Love, Angel, Music and Baby, the names of the four girls that you will see following around Gwen Stefani on a regular basis. You see them in music videos, at award shows, on TV, but do you ever hear them speak? Do you know what they sound like? Probably not. Gwen Stefani has hired these girls to help promote her new perfume, clothing line and CD, but the catch is, is that they are all of an Asian decent. So the issue lies in four Asian girls following a Caucasian girl around and not being able to talk, Exploitation or Adaptation?When it comes to the matter of Gwen Stefani’s career choice it has caused much controversy in the media and in today’s society. There are many people who agree with what she’s doing, “I don’t see what the big deal is? What’s offensive about it? It’s just for fun” and there are some who think she’s being disrespectful, “ I used to think Gwen was cool, but now as an Asian I’m really offended by her stupid actions”. As one can see the audiences are split. As for myself, I really don’t think Gwen is doing anything wrong. Did she break the law? No. Is she abusing her rights as it states on the contract? No. So what do these people all have against her? The reason Gwen hired these 4 girls was to promote her “Harajuku culture” inspired perfume, clothing line and CD all labeled L.A.M.B. That was the only reason why she named these four girls the way she did; she wanted publicity. She wanted people to hear “L.A.M.B. or Love, Angel, Music, Baby” and to say, “Hey isn’t that Gwen Stefani’s products?” She wanted people to know why she hired these girls to do what they are doing. Hiring these four girls didn’t have anything to do with being famous and having the money to make people follow you around, it was about bringing these girls’ culture and making it the main inspiration of Gwen’s products. Gwen’s clothing line is based on the style that appears in the area around Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan Gwen wanted to bring that style into her clothing line and she wanted to really bring out the cultural side of it. She not only brings out the culture in her clothes but also in her songs. In the song dedicated to the 4 girls called “Harajuku Girls” she describes the streets of where the style essentially comes from.
“ Yoji Yamamoto, I'm hanging with the locals
Where the catwalk got its claws, all you fashion know-it-alls
With your underground malls in the world of Harajuku
Putting on a show, when you dress up in your clothes
Wild hair color and cell phones
Your accessories are dead on ”
Gwen may not be taking the exact style from the Harajuku clothes, but she’s trying to bring some of the unique qualities out into her own clothing line. The fact that she has 4 Asian women practically being spoke persons for her clothing line keeps the media interested, which keeps her producers happy. Love, Angel, Music, and Baby are bringing a lot of media attention to Gwen, her new products as well as her image. They’re now making dolls of each of the girls and of Gwen as well, which means just because kids wont listen to her songs they can still buy the toys. Gwen Stefani is not only reaching out to teenagers and young adults, but she’s also getting her products to suit the interest of the younger generation. This makes it easier for the media and some society to look at the girls and see them as advertisements or models for Gwen’s products. These girls are not just ads for Gwen; they are her way of bringing out Asian culture in American society. How many Asian women do you see on TV or movies on a regular basis? I bet not as many as you do Caucasian women. Asian women don’t get near as much publicity as Caucasian women do. “I am so sick of not existing, that I would settle for following any white person around with an umbrella just so I could say I was there”, says Margaret Cho, Asian-American comedian. This comment coming from a woman of Asian decent should paint a picture for what people in our society should really consider about in this whole situation. Gwen Stefani is not exploiting these four girls, she taking something from their background and their culture and bringing it into ours. Yes, they do follow her around everywhere, but to just see more then a few faces of the Asian decent is better then having none at all. In the end, Gwen Stefani has done nothing wrong and instead of being attacked, she should be thanked for being one of the few who is trying to bring a different culture into our own.
Watch Gwen's "Harajuku Girls" video here
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"Chicks and Kicks." Nitrolicious. 01 Aug 2006. 16 Jan 2008 http://www.nitrolicious.com/blog/wp-gallery/chickz_and_kickz/gwen_stefani_002.jpg.
"Gwen Stefani." Socialitelife. 16 Jan 2008 http://www.socialitelife.com.
"Gwen Stefani Lyrics." Lyrics on Demand. LyricsonDemand. 16 Jan 2008 http://lyricsondemand.com/g/gwenstefanilyrics/harajukugirlslyrics.html.
2 comments:
I read over your blog a couple times, and over all, I really liked it. As far as style goes, I loved the opening paragraph, it states just enough information to keep me interested. As for the information an opinions, I agree with you on the point that Gwen Stephani isn't doing anything wrong, but I'm on the fence about the Asian culture bit. Only because, yeah she is showing Asian faces in the media...but thats it. They don't speak, they don't explain Asian culture, they don't wear tradition Asian clothing...they say only what Stpehani wants them to say, and wear what Stephani wants them to wear. I mean, of course having more Asian personalities in the media is important, however I dont think the Harajuku girls are doing much to donate to that cause. It's a good start I guess, but alot more needs to be done. And the Harajuku girls could really help if they were a little more "real" Asian, and a little less of what America thinks Asians are -- cute little girls with pigs tails who have nothing to say.
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