Japan shrugs as Gwen Stefani’s ‘cultural appropriation’ roils US | Music News
, 2023-01-15 15:49:36, 
Tokyo, Japan – When Eriko Serio, a 30-year-old professional living in Shizuoka, Japan, saw American pop singer Gwen Stefani accused of “cultural appropriation” in Western media, she couldn’t fathom the controversy.
“I personally think it’s very cool that people want to incorporate Japanese styles into their fashion,” Syrio, who works in the medical device industry, told Al Jazeera.
“I have no problems when foreigners, for example, put on kimonos and walk around Kyoto sightseeing. I really like that people like our culture.”
In an interview with Allure magazine published last week, Stephanie, 53, sparked outrage across the English media and social media with remarks expressing the deep sense of connection she feels with Japanese culture.
Stephanie, an Italian-American, defended her inspiration from Harajuku fashion, which is named after the Tokyo district, for its perfume and clothing brands, and recalled her first visit to the famous fashion district.
“I said, ‘Oh, my God, I’m Japanese and I didn’t know that,'” said Stephanie, who also describes herself as “a little girl from Orange County, a little Japanese girl, a little bit of an English girl.”
Filipino-American essayist Giza Marie Calore writes that the interview left her “uneasy” and quotes several American academics warning them of the dangers of whites commodifying marginalized cultures…
,
To read the original article from news.google.com, Click here
Private Internet Access gives you unparalleled access to thousands
of next-gen servers in over 83 countries and each US state. Your
VPN experience will always be fast, smooth, and reliable.
