Blog #4 Japanese Black Face "Kogal"

Steve (Shing) Li Blog #4

The Japanese Black Face phenomenon which is also known as kogal or mamba which is the extreme version is a Japanese fashion girls that involves high school teenage girls who wear short skirt school uniforms and have a deep tan, bright make up and bleached blonde hair. This fashion trend is a clear example of how gate keepers today is shifting from trained fashion professionals on top to the everyday consumer, in this case young high school teenage girls who wanted to stand out in Japan and did it by having a deep tan and bright makeup. This trend is so popular in Japan that the girl in the article even stated that if she did not wear a deep tan and bright make up she would not look normal in school.

I can see how this trend became so popular in Japan because of its strict culture and oppressed were every one in society is supposed to dress a certain way and follow a traditional customs. Individuals do not have many outlets to think creatively or express themselves. As a result, high teenage girls began this fashion trend in order to stand out in a normally pale, light skinned society by wearing dark fake tans and blonde hair to feel different and individualistic.

Green Challenge: I cant believe is already week 4 of the green challenge. This has been the hardest week of this challenge because of Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I admit that I gave in and stood in line for an hour at target before finally going inside the store to buy electronics. Going target I saw a big change from 3 years ago when I first went to Black Friday shopping on how well they handled the crowd. After all the accidents and even death I'm glad stores are taking pre cautions to keep the shoppers and employees save. On another note I am keeping up with the news of strike Walmart from employees at Walmart, protesting on Black Friday weekend. After watching the movie with the Forever 21 workers I have a very different outlook on the high price for the low cost of goods and keep the workers in my mind. As a result, I have been encouraging my friends not to shop at Walmart until they reach an agreement with the workers.

I'm hoping to do better after this week and really finish this challenge strong by not buying any clothing or electronics.

Inside Source:Yunica Kawamura. "Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion." Reader..

Outside Source: "Kogal." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Dec. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.