Evenelda Kiwelu
Assignment 1-3
Tokyo Street Fashion
and Race as Style
We all know that race play an important part in our society. We just don’t know how much it effect the popular culture of today. It is often viewed as Africa American and Caucasians in opposite spectrums of life. The Japanese have taken what you would call the best of both worlds. It hope of finding a place in this racial society, pop culture has found its own category in its own way.
Looking back in history we can see that the Japanese struggle to find its own racial identity. Taking on the western culture of the Caucasians of what is attractive and what is seen as acceptable to the world. Superiority seem to be the turning point of the Japanese advances toward racial acceptance. From the black and white minstrel show set back in the 1850s.
In modern times, pop culture often set the trend of what is accepted in society. While finding a racial identity, Japanese pop culture has achieved what is now Kogyaru. This could be identified as a mix of multiple cultures. This its self is the Japanese identity to its own fashion in its young pop culture of today.
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Being a African American, I have seen a lot of prejudice, and we get caught up in our culture, and think that it is only directed to us against the white man. I feel like this because society has always accepted caucasians as the number one race, and everyone is second best.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that I have noticed about fashion is that teenagers do not care about race when it comes to what is fashonable. Teenagers will imitate their favorite artists style. To teenagers race doesn't matter. I do believe that there is a lot of prejudice when it comes to what different races are wearing. Especially the baggy jeans that are worn by guys well below the waste so underwear are showing. Where I live this is popular style even though it is prodominately white and it is believed the style was started by African American hip hop singers. Personaly I don't judge it, I figure it will eventually go out of style just like other fads. Unfortunately I see that some are coming back from the 1980's.
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