Gwen Stefani defends herself against longtime cultural appropriation claims

[HausOfAntonio 8,021]

I’m sorry but the way she speaks of Harajuku girls like they’re literally some sort of commodity  Its just the age old defensiveness when you just need to step back and understand where the extremely valid criticism comes from. Gwen literally portrayed those girls as objects - no matter her intentions, its how it came across. Her actions come across as using Harajuku and Japanese culture as a playground. Its what Rina Sawayama talks about in “Tokyo Love Hotel” and how people use the media’s portrayal of Japan to glamourise it and have this really touristic approach towards Japan where they can do whatever they please and then leave, with no real engagement with any social issues in the country and without stopping to consider their position of power and privilege. Gwen’s portrayal of Japanese culture is extremely filtered and unidimensional imo. 

[js4754394o9823 6,882]

2 hours ago, SFX said:

Cultural appropriation doesn't exist, it was just dreamt up by sad people who want to complain about even more than they already do and need to get a life

Said white twink who has comments/jokes about blue lives matter on his profile

Give me a break

You need to get a life if making ignorant comments like that on Lady Gaga's forum is your thing

[Bio 23,538]

Why are people talking about art? This is isn't about art, it's about POP CULTURE, a multi-billion dollar industry made for PROFIT. Gwen Stefani made a lot of money off of prancing other cultures as mere accessories.

[SFX 51]

34 minutes ago, kukuryku666 said:

Said white twink who has comments/jokes about blue lives matter on his profile

Give me a break

You need to get a life if making ignorant comments like that on Lady Gaga's forum is your thing

There wasn't a joke about blue lives matter at all, I didn't know that was actually even a thing until I heard about lanas boyfriend advocating it .. I wrote it in a song as a reference to having depression, I had no idea it was actually a thing tbh. I live in the UK so didn't know about the cop thing 

 

[js4754394o9823 6,882]

4 minutes ago, SFX said:

There wasn't a joke about blue lives matter at all, I didn't know that was actually even a thing until I heard about lanas boyfriend advocating it .. I wrote it in a song referencing having depression, I had no idea it was actually a thing tbh

So you don't know basic things that are happening in the world, but you are making comments about them and talking sh1t about opressed people?

Ok

[Galvon 1,868]

Well then, let's just hope she does better in the future. No need to cancel her, right?

[Knife 6,896]

Feeding into harmful Japanese stereotypes, and having Japanese women as ornamental props in your videos is not appreciation.

She's a boring white girl that's constantly biting off of other cultures to make herself seem more interesting when it suits her.

[MadreMonster 2,584]

I don’t like how she talks about these cultures as if they are just cultures for her to use for her image.

I think it’s ok to be influenced by cultures and utilize them in your art and vision - but there’s a fine line between appropriation and appreciation. And I think gwen’s past eras veer towards appropriation.

[gothicdream 39,590]

I agree that Gwen doesn't have any ill-intention with what she does, and while I don't think everything she's ever done is problematic, some of it absolutely has been.

This was an opportunity to directly address the issue and she chose to not take any responsibility or show any indication of growth or understanding, despite the amount of feedback she has received, including having to remove that awful music video from the internet bc it was so offensive.

Despite what everyone likes to say, it's not just white people that get offended by this. The American Indian Studies Center released a poignant response to the Looking Hot video that shows the harm it caused.

And yet, just last year, Gwen spent a full episode of The Voice wearing Native American "inspired" accessories and hair pieces.

[FentyGa 14,340]

i just think there’s a fine line, and that line is good taste.

i don’t think there’s anything wrong with taking inspiration from other cultures, i mean, all music (at least in popular culture) comes from black culture, so many trends and styles come from different places, but the line is when you begin to take the meaning out of it, and treat it like a fun little costume or whatever. 

[lego 44,165]

@FentyGa that’s the reaction I was hoping to get, instead I got hearts 

[KORG 4,756]

10 hours ago, kukuryku666 said:

kimono is not the bad thing here
she was walking with 4 japanese girls like they were her accesory, selling japanese stuff as her brand and making money off of it
and japanese culture is not the only one that she used
gwen was wearing bantu knots, cornrows and braids
walking with bindi on her head just because it looked cool
she even has a music video when she saves a magical brown baby sitting on the street, cmon

and i'm not saying she should be cancelled, or something
but acting like what she did was perfeclty fine is kinda ignorant

It is fine. Those women weren't enslaved, they were celebrated.

As for hairstyles and accessories... so what? You think my sister doesn't straighten her hair? You think she doesn't wear a ponytail? Ohh but it's about making money off copying things from cultures youre not a part of. Got it.

Naomi Campbell, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Princess Diana, Amy Winehouse, Eminem, Beyonce, Lucy Liu, Alicia Keys, Ed Sheeran.. I could go on.

It's called being alive. "Culture" doesn't exist. It's a made up word to describe traditions and trends in behaviour related to certain parts of the world..  but it bares no meaning in real life.

[Franch Toast 26,911]

This thread reminded me of this Mad video parody, featuring Jordan Peele as AKON:

 

[enissa11 2,984]

7 hours ago, Franch Toast said:

but this wasn't her just slapping them on her face because they were cool––Tony's mom gave them to her and encouraged her to wear them. 

but in the clip she literally says she wears them because she thinks "it looks cool", and rather than tony's mon giving them to her and encouraging to wear them, she says she "inspired" her to wear them. I see your point, but i think you're putting it in a rosy kind of way.

[Babel 41,495]

Gwen did wear cultures as customes, but I don’t think she was even aware of what she was doing at the moment. 

she strikes me as the naive white gurl with good intentions.