Ganguro Girls Essay Example for Free

Ganguro Girls Essay Many of the world’s greatest technologies are Japanese technologies. Many of the world’s best selling cars are Japanese cars. Japanese fashion, especially Tokyo fashion is among the most diverse and dynamic fashion in the world. The Japanese are known fashion lovers that Japanese girls always surprise the world with new and interesting trends not only in fashion but also in accessorizing. In fact, many of the Japanese, including the men, have high sense of fashion that typical Japanese in the streets of Tokyo would look like a magazine front cover model who just turned to life. From the looks of glamorous geishas, to the teenage school girls wearing short skirts, the Japanese teenager is now again making headlines as the Ganguro girl. The Ganguro is setting new trends, and earning criticisms not only from the foreigners but even from the Japanese population. Ganguro Girls According to Funch, Japanese teenagers are a continuing source of strange but interesting fashion trends. Today, almost everyone in Japan are talking about the Ganguro look (Watrous) especially with the fact that the Kugaro, the Ganguro and the Yamanaba are continuously growing in numbers and are becoming more visible in the streets, in shopping districts and in bars. Watrous added that with their rather attractive colorful outfits, the Ganguro, with their towering shoes and skimpy clothes, face piercing and hair bleached and teased, are easy to spot and easy to dismiss as those Americans like in the 1980s who forced their bangs into towering crispy hair dos above their faces. From this view, Watrous intimated that the Ganguro girls can easily be figured out as those teenage Japanese girls obsessed with black and American fashion and culture. Ganguro literally means black. So the Ganguro look refers to the heavily tanned face and the very black-faced Japanese girls (Masaichi). The Ganguro Look Funch described the Ganguro look to have hair dyed to blonde or brown, plucked eyebrows, tan skin (sometimes beyond tan), the mini-skirts and the cool towering shoes. In a web page entitled, â€Å"Ganguro†, Ganguro is defined as that fashion trend among Japanese girls that literally means ‘face-black’, an outgrowth of the chapatsu hair dyeing. Perhaps, one of the reasons that Ganguro is so named is the fact that ganguro girls cover and paint their faces with black or brown make-up to hide their rather white complexion. The most basic look for a typical Ganguro gril include the blonde-bleached hair; perm and willed to a towering hairpiece; and set for amore than half a day and costs about $400 dollars (â€Å"Gnaguro†). The Ganguro look is also not complete without the deep tan, an artificial tan obtained from tanning salons and make up (â€Å"Ganguro†). The intention of having their skin tanned is to attain a look similar to their American idols TLC and Lauryn Hill, known for their black American look (Watrous). In order to have the tan that they want, Ganguro girls frequent tanning salons, purchase sun lamps and cover their face with brown make ups (†Ganguro†). .Sometimes, a Ganguro, with limited income and fund resorts to cheaper and conventional way of tanning, like covering their entire face with brown magic marker (Watrous). Meanwhile, those with enough money would prefer Tokyo’s hippest salons and hair stylists for their trendy afro perms and tans (Watrous). Moreover, in the article, â€Å"Ganguro†, it is mentioned that the purpose of the tanned look is to achieve the blonde California beach girl look. It cannot be denied that the Ganguro look is influenced by the American fashion and American fashion icons and trend setters. For the Japanese, the attraction of having that tanned skin as opposed to the normal white complexion of Japanese women, as portrayed by the geishas, is a great challenge and interesting to try and experiment on. In fact, according to the article, â€Å"Ganguro†, the Ganguro look â€Å"goes against the grain of the usual Japanese standard of female beauty, which calls for skin as white as possible†. This brings to life the Ganguro look, which is believed to have started sometime in the 1990s, with the famous Okinawan singer, Amuro Namie (â€Å"Ganguro†). The look is also attributed to super model Naomi Campbell wherein the teenage girls imitated her make up and clothing style (Masaichi). The Japanese population recognizes the white complexion as standard for its women. For this reason, the Japanese are not actually fond of dark skin. Many Japanese are fond of the white skin which is known as Shirohada (Masaichi). The white skin- face according to them makes the face fuller. Because of these preferences, the typical Japanese will not actually go out of her way to have a tan (Masaichi). According to Masaichi, this prevailing standard can also be attributed to the emergence of the ganguro fashion so much so that the customary proscriptions against the dark skin encouraged the girls to getr really tan and dark. Masaichi also stated that the ganguro girls wanted to be in the minority. This makes them more exotic and unique unlike the majority of the Japanese ladies. Masaichi finally stated that â€Å"the fresh-looking Ganguro seem to offer hope – a fresh current of air flowing through the stale homogeneity of Japanese society†. One of the most apparent characteristics of the Gangaru look is the used of extraordinary accessories to go with the unique clothes. Important accessories include the platform shoes or boots, the photo stickers and cellular phones with the centerpiece of the total ganguro look being the 15 centimeter of higher platform shoes and sandals that make them look taller than the usual Japanese teenager (â€Å"Ganguro†). Many believed that the Ganguro look is wanting in attention that is why the Ganguro girls use the attractive hairs, clothes, shoes and accessories. According to the article, â€Å"Ganguro†, the Ganguro look â€Å"lets them look down on the world or to have the world look up to them†. The Ganguro enjoys the attention and to be regarded as a unique way of expressing Japanese fashion and art. The center of the Ganguro fashion can be found in major fashion districts in Tokyo like Shibuya and Ikebukuro (â€Å"Ganguro†). Some stated that Ganguro is also known as Yamanaba, but some consider Ganguro as merely a division of Yamanaba, together with Kugaro look. According to Watrous, another name for Ganguro is Yamanaba, which in Japan, means mountain grandmother – a name given to a mythical hag who is believed to haunt the Japanese mountains in the Japanese folklores. Yamanaba In â€Å"Ganguro†, the Yamanaba is considered to be one step beyond the Ganguro because besides the Ganguro look, the Japanese girls wear more outrageous outfits and make-up. For example, the Yamanaba wears white lipstick, white eye shadow, silvery hair with touch of glitter and fake tear drops on the cheek. More than these, they also have their own outrageous ways of talking and laughing as you see them on the streets and bars of Japan. According to Funch, the Yamanaba includes the Ganguro and the Kugaro. The Ganguro gal, according to him, are the brown-skin gals; while the gonguro gals are those in deep-brown skin. The Yamanaba girl is characterized by her white or brown hair, brown face, the heavy make up ore the panda make up (Funch). The Yamanaba girl according to â€Å"Ganguro†, also her hair with brown or gold and uses blue contact lenses to attain that â€Å"California beach girl look without the bikini† (â€Å"Gangaru†). Soemtimes, the Yamanaba also wears fake flowers in their hair (â€Å"Ganguro†). An outsider, according to Watrous, a foreigner for example, will have a hard time identifying a kogaru from a gangaru because of their similarities. However, Watrous emphasized that despite their clear similarities and shared predilection on platform shoes and body piercing, these two subcultures of Yamanaba are completely different with their differing fashion aspirations (Watrous). According to the Encyclopaedia Dramatica, the Ganguro phenomenon is more of a matriarchal subculture because it depicts the aggressiveness of the Japanese women. The Ganguro look is sometimes compared to the British punk primarily because of the hair and the outrageous fashion sense. Menkes described this similarity as the â€Å"elaborate attention to an extraordinary, even grotesque, appearance†. However, the Ganguro is g\from beyond compared to Punk. According to Menkes, Punk had its origin on a sociological perspective and phenomenon, that is, a disaffected and nihilistic youth is thumbing its nose as a convention; while the Gangaru fashion is more upbeat and is about consumerism with Prada and Louis Vuitton backpacks as integral aspect of the entire Gangaru look (Menkes). As have been mentioned earlier, the Gangaru look is also distinguished by the use of accessories. But the Ganguro do not use simple and ordinary accessories. Sometimes, the accessories are more expensive than the clothes. For example, the use of cellular phone, its cost can be very expensive. The same goes with the backpacks used for accessories that should necessarily come from brands like Prada and Louis Vuitton to achieve the ideal Ganguro look. The Encyclopaedia Dramatica provided that aside from the influences of the United States seafront retirees, the Ganguro also come from a variety of influences like the images of women in R B bands and music icons. According to Liu, the ganguro phenomenon as an imitation of the black culture did not happen over night in Japan. In fact, Liu noted that as early as the year 1840, blackface performers started to appear in Japan. With the seemingly outrageous and out of this world fashion statements, many have speculated on the motivations of the Japanese girls to have become Ganguro. According to Liu, some speculate that the ganguro girls are â€Å"using hip hop image to rebel against wearing traditional school uniforms to express individuality†. While the most obvious and popular speculation, some believe that the Ganguro is in clear imitation of celebrities (Liu); many also believe that the ganguro phenomenon is a way of self expression and to gain self identity. Liu, also added that despite the apparent opposition to the traditional Japanese fashion and social standards, the ganguro became popular with the non-ganguro that readily accepted the phenomenon. However, it cannot be avoided that there have been some exclusions. The ganguro has, in its entire history has consistently been criticized. Criticisms on Ganguro Look According to the Encyclopaedia Daramatica, apparently, the typical woman considers the Ganguro as ‘freaks’ although their fashion sense resembles that of the women in Florida. Expectedly, with the outrageous fashion sense, the Gangaru look faced various criticisms. It even faced hostility from among Japanese. According to Watrous, despite the growing number of Japanese teenagers embracing the Ganguro fashion, both the kogaru and the Ganguro encountered hostility in Japan. Watrous described how a recent publication in Kansai Time Out, through the eminent novelist Haruku Murakami, called the Ganguro as â€Å"big problem fro Japan†. Murakami also added that he â€Å"feels sadness and disgust when he passes these bleached and flamboyantly outfitted young ladies on the streets of his neighborhood† (Watrours). Many Japanese, like Murakami consider the Ganguro fashion as a disgrace for the Japanese fashion and that it devoid the Japanese women of the respect and the glamour that had long been associated to her since the time of the geishas. According to them, the Japanese women, known to have standard white complexion, should preserve the same as the true Japanese look. However, this should not serve to undermine the Ganguro fashion as it only relates to carry out influences from major fashion trends, particularly in America. The biases and prejudices against the Ganguro fashion even grew and spread into the legislature when in February of 2002, in Osaka, a laws was enacted prohibiting women to drive wearing tall boots (Watrous). This is obviously in direct prohibition among the Ganguro ladies, whose centerpiece costume includes the towering shoes and sandals. According to the legislature, the law was enacted to prevent major road accidents as a result of the driver failing to break fast enough with the platform soles (Watrous). In view of this law, the legislature proposed a maximum allowable platform height to only a few centimeters for anyone driving a vehicle (Watrous). Taking the law as a clear incident of the police power of the state, it can not be directly be considered as a clear prejudice against the Ganguro because the law is founded upon a valid ground and responsibility of the state to protect its people. IT does not intend to discriminate or unduly prejudice the Ganguro. Instead the prohibition only imposed an incidental limitation to the Ganguro fashion as a result of the intention to avoid road accidents. This is in accordance to a battery of tests conducted with drivers wearing different sole heights (Watrous) and the conclusion that the sole height can be attributed to the driver’s ability to break fast in case of road emergencies. Conclusion The Ganguro fashion, however criticized and praised remains a fact of Japanese history, particularly of japans fashion history along side with the Geishas and the popular Japanese school girl in uniform fashion. It should be respected and considered as a valid expression of fashion sense. Although the Ganguro look is believed to have come from the American fashion culture, it cannot be denied that the touch of Japanese culture is embedded in it. In fact, without the known fact that the fashion was a clear expression of obsession to black and American fashion, the Ganguro look is purely Japanese. The Ganguro is clearly a Japanese sense of fashion. It should not be viewed as something resorted to by some Japanese teenage girls in order to receive attention. Works Cited Emcyclopaedia Dramatica. â€Å"Ganguro. † 12 Oct. 2007 http://www. encyclopediadramatica. com/Ganguro. Funch, Flemming. â€Å"Ming the Mechanic: Ganguro Girls. † 2003. 12 Oct. 2007 http://ming. tv/flemming2. php/__show_article/_a000010-000633. htm. â€Å"Ganguro. † 12 Oct. 2007 http://www. livemusicstudio. com/mac/pages/ganguro. html. Liu, Xuexin. â€Å"The Hip Hop Impact on Japanese Youth Culture. † 12 Oct. 2007 http://www. uky. edu/Centers/Asia/SECAAS/Seras/2005/Liu. htm. Masaichi, Nomura. â€Å"Driving My Body. † 2000. 12 Oct. 2007 http://brokenstones. at. infoseek. co. jp/fashion/dmv. html. Menkes, Suzy. â€Å"Tokyo Is Now World Capital of Street Style: In the City and on the Catwalk, Japan Cultivates Its Roots. † 2000. 12 Oct. 2007 http://www. iht. com/articles/2000/11/14/menkes. t. php. Watrous, Malena. â€Å"Hello Kitties. † 2000. 12 Oct. 2007 http://archive. salon. com/people/feature/2000/03/08/kogaru/.