Looking to learn and understand a bit more about cuteness (in general) or kawaii (in Japan), here is a list of some of the best articles found on the internet (Updated 2009-11-10 – cleaned up dead links too):

Biology/evolutionary-related theories:
– Introduction (.pdf) to Evolutionary Psychology
– Early Aesthetic Choices (.pdf) Infant Preferences for Attractive Premature Infant Faces
– The Cute Machine
– Survival of The Prettiest: The Science of Beauty
– Cuteness Will Rule

Socio-cultural/Consumerism side:
- Cuties in Japan by Sharon Kinsella (best source)
– Addicted to Cute –NEW
- Cute formalism
– A Biological Homage to Mickey Mouse
– Fifteen theses on the cute
– New York Times: The Cuteness Factor
– Business Week Online: In Japan, Cute Conquers All
– Wired: Cute Inc.
– King of Poku: Takashi Murakami
– Time.com Asia: She’s a Material Girl
– Time.com Asia: From We to Me
– Time.com Asia: Export Machine
– Japanese teenagers
– Japanese street Chic
– Enjo kosai: teen prostitution, a reflection of society’s ills
– Kawaii food photos
– “Enjo-Kosai” Sex, Schoolgirls and Consumerism in Japan
– imomus – What is Cute?
– London Review of Books – Cute

If you have other links, please post them in the comments.

Related books:
– Women, Media and Consumption in Japan
by Lise Skov (Editor), Brian Moeran (Editor) and Sharon Kinsella, “Cuties in Japan”
– Adult Manga: Culture and Power in Contemporary Japanese Society (Consumasian Book Series)
by Sharon Kinsella
– Japan Pop!: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture
by Timothy J. Craig (Editor)
– Permitted and Prohibited Desires: Mothers, Comics, and Censorship in Japan
by Anne Allison
– Contemporary Japan and Popular Culture
by John Whittier Treat (Editor)
– The Worlds of Japanese Popular Culture : Gender, Shifting Boundaries and Global Cultures
by Dolores Martinez (Editor)
– Japan Edge: The Insider’s Guide to Japanese Pop Subculture
by Satoru Fujii (Editor)
– The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture
by Mark Schilling
– Takashi Murakami: The Meaning of the Nonsense of the Meaning
by Dana Amanda/Friis-Hansen Cruz (Author)
– Women on the Verge: Japanese Women, Western Dreams (Asia-Pacific)
by Karen Kelsky
– So Crazy Japanese Toys!
by Jimbo Matison, Rodney Alan Greenblat (Photographer)
– Fruits
by Shoichi Aoki (Author)
– Understanding Japanese Society (Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies)
by Joy Hendry
– Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure, and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club
by Anne Allison
– Gambling With Virtue: Japanese Women and the Search for Self in a Changing Nation
by Nancy Ross Rosenberger
– The Image Factory: Fads and Fashions in Japan
by Donald Richie, Roy Garner (Photographer)
– The Material Child: Coming of Age in Japan and America
by Merry White
– Japanese Mirror: Heroes and Villains of Japanese Culture
by Ian Buruma
– Japan-Think, Ameri-Think: An Irreverent Guide to Understanding the Cultural Difference Between Us
by Robert J. Collins, Jane Walmsley
– Hello Kitty : The Remarkable Story of Sanrio and the Billion Dollar Feline Phenomenon
by Ken Belson (Author), Brian Bremner (Author)

First published 2003-09-30