The release of Stefani's first solo album brought attention to her entourage of four Harajuku Girls. They were named for the area around the Harajuku Station of Tokyo, Japan, known as a popular shopping destination and fashion center for teenagers. They were featured in her music videos, press coverage and on the album cover for Love. Angel. Music. Baby., and have a song dedicated to them on the album. They were also featured in, and the namesake for, Stefani's successful Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005. However, Stefani's adoption of this Japanese culture component drew criticism from Mihi Ahn of Salon.com, who commented, "she's swallowed a subversive youth culture in Japan and barfed up another image of submissive giggling Asian women".[13]
According to the Jan/Feb 2006 edition of Blender magazine, stand-up comic Margaret Cho has labeled the Harajuku Girls as a "minstrel show" that reinforces ethnic stereotypes of Asian women. The Harajuku Girls have since continued to appear alongside Stefani within the media, and are featured in the music video for "Wind It Up" (2006).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harajuku_Girl
ADDED ON OCTOBER 13th, 2007
From the blog: http://www.gwenihana.blogspot.com/
The fight continues
It's been a while since I've updated this blog, and I guess I secretly hoped that maybe Gwen would tire of this whole harajuku thing and the G4 would have faded away into history as a weird cultural footnote.Silly me — it would seem that this debate is alive as ever (thanks for staying vigilant, angryasianman):
It's been a while since I've updated this blog, and I guess I secretly hoped that maybe Gwen would tire of this whole harajuku thing and the G4 would have faded away into history as a weird cultural footnote.Silly me — it would seem that this debate is alive as ever (thanks for staying vigilant, angryasianman):
YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO READ THESE!
"Harajuku Girls," Margaret Cho's blog
"Margaret Cho's not laughing about Gwen's Harajuku Girls," Popwatch blog, Entertainment Weekly
YOUR TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION:
Is Stefani adapting Japanese culture to fit into North American popular culture, or is she exploiting these girls for her own commercial gain? Is she showcasing this Japanese sub-culture or reinforcing ethnic stereotypes?
Is Stefani adapting Japanese culture to fit into North American popular culture, or is she exploiting these girls for her own commercial gain? Is she showcasing this Japanese sub-culture or reinforcing ethnic stereotypes?
