ASA 141
Week 7
For this week's reading, I explored the article, "Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion" by Yuniya Kawamura. This study focuses on the different social organizations of Japanese street fashion and how different fashion correlates to different social identity. Some of the groups that I found particularly intriguing that were discussed in this article were The Kogal Phenomenon as well as the Harajuku movement. Exploring these two movements, we learned that the key drivers, consumers, and producers are female teens. I did not know that teens are the major fashion consumer group in Japan. From my prior knowledge, I thought that because Japanese schools required school uniforms, it would be another age group that dominates the market. It was fascinating to learn that that is not the case.
(Lolita - an overabundance of thematic accessories, another subgroup)
Most of these teens of subculture groups break through the typical Japanese masculine-focused stereotype by expressing their personality through what can be considered as "rebellious fashion". These groups constantly redefine sartorial and sexual norms that were normally associated with dropouts. These teens are treated as deviants from the classic Japanese society, by dressing in similar styles, individuals find comfort through fashion. Fashion brings forth that 'togetherness', and I find it very important in terms of traditional, religious clothing that we talked about in class. People normally fall to traditional and religious cloth in order to display their beliefs and respect/ love for the culture. Seeing someone with that similar style of clothing naturally brings that feeling of comfort and relevance because there is a common ground set.Kawamura, Yuniya. “Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion.” Current Sociology, vol. 54,
no. 5, 2006, pp. 784–801., doi:10.1177/0011392106066816.
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