Subcultures: The Gyaru Subculture The Gyaru Subculture: Subcultures

The Gyaru Subculture

One of the widely recognized impacts of globalization is the fact that it causes changes and modifications to the values, norms and traditions of existing cultures, resulting in the formation of new subcultures, or the complete loss of cultural identity (Marshall & Raymond, 2015). The Gyaru subculture in Japan offers a perfect example of a subculture formed in this manner. 'Gyaru' is the Japanese translation for the English word 'girl' -- it is a subculture of young girls and women who, just like most women in the rest of the world, are obsessed with trying to achieve the image of 'ideal' beauty imposed upon them by the media. Differently from other women, however, the Gyaru go to extreme lengths to achieve these unattainable standards of beauty -- they follow a certain style of dressing and do their hair and make-up in a specific way. The more common features among all their members are huge heels, short skirts, and big eyes (Marshall & Raymond, 2015).

Development of the Gyaru Subculture

The name 'Gyaru' originated from a sub-brand of the Wrangler Jeans called 'gurls' in the 1970s. The jeans were marketed under the slogan 'I can't live without men' and were targeted at fashion-conscious teenage girls and women in their early twenties (Hedy Magazine, 2015). In 1979, Sawada Kenji released a song titled 'Oh Gyaru', which featured young modern girls in...

The word 'Gyaru' was integrated as part of teens' vocabulary following this song, and was used to essentially refer to happy modern girls in their teens and early twenties, as well as older women who lacked interest in marriage and work (Hedy Magazine, 2015).
Gyaru: Subculture or Trend

Many people have questioned 'Gyaru's qualification as a subculture -- some tend to think that it is just a trend, whose members are just trying to keep up with trends in fashion. Well, I tend not to agree with this line of reasoning -- the Merriam Webster dictionary defines a subculture as a group within a larger culture, whose beliefs and behaviors are different from those of the larger culture or society. One of the core elements of the Japanese culture is the bihaku, which is the belief that women ought to remain beautifully white -- the Gyaru, however, are known for such acts as bleaching hair and tanning skin, both of which go against the bihaku culture and are considered acts of rebellion against the ojousama (young lady roles) as well as the traditional beauty standards. This alone qualifies the Gyaru as a subculture.

Features and Characteristics

Members of the Gyaru subculture are characterized by dramatic make-up, highly decorated nails and heavily dyed/bleached hair (mainly shades from blonde to dark brown). Their make-up consists primarily of fake eyelashes and dark eyeliner intended to give the face a slimming effect and…