Gyaru is NOT blackface. (an essay)

Introduction

Lately, as the fashion rule of "If its more than 10 years old, its cool again" and the *questionable appreciation of Asian culture, an almost dead fashion style and social movement has came back, a style made not by the companies or industries, but the young girls frustrated by the strict society Japan became: Gyarus.

1. Gyaru Definition and a little bit of History

"Gyaru (Japanese: ギャル) pronounced [ɡʲa̠ꜜɾɯ̟ᵝ], is a Japanese fashion subculture. The term gyaru is a Japanese transliteration of the English slang word gal."

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyaru

Gyaru is a subgenre of Japanese street fashion, also known as **Harajuku street fashion, that shined its brightest during the 90s and early 00s.

It is characterized by breaking the fashion and beauty standars Japanese women were forced into, such as white skin, modest clothing, black hair, etc..

Just simply compare these photos:

While there isnt an anwser to how this style appeared, there are some theories:

"It all started with the Kogyaru(1991): school girls with brown hair, short schoolgirl skirts, and slightly tanned skin clutching European luxury bags and wearing Burberry scarves and loose socks. They were from well to do families and most often attended private schools. The Kogyaru started out as being the girlfriends of the party organisers and bad boys. These gals were seen as party girls and lust objects (partly because of their shortened school uniform skirts)." 

source: https://gyarubaby.blogspot.com/2014/06/gal-history.html

"Athough it has not been fully confirmed, some people say that the term gal became popular when Wrangler released women's jeans called "Gals" in 1972.
In 1978, a Japanese fashion information magazine for girls called "GAL'S LIFE'' was first published. This magazine introduced the culture of women in the West Coast of the United States, and included punk rock music, along with other genres like new wave and indie. However, the magazine had nothing to do with Japan's gyaru culture"

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyaru

"The theory goes that with the appearance of singers who broke the stereotypes of pale skin and natural black Japanese hair, by appearing with platforms, false nails and eyelashes, mini skirts, perfect makeup, etc., motivated teenage girls to start imitating that style, in the 1980s many young Japanese girls imitated that daring and sexy aesthetic to the point that Namie Amuro became an idol for the ganguro, and later Ayumi Hamasaki became the same for the ganjiro."

source: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal_(Jap%C3%B3n) (translated with DeepL)

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2. So... where does the drama come from??

2.1. Blackface

"Blackface is the practice of non-black performers using burnt cork or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment."

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackface

I am not black, therefore my opinion over the harm it causes for white people's perception of black people and black people's perception of themselves is not as valid, but, as far as i know, it is considered to be racist, as it makes a caricature out of black people and their oppressed culture.

"By objectifying formerly enslaved people through demeaning, humor-inducing, stock caricatures, "comedic performances of 'blackness' by whites in exaggerated costumes and make-up, [could not] be separated fully from the racial derision and stereotyping at its core"."

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackface

2.2. Ganguro

"Ganguro (ガングロ) is an alternative fashion trend among young Japanese women which peaked in popularity around the year 2000 and evolved from gyaru."

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganguro

Im not going to get into detail with this, but the thing is this:

As Gyaru fashion started going back into the trending topics, people started accusing Ganguro fashion of blackface; this is, because, Ganguro is a much more extreme Gyaru, the typical tanning of the skin was raised into a next level, and, for some people's criteria, it resembled Blackface.

And an even more extreme example, also known as ***Yamamba:

2.3. So.. BlackFace or not BlackFace??

While for some people it might resemble blackface, it is NOT, here is why

Gyaru/Ganguro's origins are not related at all with black people or racism. As mentioned before, the female beauty standards pressured women to have light skin, and gyarus were just going against it, not against black people.

As simple as that.

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The End

Its late at night and my back hurts, so that is why the last half of the essay was so short and quick, anyways THANK YOU FOR READING!!! Pls tell me your opinion, and if it was overall interesting, i like improving :3

*more than "appreciation" its actually... "appropiation" because asian culture is now the new trend, and people are playing with it, just like they did with black culture and physical atributes in the 2010s

**Harajuku is a distric in Shibuya, Tokio

***A subgenre of Ganguro, both of these terms inisde the subgenre Gyaru