The pronunciation is “gi-ya-ru” the “ru” being more of a roll of the tongue r sound. :)

Gyarus also take alot of inspiration from black woman's fashion (90's-00's-2010's and so on)

hi there! gyaru (ギャル) is pronounced like "gee-YAH-roo" (but pronounce "gee" fast!). It is an approximation of the word "gal". Since JP pronounces all vowels consistently, the "ya" approximates the "ae"/"Aghh" sound in "gal" ("G-Agh-L") *tl;dr My opinion is multifaceted and controversial. Gyaru can sometimes be offensive when done wrong and without proper historical + moral contexts* disclaimer: These are opinion cliffnotes, and this comment does not represent the fullness of my opinion. 8:40 as a dark skinned person myself, I do have some controversial thoughts about the style. Some have compared it to blackface, and I agree and disagree at the same time. I also want to keep in mind the seclusion and historical context of Japan (and obviously, the history of slavery and the harm done to darker skinned people for the birth of the United States), so even if blackface (pic on right 7:43 yikes!😧) is not what Japanese Gyaru style intends to do, some Gyaru looks in general could be taken as offensive nonetheless. However, since it is a part of the Japanese culture, they could "get away with it" because it is confined to their culture. Almost no one will take offense to it in their country in the blackface manner, because there are very rare dark skinned Japanese. However, it begins to get complicated when the style spreads outside Japan. As for non-japanese people wearing this style... I feel like this question is very loaded as context very much matters. For certain people, certain looks are okay. However, I would not suggest a lighter skinned foreigner (non-JP) person wear a darker skinned Gyaru style, because it could be taken as a pseudo-blackface. 8:25 Put directly, no matter how much of an weeaboo otaku catgirl my white friend "Sally" is, my heart would be quite bothered at her wearing a dark skin Gyaru aesthetic. I would be confused, disappointed, or weirded out, and want to ask something like "What made you choose the dark skin version of Gyaru fashion?" Personally, the main worry is about the skin color, not the hair. 2:36 Yes, the Gyaru style attempts to embody characteristics and qualities that the Japanese value unconsciously to break social norms (which are set by those in power, typically whoever colonized Japan in historical context), which are also stereotypically found in darker skinned cultures in general, such as confidence, coolness, hood / slang / unafraid of what others think, bluntness, sassyness, community, et cetera. Similar to how they describe us darker skinned people in Japanese as exotic, the Gyaru style is also new and exotic. 2:04 Similar to the pictures in the vid, I have also seen gyaru fashion that is actually blackface, wearing afros and using makeup and tanning spray to darken the skin artificially, wearing americanized clothing and stereotypical fashion marketed as "African American", "Black", and dark skinned. At first I brushed off that type of Gyaru, thinking "Oh no, it's fine because most Japanese do not know dark skin people and our history, since there are typically no dark skin people in Japan", but especially now since our world is more connected with technology such as internet, phone and video calls, I think about Gyaru fashion and begin to have negative mixed feelings about it. I would think my opinion is controversial because people in my generation (gen Z) seem like they don't care about other people's cultures anymore, especially darker skinned people. For example, the "n" word (yknow, "Bigger", but replace B with N). Non-black people say it all the time and don't care. They think it is okay to openly disrespect people, and saying these things are even encouraged. They truly believe the sentiment of "no no, it's all done and forgotten, history is over so don't worry about it anymore. Say as many bad words as you want because everyone who was affected by it is already dead". So most people will probably not care, saying "it's a fashion aesthetic". And obviously there will be people who hide behind Gyaru to wear blackface. It's a very loaded question, I'm sorry I can't write more about it because the comment is getting too long hahahaha.... :(( 8:35 I agree here. Other cultures wearing Gyaru is not appropriation if you do it the right way. But this is my opinion, since I am not a native Japanese. Unless you specialize in either one of "Fashion designer" "cosplay" "Makeup artist", or are a Japanese culture buff / "otaku", it may be weird to see you wearing Gyaru, because why else would you be wearing it if you are not specializing (or at least passionate about it!) in some way or another? I think as long as one is respectful about it and not damaging to the culture or people, or even passionate and willing to learn the culture, that it is instead cultural appreciation! :D As you can tell, my opinions are very multifaceted. I love Japanese culture, language, art and animation, and both traditional & street fashion. I'm working towards my JLPTN3 cert, hopefully obtained by next year. But despite my serious passion I've never been able to shrug off the little icky feeling about the Gyaru fashion aesthetic, especially the skin darkening. Most of it I don't find outright offensive, but it all just feels a little weird to me. If you scrolled this far, thanks for reading my ted-talk. :) edit: timestamps

Like if ur Gyaru

Yooooo I'm learnin something new abt fashion everyday! This video was definitely informative and helped break down a few of my misconceptions abt gyaru culture. I didn't know it was so diverse and comprehensive!

I dont know for other races, but I know Black Gyarus exist so theres that aswell

nice video! you have such a beautiful voice btw 🥺

Damn bro.... she's mad terrifyingly cute... Why is it now that i discovered this channel. I am sooooo sad.

Tysm for the video! It’s so nice to see someone explaining more of the gyaru subculture! I’ve been studying the subculture only for fun for almost two years, and it’s sooo freaking cool! I recommend you to study(only if u want) the gyaru subculture by some old blogs, I do not recommend study by tiktok etc, bc there’s can have some misinformation..ppl normally confuse between gyaru, douyin and cosplay makeup! Are just some recommendations if u want to learn more abt the gyaru! ;3 8:26 And for your question, yes! Gyaru is a subculture that everyone can follow, but also knowing what it means and the history. Normally ppl who don’t are Japanese but are also gyaru are called gaijin gals! “Gaijin” is a Japanese word meaning "foreigner", "non-Japanese", or "outsider". I loveee the video! Tysm!!