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Japan's fashion rebellion goes West -
07-04-2009, 03:25 AM
Here's part of the article from the BBC. You must watch the video.
BBC NEWS | Video and Audio | UK teens obsessed with Japanese trend By Nina Robinson BBC World Service, London An underground youth culture in Japan which makes a rebellious fashion statement against traditional rules on eastern beauty, is taking hold on Britain's youth. Manba involves devotees wearing dark tans, white make-up around their eyes and hair that is often a combination of neon colours. British teenagers like 18-year-olds Eilish and Declan got caught up in manba after an interest in Japanese culture led them to start researching on the internet, where they came across the style. Manba in Japan is also known as ganguro, gonguro, yamamba and mamba. Yama-uba in Japanese is the name of a mountain hag in Japanese folklore whom the fashion is thought to resemble. It has been around for nearly a decade and is an eye-catching statement against conformity. When the practitioners began darkening their skin, widening their eyes and wearing blue contact lenses, they were making a rebellious statement against the traditions of fair-skinned beauty. The rebellion has now, perhaps somewhat ironically, been taken up by Britain's naturally fair-skinned youth. I went to spend some time with Eilish and Declan to find out why the fashion appeals them to. Glitter When I met them early one morning, they had already started applying their make-up as they planned to meet other British members of their Japanese circle later that afternoon in London's China Town. They start their routine by applying self tan to their bodies. Eilish rubs the self tan on her neck but her face is darkened much more heavily. She smears the coffee-bean powder on her pale skin and tries to rub it in so that it does not look "patchy". Declan explains that he buys his foundation from Afro-Caribbean shops as normal shops do not sell powders that are dark enough. They then use black eyeliner pencils and a white marker pens to create big eyes which look like they droop, framed by false eyelashes. The look is finished off with glitter and white lipstick. They tell me they learnt to apply the make-up through watching make-up tutorials on YouTube. Declan and Eilish say they have been accused of racism for darkening their skin in this way, but they say this could not be further from the truth. Eilish insists that she is "not mocking anybody" and Declan asks, "what black person looks like this?" Another member of the group says that she does not like her white skin and covers up if she is unable to get a spray tan. "I just think it looks good - nowadays it's more popular to be tanned," Declan adds. The British followers of this Japanese subculture are also into the music, which is called Eurobeat, and practise dance moves called Para-Para. "It's kind of like line dancing," says Eilish. "But it's a group dance where everyone does the same thing and it just uses your hands." 
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07-04-2009, 03:54 AM
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07-04-2009, 11:17 PM
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So yeah, brave, stupid, obsessed, ignorant, desperate to be ~something~ or just plain crazy? I can't even tell. But I don't think it really does them any favors. I mean, sans boot black neither of them are ugly, but with it. Eeee...
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07-05-2009, 02:44 AM
Is it wrong that I laughed really hard after watching the video of them dancing?
Anyway, I don't know what to say except, it is interesting. However, I can't help but ask....why? It seemed extremely odd and just out of place. Ah well...life is short...so whatever floats their boat.
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