unpopular opinions: gyaru edition

hello~! its me again :P

so far, the gyaru blogs ive been posting have been educational, and that doesnt leave a lot of room for my own personal opinions... and as someone with a ton of opinions, i can only hold off on sharing them for so long! so, thats what this blog is going to be about!

since this is an unpopular opinions blog, this has the potential to ruffle some feathers... but i dont mind! gyaru is about being yourself, so who cares if i dont have the same opinions as everyone else? so long as the opinion is antithetical to gyaru as a whole, i think its fair game!

teeny tiny disclaimer: i use a lot of targeted language (you, y'all, etc), like for some reason thats just the way i talk. but in general, just dont take it too seriously. this isnt directed towards anyone in particular, i use words like you and y'all as sort of general, neutral terms if that makes sense? idk, i just foresee some people getting worked up over it lol...

anyway, onto the blog!

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*opinions are in no particular order!*

1. gyaru has rules that cannot be ignored

this might be considered a milquetoast opinion to some of y'all, but i feel like the tiktokification of gyaru has made this a pretty popular mindset. yes, there are no rules when it comes to your self expression as a gyaru. you dont wanna limit yourself to one style? go ahead! you dont wanna wear contacts? fair enough! do insanely long nails not work for you? understandable! do you not wanna be in gyaru 24/7? I GET IT! basically, the sky is the limit! but that doesnt mean there are no rules at all. not all styles require heavy tans or insane make, but you probably shouldnt call yourself yamanba for instance if you dont do either of those. there are gals that can dress gyaru 24/7, but for a lot of us, that just isnt realistic. however, if you dont wanna dress gyaru 24/7, you shouldnt expect to be recognized as gyaru if youre out of it. when i go out in no make, i dont have the right to get angry that people dont clock me as a gal. to quote my beloved idol Harutamu...

makeup is a nonnegotiable for gyaru. you either wear makeup, or you arent gyaru. i see a lot of people on tiktok specifically saying that gyaru doesnt require makeup, people asking if theyre still gyaru if they dont wear makeup, asking "what if my parents dont let me wear makeup?" or "what if i get made fun of?" i also see a lot people bringing up that gal is MIND, so as long as they have the attitude and mindset, why should anything else matter? a lot of the people saying these things are baby gals that maybe arent super comfortable with themselves yet, so i wont be too harsh about it. but to put it simply, gyaru requires a certain amount of dedication, and that dedication includes adhering to some rules. of course, the mindset is important. but thats only half the battle. i'll put it like this: it doesnt matter how much i think i can run a marathon, it doesnt matter if i have the perfect attitude and mindset to do it. if i dont actually run the marathon or, even train to run the marathon, i can never say that i did. thats how i feel about gyaru. i think a lot of this boils down to people liking the look of a certain aesthetic, but it just doesnt work for them. if you generally dont wear makeup or arent allowed to, gyaru might not be for you. i understand being worried about what people think at first, but if you care that much about what others think, gyaru might not be for you. plus, why would you wanna be gyaru without makeup? thats the best part!

i dont mean to harp on about makeup so much, but thats one of the biggest things i see people calling optional. so, all this to say, expect to have to follow some guidelines.

2. there is no one way to be gyaru

im preparing to be called a hypocrite after the tangent i just went on, but hear me out! for a lot of alternative styles that are focused on being non-conforming, i feel like we veer so far into that, that we circle right back into policing people if they dont conform to the "right way" of participating. this is something that will always shock me about this community, but so many people bully others for their make or coords. can you believe that? gals bullying other gals because they dont like the way they look? like do they even realize how stupid it is to tell someone "you arent non-comforming in the way you should!!!!!" theres no one way to be gyaru, get over yourself.

3. idgaf about a white droop

this opinion might get me crucified, but i dont care!! this is a relatively new "rule", in fact i think people literally made up. people will say only advanced gals with advanced makeup skills can do it, but that literally makes zero sense. personally, i dont like the look of a white droop on myself but i think other gals look great with it! i dont care if people think its ugly, or "too dolly", or whatever. a white droop will never be the end of the world to me lol.

4. owning gyaru brands doesnt make you a better gal, it just means that theres a 99.9% chance you paid a stupid amount of money for a poor-quality item

theres a lot of elitism in the gyaru space about owning brand name clothes/accessories/shoes, and i think its stupid. gyaru is fast-fashion, hyper-consumerism personified so a lot of these vintage pieces are mass produced and shein quality. gyaru was mainstream at one point, so tons of brands jumped on the bandwagon, meaning a lot of the products are just shit. that doesnt mean they dont look cool! after all, youre paying for the brand and its the brands job to be eye-catching and cool. however, scalpers grab pieces for cheap off of places like mercari jp and resell them at insanely price-gouged margins. i dont think youre bad for buying gyaru brands, but i think youre an idiot if you think it makes you superior.

5. gyaru is not the feminist subculture a lot of y'all think it is

just walk with me. i see this idea being spread on places like tiktok that styles like yamanba were created by japanese women to get men to stop raping them, and thats only half the truth. yes, gyaru was created to go against the japanese beauty standard and their standards for how one should behave. it is a form of rebellion created by women, but it is nowhere near the paragon of female empowerment its been made out to be. japan is a patriarchal society. gyaru became hugely fetishized and objectified, made to be palatable for the male dominated media. many gals engaged in compensated dating, as a result of the consumerist mindset that permeated the space. many of these gals were teenagers, high school/middle school girls, feeling pressured to keep up with trends. many gals struggled deeply with mental illness, neurodivergence, alcohol and substance abuse, domestic violence, and other things in a society that actively discourages speaking up and getting help. many of them were runaways. gyaru is not sunshine and rainbows, a utopia of girlbossery and female empowerment. a lot of these girls were victims of society and the patriarchy. gyaru is rife with struggle and pain, and we need to be realistic about that.

if you want a real, honest depiction of what it was like to be gyaru, i recommend checking out Tomonya's ameblo.

6. a lot of people are pagyaru and need to accept it

this is the one i think will get some people REALLY in a tizzy, but a hit dog will holler, as they say. a lot of people only want the social points being gyaru will give them (god knows why, we get made fun of all the time). they only like the look, and dont care about the fact that gyaru needs to be a lifestyle. gal is MIND and a lot of people just dont have the mindset. a lot of y'all are mean, insecure, and scared of true authenticity. you might have the look, but to me, it means nothing if youre a hateful person.

7. gyaru is largely inspired by black culture. DEAL WITH IT.

the amount of anti-blackness in this community is astounding, considering the fact that black culture and fashion is literally the blueprint. a lot of styles take inspiration from american aesthetics, and you know who created those aesthetics? BLACK AMERICANS. you know who popularized nails? BLACK AMERICANS. LOOK AT THE WAY SOME GALS TAN! there is literally a substyle with the goal of appropriating black culture, and some of y'all still wanna insist that black culture has nothing to do with gyaru. some of the most important gyaru creators online are black gals. and yet theyre the same gals i see get the most hate and receive the most vitriol. theyre literally integral to gyaru, responsible for getting gyaru back on the map, and yet people still dont give them the credit they deserve. the anti-blackness is tired.

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aaaand i think ive officially made enough people hate me now, so i'll leave this here! i didnt intend for this to be quite so negative, but im very passionate and have a lot of thoughts and opinions. if you dont hate me, please look forward to my next blog! i promise itll be much more positive! feel free to share your own opinions, disagree with mine, or say whatever you like in the comments! and if you wanna share your opinions with other gals in a more personal environment, please check out my gyaru discord inquiry!

remember, antama loves you~!

kiss kiss~ ☆⌒ヽ(*'､^*)chu