Harajuku Girls Controversy.

Gwen Stefani is a leading lady in the eyes of many, her success has been building up since the 1990's, and it's finally reached it's peak. Her image has helped her in so many ways, i believe it even over powers her music. For the last 4 years she has been walking around with Harajuku Girls all around her. These girls originate from Japan, and their style come from the Harajuku District. They have captivating outfits,crazy make up, and very animated personalities. Gwen was drawn to this image and decided to wear it herself.



In 2004, Gwen Stefani released her first solo album called "Love,Angel,Music,Baby", this was a breakthrough for Gwen considering she was always known as the lead female singer of No Doubt. But suddenly Gwen's style completely changed, she went from punk rock princess to a Harajuku style scene queen. Harajuku is a Japanese fashion that is worn by many teenagers in the Harajuku district. The problem is that many people assume that Gwen has ripped off this style but at the same time she has sparked great controversy for a fashion that wouldnt be recognized if it wasn't for her. Gwen has done a pretty good job at getting the Harajuku area noticed. I didn’t even know it existed up until I saw her music videos, but at first I didn’t understand what their purpose was, and to be honest I STILL don’t. Okay, I get it, you can be infatuated or inspired by a certain type of style or culture. For example most immigrants are easily sucked into north American style but Gwen Stefani has sucked out the originality of the Harajuku style! I think she’s getting a little insecure as well, I mean shes technically a poser..shes not from the Harajuku district so its why she has four Japanese girls around her. She knows she would be hated on if it was just her representing that fashion. Her lousy attempt at being unique or making a fashion statement makes these money grubbing ACTRESSES look inferior and incompetent. I call them actresses because they’re acting the way she wants them to, the way they’re told to and they’re getting paid. So yeah, maybe it IS voluntary but they don’t care that they are selling out Harajuku culture and style. Gwen is known for having them around her constantly so basically they are just an accessory. She wants harajuku fashion to reach Americans just so it can the original idea can trace back to her. I can only give credit to Gwen for introducing me to the whole thing in the first and I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one.

Not many people would have known about Harajuku culture if it wasn’t for her, but at the same time shes the one who is getting all the spotlight just because she acculturated the style. She might as well raid the streets of the Harajuku district in Japan and snatch the clothing she finds appealing, stick her “L.A.M.B” label on it and call it her own. And then she can continue to allow her human pets to model her “unique” fashion line while she makes millions acting like they are a figment of her imagination. “Stefani fawns over harajuku style in her lyrics, but her appropriation of this subculture makes about as much sense as the Gap selling Anarchy T-shirts; she's swallowed a subversive youth culture in Japan and barfed up another image of submissive giggling Asian women.” Well said from an article by MiHi Anh called “Gwenihana”

So, naturally one would assume that Gwen’s got it all wrapped up and knows exactly what shes doing, which SHOULD be the case, I mean, if I was ripping off a style or culture I would be sure to educate myself and project a flawless image atleast. But nah, it seems that Gwen decided to skip all that and get straight to the money making! In her video “What You Waiting For” there is a symbol that flashes across the screen it represents “love”. This is what the character looks like: 愛 but in the video they added an extra dot on it. I find that really pathetic… she rips off the style, but now the language!

Overall I think that Gwen has ripped off the Harajuku style, I know if I was a REAL harajuku I would be super annoyed by Gwen’s transformation of the image. The style is not supposed to serve the high fashion or catwalk industry it’s merely something that’s done for fun in the Harajuku District. Gwen has changed this and made money from it. In the end she wins.

Teens with Celebrity attitudes on DUI consequences

So it’s obvious that teen drinking is getting way out of hand but it’s worse when the driver is drunk. Teenagers can only handle so much alcohol, and since they received their lisences not too long ago (in most cases) they are a disaster waiting to happen while driving impaired. Even though many are aware of the results that they can end up with, they still shrug it off while thinking it couldn’t ever happen to them or that they are “skilled” drivers and know what they are doing. And not only are they being ignorant about it but they are also witnessing news reports that have celebrities abusing drunk driving. Once it seems that the celebrity can get out of their problems and charges so easily, that attitude is adopted by teenagers as well. Since the media only gives us a small amount of information on the charges that are set they believe that it’s no big deal, and that they can get away with it just as easy as the celebrity did. But they’re wrong!

Everything is easier said than done, or dealt with, so let’s take a look at Hollywood’s Hall of Shame. Socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie stirred up some drama when charged with a DUI, but it looks like Paris got more attention. She was given 36 months probation and 45 days in jail. Apparently she didn’t receive any special treatment and her "45" day sentence was held in a county jail, so nothing too fancy. But, it turns out that the heiress was released from prison only after serving THREE days! Instead they put her on house arrest and due to her “good behaviour” she only had to finish off 23 more days. THAT is really grabbing the attention of teenagers who drink, Paris didn’t make it look easy but she most definitely didn’t let those three days in a cell teach her something. Even though Paris admitted she broke the law, she only calmed down for a couple of months after she was charged, but its obvious she still parties like crazy. Oh, and I just love how her entire experience was glorified by her fans!I still don’t think it was enough, BIG DEAL if she was sobbing and not eating, that’s not the worst that can happen and since so many teenagers see that they are very ignorant about the consequences. Nicole Richie was caught driving the wrong way on the Burbank highway in Southern California. Nicole had been charged with a DUI twice and she wasn’t getting off easy either. BUT there was no breathalyzer test involved because she only admitted to smoking marijuana and taking Vicodin. She is also only 85 lbs and 5’1, so even if she wasn’t drunk any substance can take over her body in a small amount of time.

That’s also another thing teens don’t understand; their brains and bodies are still developing they can’t handle a lot of alcohol, but they also don’t realise that it applies for celebrities too, just because they have millions to get them out of prison does not mean the same will apply for an average person. Even if you’re loaded you STLL have to serve the time sentenced. It’s so sad to see that no one is in shock anymore when they hear of all the DUI’s that were given to celebrities. So money might not be the only issue here, sure you can damage the fender bender and maybe knock over a lamppost or two and have to pay for it, but what about the fact that your life is at stake, and not just yours but someone elses too.I find it pretty scary to know that 3 in every 10 Americans will experience an alcohol related crash, and that’s only the American population. Canada isn’t any better, there are 3.4-4.1 deaths due to impaired driving everyday. It’s also sad to say that I know people who died or have been injured due to impaired driving. No one should be handling this subject lightly, there are REAL consequences. Celebrities don’t care if they lose thousands for bail or spend time in jail because they are aware of the attention they will be getting once they are released. All of these celebs made DUI’s a trend, it’s disgusting.

Ontario DUI laws:
First DUI results in a $600 fine
Second DUI results in 14 days in jail
Third DUI results in a minimum of 90 days
more can be found here

Mel Gibson’s DUI:


Paris Hilton on Larry King trying clean up her reputation:



Teen Vogue Teen’s DUI article:

Pt. 1

Pt. 2



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