Slanted View

The Harajuku Girls' Poor Taste
by Nathaniel Jue

Halloween came and went like every other autumn. Unlike previous years, however, there were an abundance of groupings of females, Asian and non-Asian, costumed as the Harajuku girls, Gwen Stefani's now-famous four-girl Japanese posse. As a lot of people have come to learn this summer by watching MTV or reading pop culture magazines, the Harajuku girls are basically Gwen's bitches. They are a quartet of Japanese girls who parade alongside Gwen in her videos, public performances and appearances and promotional interviews. The fearsome foursome are clad in ultra-Japanese alternative pop garb, along with the makeup, hairstyles and accessories that are inspired by the fashion of today's Japanese youth. Gwen admittedly has a Japanese fetish of sorts, and she claims her entourage is nothing less than homage to her adoration of modern Japanese pop style.

There has been some ado about whether Gwen is appropriating Japanese culture by showcasing her Harajuku clan. Gwen has essentially hired them as her own accessories, shadowing her wherever she goes. The girls don't speak at all publicly. They simply strut around in the background of everything that Gwen does, and pantomime obediently like puppets to Gwen's beats.

Some Asians have found this mastering slightly racist, as Gwen is viewed as owning four live Japanese dolls. They feel her fixation is closer to offensive than playful, for she is a step below attaching leashes and collars on them and ordering them to sit and heel. There is so much objection to the Harajuku girls that websites have been constructed pleading the public to help free the girls from their owner.

Many people have a hard time understanding the meaning of the Harajuku girls. Gwen's humanization of her love for Japanese vogue is a bit disturbing. To see that the Harajuku Four are mere decoration in the form of real bodies doesn't sit well with some Asians. If a pop artist were to have a black version of the Harajuku girls, would there be a louder cry of racism? Maybe. But because Asians are already seen as muted introverts who have little placing in America's popular music culture, the Harajuku girls are simply seen as a fun novelty.

My real concern isn't necessarily the assembling of the Harajuku girls. My displeasure stems from the fact that these girls are associated with Gwen Stefani, an overrated pop superstar whose saturation is the real reason I wince when watching VH1. If I could holla back at her, I'd say, "Your songs are crap!" Every time I hear her music I want to shove some b-a-n-a-n-a-s in my ears. The title of her album shouldn't have been L.A.M.B.; it should be L.A.M.E.

People are focusing on the wrong area of offensiveness. Seeing Asians on MTV, even as human wallpaper, is a step up from William Hung. I can't think of the last time there were FOUR Asians in a music video. The fact that Gwen has more than one "hit" song multiplies the amount of air time of Asians on TV. I understand their presence is degrading at times, but at least their construction is categorized as mainstream cool. Isn't imitation the best form of flattery? While I am bothered by the significance of the Harajuku girls, I find the silver lining is an introduction to America of Asian culture.

The real protest out of this whole arrangement isn't the ethnic lionization of Japanese culture in the form of humans. It's that this concept of "cool" is linked to Gwen Stefani and her supposed talent. The Harajuku girls should be in conjunction with someone with real musicality, someone who is genuinely gifted. I am sure these girls can distinguish the difference between a bona fide musician and performer and one who rips off other people's tunes and inundates the mainstream with poorly constructed song writing. "I ain't no hollaback girl"? What kind of sentence is that? Isn't that the real travesty in all of this? I am infinitely more offended by the Asian connection to idiotic ditties than the establishment of the Harajuku girls itself. I mean if they were the backup to someone like Ashlee Simpson or Lindsay Lohan would we really be having this discussion right now? And seeing the plethora of females, even non-Asian girls, dressed up as Gwen's women at Halloween isn't insulting, it's just unoriginal and tasteless.

Nathaniel Jue has been writing ever since he won first place in his fourth grade essay contest. However, he has been ranting for the past 26 years.