Cat Got Your Tongue

Has it occurred to you that the largest female crazes of today, Hello Kitty, has no mouth? Hello Kitty is a cartoon created by the Japanese artist Ikuko Shimizu. Now, maybe he forgot to draw the mouth on this little kitten or maybe it was intentional, we can really never know, but what we can do is analyze the way things are. Why does this character lack one of the most powerful body parts? The only thing worse than not having a mouth is probably not having a brain! In the Japanese culture, just as in any other, the woman has been misogynized since the beginning of time and for the artist to forget the mouth on this character is only evidence.
What does it mean to not have a mouth? No mouth essentially means no power. We see in many aspects of life the mouth is detrimental in our lives. In the Christian Bible Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." Biologically, the mouth is the initial point in the digestion mechanism; detrimental for survival. Without the ability to speak, how can we communicate? Through the "mouthlessness" of this character I get the feeling the artist believes women should only speak when spoken to, if even then. At first glance, one doesn't really notice this beloved kitten doesn't have a mouth, but by allowing our daughters, sister, nieces and any female to fall in love with this character is subliminally saying it's alright for women to walk around without a voice, it's alright to not be heard, it's alright not be able to speak up for yourself.