starting to like Hello Kitty?

We, girls, say, "Why not? Guys can like Hello Kitty, too." 

Years ago, for most men, the idea of Hello Kitty was generally categorized for just girls and often viewed with disgust on the fascination with the kitty image.

But as of late, there seems to be an abundance of guys buying Hello Kitty products or photos surfacing of guys wearing some sort of a Hello Kitty clothing. Would you say this was more of a gag joke or a real change in our culture?

If there really is a possible change in the trends, let's look at some possible reasons as to why this sudden change can be happening.

Big Brand Influences?

Star Wars is a popular franchise that is adored by both men and women. So, when the perfect-timing appearances of Hello Kitty robot versions started popping up all over the internet, did that trigger the first wave of male HK fans?

How can you resist me?

I can truly understand how guys could start falling in love with Hello Kitty. Just look at the robotic creations that has leveled Hello Kitty to a whole new status. A very cool looking status, wouldn't you agree? 

What makes Star Wars' Hello Kitty so cool?

Basically, Hello Kitty's kawaii quality is stripped away from what was keeping a male audience from connecting to her and a new image has emerged. This is what we call thinking out of the box, which is opposite of what society likes to do: box us all in one neat little packages.

Along with the use of social media these days, perhaps this new line of Hello Kitty robots influenced a new generation of male fans.

It doesn't hurt that there are more products aimed to target the male consumers like these:

Pics Source

While the male underwear are officially Sanrio made products, the guns are not. There is even a picture of a Hello Kitty beer product floating around on the web.

More Possible Reasons

• The times are a changing. More open-mindedness. Culture change

• Great marketing strategy by the one and only Sanrio to cause this change in culture

• Men are more accepting and liking the idea of women wearing HK sexy, fantasy lingerie -- so in essence, men are turned on by Hello Kitty? Is this the influence of the Anime/manga community?

Sources: Yahoo Question