Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Era: Appropriation or Appreciation?

Where are Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Girls now? What is the difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation? Did Gwen Stefani really say "My God, I’m Japanese and I didn’t know it” to a Filipina American woman? (The answer to that last question: yes)

On January 24th 2023, Michelle Yeoh made history as the first actress of Asian descent to be nominated for Best Actress at the 2023 Oscars (Merle Oberon, India-born actress, was nominated in the 1930s but purposefully hid her heritage). In a world where Hollywood's bamboo ceiling is slowly being dismantled and #StopAAPIHate, let’s look into the importance of Asian representation.

⭐LINKS:

Thank you so much to my Patrons: Cameo M, Cupcaketron, Ian Wolf, IggiePuff, Julie van der Staak, Megan Catherine Rose, Neon Starlight
😊💖

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

❤️ SOCIALS:

🧡 TRACK LIST:
-

💛 END SCREEN SONG:
Mushrooms - Komiku

💚 BANNER AND END SCREEN ART BY:

💙 If you'd like to support this channel, please consider buying me a boba:

Thank you! 💖
　ᕱ⑅ᕱ ♡ pat ‧₊˚ ✩
（๑•ᴗ• )づ__∧ pat ˳
（つ　 /( •́‧̫•̀ ｡) ♡ pat
しーＪ (nnノ) ⋆

[cybrgrl]

“We live in a beautiful and diverse world. We should celebrate and enjoy the many different and contrasting cultures. They help give texture and creativity and diversity to our world. But as we appreciate other cultures, let’s be sure we’re doing it with the right intentions—to learn, to gain understanding, and to ultimately show honor and value.” -preemptivelove.org

[vainpiers]

I don't think being inspired by Japanese fashion is wrong (different from cultural dress where it depends on context, education, respect, etc) however, dehumanising Japanese people and treating them like they're toys is the wrong part. It shows when you're informed by genuine love and inspiration and when you're just playing dress up.

[nyaamix]

Great video! I always liked Gwen's music and I was around 14/15 when she started her solo era with the Harajuku girls. I'd been into j-fashion since I was 11 and it made me excited to see that something I cared so much about was getting recognition in mainstream culture at first. But then I saw an interview where she had the girls sitting behind her and she told the interviewer not to talk to them. It felt very strange and as if they were just props and it made me dislike her. It's good to know they had positive experiences with Gwen, but she clearly either doesn't understand or care about the impact she's made in appropriating other cultures. She really has always done it too, with wearing the bindi in the early No Doubt days. It's so disappointing to see someone double down on things instead of growing and apologising.

[itsalwayshalloweenexceptwh]

Gwen's harajuku era songs, specifically the ones that had music videos with the japanese backup dancers in it, were considered cringe and wrong (cultural appropriation, before that term was commonly used) by many lolitas back when they came out. Despite that I still had some of those songs on my mp3 player for a while because I enjoyed them as long as I didn't listen to the lyrics and as long as I didn't watch the music videos. Lots of people who wore lolita fashion were angry about Gwen and her harajuku era. They would say things like "it's stupid that she thinks she's the first one to discover this, or that she thinks she owns it, misrepresenting the different fashions of harajuku and then cashing in on it, she doesn't respect it". A common point of discussion was people claiming the back up dancers weren't even japanese, but just some non japanese asians Gwen was presenting as japanese. A lot of lolitas were actually really over the top excited at the announcement of these songs and the clips, but when they came out most people were hugely disappointed. The fact that the dancers weren't allowed to speak was also pretty creepy. Like they were just moving dolls to her. She was also dragged over the coals for being wapanese (wannabe japanese).

[oddgirlsophie]

I would love to see a video where you talk about Filipina representation because as a Filipina raised in the United States it definitely lacks and I definitely related to the allure authors comment on “desperate for any representation even if it isn’t your own”

[Thefashiongoddessnyc]

Thank you for covering this..I had no idea she was STILL milking the Harajuku brand aesthetic..I stopped being a fan because of this Era. As someone who has an accessories label influenced by Japanese culture I never claimed anything as my own..I wear Jfashion from actual Japanese brands and I visited Japan where they loved my label and was shocked how well I incorporated Harajuku street fashion with the US...I even have ny relative who is fluent in Japanese make sure all our writing is done properly on our pieces...

[Thefashiongoddessnyc]

Racial appropriation is taking the things you deem "cool" about someone's ethnicity while leaving the person and their culture behind..while racial appreciation is being inspired by the entire ethnic culture and respecting them as a whole..if u want to wear a certain hairstyle know why the style is important to that people and go to a person of that ethnicity to get the hairstyle done for example..

[ethernetmuncher]

my birth mother used her clothing line as an excuse to fetishize me and ONLY dress me in harujuku girl clothing and trying to turn me into a dancer because of her. Her influence and fanbase is so incredibly blind to the racist effect it has.

[jemma_mae_]

Thank you so much for making this video. It is incredibly informational and I love how you went into detail about who each Harajuku Girl is.

[Sandwichbagggggg]

This is a great video. I was a fan of No Doubt as a kid but never had an appreciation for Gwen as a solo artist, I just wanted No Doubt back. I think I was too young to understand some of the other questionable stuff around her, until Harajuku Girls. Similarly to you, at the time she founded "Harajuku Girls", I'd been wearing decora fashion, and had a very strong fascination with Harajuku and Fruits magazine. I loved supporting Harajuku brands and artists. To hear Harajuku uttered from any western outlet was very exciting, about as excited as I was to hear Shonen Knife in American cartoons or that there was a cartoon about Puffy, bands that I loved and didn't expect to have recognition outside Japan. This excitement was immediately followed by disappointment. I didn't see anything representative of Harajuku to me, about as representative as the "Fook Mi" and "Fook Yu" giggling childlike stereotype schoolgirls from Austin Powers. It was a raw feeling to see Harajuku become a buzzword and a brand without promoting anything related to Harajuku, and seeing that the concept built by subcultures that weren't treated so kindly in Japan was lining the pockets of someone who wasn't promoting or supporting what made Harajuku iconic( I remember a man saying he hated Harajuku kids because a decora girl kicked him in the balls.... If it really happened, i figured he did something to provoke it, considering other aspects of his personality). I'd noticed a trend resulting of people purposely putting together "tacky" outfits as "Harajuku costumes".

Kudos to everyone who might have somehow discovered this world through this, then and now, instead of taking the branding at face value.

[birbunleashed]

I think the trademark dispute shows Gwen's ignorance the most blatantly. You can love a culture, want to learn more about it, and adopt aspects of it for yourself, but the moment you try to claim ownership of it and are convinced that your limited knowledge of it is grounds enough for that because you've made yourself the face of it in an environment that isn't all that educated on it, you've probably gone too far…

Thank you so much for this video! I'm part Japanese and always felt a little weird about a white woman trying to be the face of Harajuku in Western pop music but I think for a long time tiny me (who was raised in a Western country and a predominantly white environment) wasn't really able to pinpoint why. I think Gwen's childhood fascination with Japan is understandable, but it's sad if you can't look at that as an adult and be more discerning about it — especially in that most recent Allure article! Also not necessarily surprising but still really disappointing to see that Japanese culture isn't the only one she has treated so carelessly.

[Bunniegray]

I’m a huge Gwen fan. I’ve been following her since I was like 5. When I was a kid, I basically worshipped harajuku lovers and remember lugging around my HJL purse, and my multiple (extremely cute) t shirts. As I got older I stopped with the clothes but I kept collecting the perfumes, and I swear they still hold up. I think coming to terms with her problematic past is important for fans to do, but I think it’s ok to keep listening to the music or wearing the perfume if it’s special to you

[megsmacgregs]

Before finding this video, I was actually just discussing this with a friend. I think a lot of people can safely appreciate a culture without being disrespectful but I do think some cases are over dramatized for the sake of starting drama, such as the case where this one girl on Instagram who isn’t Japanese but lives in Japan who has embraced their culture has been told she’s appropriating, despite her not claiming to be Japanese or using their language or clothing as a prop. But then there’s people like Gwen Stefani, who has used Japanese women and the culture as a prop and that’s what’s gross or Oli London who acted like he was changing into different K-pop idols like Jimin, Rosé and Hyunjin, which is offensive and obsessive. I just hope we can go into a better world where we can embrace each other without offending each other. There’s so much beauty across the world and so many cultures have amazing food, clothing, languages, etc etc. So instead of fetishization or obsession with no actual knowledge of the culture you’re fetishizing is where people get upset. Like someone claiming he made Korean fried chicken without using any Korean ingredients, wearing cultural clothes or styles without having knowledge of the culture or to use it as a costume. You can admire the culture, once again, without fetishizing it or using the culture as a prop.

[kkuudandere]

Thank you for your effort on this well-researched video! I'm glad to know the Harajuku Girls at least had good memories of that time. But wow, I wish I had known they also had their own stellar careers, too. Music did the choreo for Replay, one of the MOST iconic kpop debuts??? That's WILD, I feel sad that I didn't know how accomplished these women were til now. And that's what makes the concept kinda gross.

I can understand how Gwen believes she really is just taking inspiration from various things in her life that inspired her (and the story about her dad on business trips to Japan was genuinely sweet). But it just so quickly ramps up into exploitation. Personally, I have a ton of appreciation for various aspects of Korean culture (the food, learning the language, even living there for some time). Even if my Korean friends joke that I'm "practically Korean", there's the understanding that a joke. A comment on how I might be putting in the effort to appreciate a culture. Not that I'm literally Korean now. I'm not and I don't want or need to be.

No amount of dressing the part, speaking the part, eating the food, whatever will give you the same perspective and somebody who LIVES in their culture and can't just switch out of it if they find something cooler. Which is actually a great thing, I think. Proves you don't have to *be* part of a culture to appreciate it, which is what Gwen probably *thought* she was promoting the whole time, but missed the point.

[shoujophobic]

I'm white but grew up in Asia, its what I know best and the life I grew up in. To see someone like Gwen Stefani enjoy these things, yet ignore the culture behind it and focus just on the aesthetic is really so weird to me. If Gwen liked the fashion and also empowered Japanese people, there wouldn't be such a problem.

[melancholyjones]

I dislike the term cultural "appreciation" bc it's so vague. It focuses too much on individual intent & feelings & things that can't be clearly defined. Imo the real indicator of appreciation for a cultural custom AND the ppl who created it, is accepting that it may not be something outsiders can participate in. That doesn't mean you can't still enjoy it or find meaning in it. But imo you can't truly "appreciate" a culture if you aren't willing to look, but not touch.

Like, jfashion culture is something that the Japanese alt fashion community (for the most part) wants foreigners to participate in. We are explicitly invited to wear it, contribute creatively, & support the artists & business behind it.
But that still doesn't give us free reign to center ourselves in jfashion history, or make ourselves the public face of the art form.

On the other hand, protective hairstyles in black culture are INHERENTLY a closed practice. The whole point of braids, twists & locs is to prevent types of damage that loosely curled or straight hair is not at risk of, bc the literal, anatomical structure of our hair follicles is different. If you don't have tightly coiled or kinky hair, protective styles are incompatible with & will in fact DAMAGE your hair. Disregarding that just shows you never had real respect or "appreciation" for the culture to begin with.

[Esandeech]

Her whole harajuku lyrics got me into harajuku, j-fashion, japanese culture, anime, manga, jpop, kpop and korean culture.

[shannons_dollhouse]

I really enjoyed this video and found it really informative, I have never been much of a fan of Gwen but I am a lover of alternative fashion with a particular interest in J fashion. The whole topic of culture appreciation vs appropriation, has always been complicated especially as a bi racial person who sometimes struggles to find balance in both of my cultures.

[picvegita]

Great video, I'm an old man (42) who grew up with No Doubt and I found this informative and interesting.

[Ariennon]

My mother and I are both Japanese, and have no problem with Gwen Stefani. In fact, we fucking adore her. And it’s not just us, a lot of Japanese people in japan thinks she’s awesome and cool too. Gwen Stefani respects our culture and she even donated 1 million dollars to us when the 2011 earthquake happened. When she said she was Japanese we fully accepted her in open arms cause she loves and respect us a lot. It’s mainly the Japanese American people who have a problem with her. I mean I am Japanese American but I loved her ever since I was a child because of how she loves my culture. I get that she has done a lot of wrong things to other cultures, but unlike what she has done to other cultures, she actually respects us and we love her❤