Is Gyaru Racist?

Lately, one of the biggest topics in the gyaru community, outside of the validity of newer gyaru substyles like tropical gyaru and the blunders and controversy of a project that eggmag has been disappointing us all with, is "gyaru fashion is racist." Not just the extreme manba fashion from the early 2000s, but as a whole movement.

Japan- Gyaru Beginnings

For a quick history lesson on this particular subculture and its fashion, there were girls who rebelled against Japan's beauty norms of pale, white skin, being modest, quiet and subservient by tanning, being materialistic, and partying. As time passed, girls involved with the style seemed to want to outdo each other, or to just push the limits, to stand out even more. This brought upon changes of the next popular accessories and clothes, to bleached/dyed hair, and affected the makeup and also their intensity of their tans. Some of the notable trendsetters and icons at this time were Buriteri and the gyaru circle Angeleek. 

Gaijin Gyaru Community Debates

Some people don't see the more extreme elements of the subculture as problematic at all and shut down healthy, polite discussions, to people who are doing their best to educate others on how the more extreme versions can come across to Black/African American people. That the usage of box braids and dark foundation is blatantly insensitive and there should be no excuse whatsoever. I have even come across a creator that have reached out to a popular Japanese gyaru about her darker foundation usage only to be blocked. 

For Black people who cannot pass for any other ethnicity, I can see how jarring and bizarre the fashion can come across. Why are they so DARK? Whats with the makeup? Why are they choosing to do THIS? But does tanning as a fashion statement in a homogenous society automatically equate to hating black people when dark skin has had historical contexts of being associated with being poor and of the working class and was avoided by richer individuals? Or is that reserved for the more extreme styles of gyaru fashion? Does it become more complicated with Japanese folklore of the Yamauba, the name for a mountain hag where the word "yamanba" comes from?

American Historical Context

In 19th century America, there were White people who painted themselves black, had overdrawn mouths and made a mockery of Black people as a form of entertainment. Black people were still seen as subhuman, buffoonish and stupid compared to their White counterparts. These shows were called minstrel  and there was a lot of blatantly racist art that dehumanized black people. 

These actors were not going against any fashion trends or creating their own, but to portray African American people for comedic purposes. These forms of entertainment lost popularity during the civil rights movement in the 1950's-60s.

2020+ and Changes

After posting a little more on Tiktok after such a hiatus, a manba makeup and fashion enthusiast reached out to me. I was informed that the new standard for Gaijin Gyaru was to not tan too dark and those that were not black or of a darker complexion naturally were to not overdo it with darker foundations; to be mindful and respectful of Black people. Looking back on the the kurogyaru wave during the Japanese Black Diamond era, I did notice that the girls in the group were tan, but not overly dark, save for a few young women. 

As the number of gyaru fashion practitioners has died down overseas and a lot of the girls having become shirogyaru (white gyaru) and choosing that over tanning, does the label of it being racist still apply? If the tanning trends lessen, and there are more shirogyaru because paler skin falls in line with the mainstream view of standard beauty, wouldn't that be just as insensitive to people with naturally darker skin or those who tan easier than others?