Do you think Ayu is too westernized?

[Corybobory]

I dont understand how English and blonde are exclusively western phenomena. English is a pretty global language (at the moment) and hardly anyone is a natural blonde. It's not like if you're Westernized you have blonde hair and speak English.

[Calico]

Yeah, for as a popular as a hair color as it is, blonde is hardly natural for anybody who has blonde hair. Heck, I have two blonde wigs I wear for the day whenever I feel the mood. And, ha, a good portion of my father's bloodline is Swedish. =P (...but I got blue eyes, though.) I can't really blame Ayu for changing her hair color so much...I always want to do something too but don't want to dye my hair, so I buy wigs instead. XD In her case I think it's just a mix of personal preference and the want/need to be a fashion icon. Fashion icons have to always change their images to still be fashion icons.

[Beauty4123]

honestly, i only like ayumi with blonde hair. her miss understood era hair was pretty and all, but for me, she just dosen't look the best with dark hair.

[Sweet_Ai]

Originally Posted by evolution7931

Um no.
Japanese culture OVERALL is pretty westernised. In Japan the most common clothing and makeup originate in the West.

Ayu is no more westernised than the average Japanese girl dressing up in jeans and a t-shirt & putting on makeup.

That's correct! I buy a lot of Japanese magazines and almost every girl in there has blonde hair, and they also use a lot of English. So much, if you don't speak Japanese you would still be able to follow what is going on. That is why I never thought she was too Westernized, because she is like the average Japanese girl.

Originally Posted by GRACE

imo, she looks better blond, and she's one of the few asians I've seen who can really pull off the look without it looking too incredibly fake.

And really what's the big deal with her using English song titles? It's not like she spams English every other word within the songs like everyone else =/... Not counting the songs from RAINBOW that is >.>...

IA. I mean, she sings mostly in Japanese so if she wanted to be "western" wouldn't she sing mostly in English? Just because the title is written in English doesn't mean anything.

[waterballoon]

I think it's just so damn cool that her titles are in English. As maikaru said, there is a certain artistic influence... and do remember that she rarely uses the title in the song, so it just adds another different perspective to her songs.

Also by 'westernized', you mean that she's becoming too much like a western, then hey, how often does she use English in her lyrics?

[tanachu]

Originally Posted by MYV*izm

for some reason i doubt she dyes her hair blonde because she thinks it's "cool" and more "western."

Uh, what other reason do people dye their hair for? Since Japanese people aren't born blonde... Because it looks good/they were influenced by the Western looks.

[ストロボ・EdGE]

Originally Posted by evolution7931

Um no.
Japanese culture OVERALL is pretty westernised. In Japan the most common clothing and makeup originate in the West.

Ayu is no more westernised than the average Japanese girl dressing up in jeans and a t-shirt & putting on makeup.

That's what I mean, since Japan in general is very westernized I wish Ayumi would stand out a little more than the typical Japanese girl.

I'm sorry if I've upset anyone, it wasn't my intention.

But like I've always thought it was dumb that a lot of people feel that if you're blonde, you're beautiful, regardless of race cause lots of american and latina girls feel that way too. I also think it's stupid that the whole world feels that the English language is superior in every single way. Since so so many girls feel that way, I want Ayu to stand out more,,,

I think a lot of Japanese girls think
「金髪じゃなきゃキレイなワケがないな」"If I'm not blonde, I'm not beautiful" <-- I don't want Ayu to feel that way. 　（　≧　д　≦　）／

[Chibi_Venus]

I have to agree with some of the comments here.

Being that Ayu is blonde and uses tons of English, I don't see it as her being too Western. She just admires that culture and likes to use it in her music. Blonde is a very good color on her and, I have to say, it's what makes her unique. English titles are also a relief for me being that I'm completely American, but isn't English almost like Japan's second language? It's quite common, so maybe it's just easier within the music world...

Like emiko said, it's like us listening to Japanese music and liking the Asian culture. It doesn't make us too "Easternized."

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by ストロボ・EdGE

That's what I mean, since Japan in general is very westernized I wish Ayumi would stand out a little more than the typical Japanese girl.

I'm not sure how she's suppose to do that... if blonde hair = westernized and dark hair = traditional Japanese then how would she stand out? She would have to have green hair and wear tacky clothes to stand out in Japan, even still I don't think she would xD; Japan is mixed with so many influences.

[Miss Scarlett]

To be honest, I think she does actually look quite Western, or at least not very Japanese. Naturally I mean, as in her facial structure and all that. The first thing my Mum said once when she saw me looking at some Ayu thingy on wikipedia was, "She's got Western blood in her" :O

It's probably not true, but it is possible I guess. Anyway, offtopic, it just reminded me of it.

I think she looks great with blonde hair, it really suits her! I've not seen many pics of her with dark hair, but I don't really think it looks as good on her. It's only natural to want to look your best!

Song titles, I'm indifferent, but it would be a bit pointless to change it now, since all the rest have been in English.

[kendelle]

I never thought of Ayu as "too westernised". She certainly likes the US and the English language but I don't see that as defining her as "western" or "anti-Japanese" or anything of the sort.

To me, Ayu's constant hair style changes and her music ARE her. If she was to suddenly drop the Roman lettering in her titles and use Japanese, or if she decided to leave her hair natural and never change the colour again, she wouldn't be "the" Ayu anymore. Fashion icons can't go around wearing the same thing forever and musicians can't progress without experimenting with different music styles or wording.

If Ayu were to change all of her song titles back to Japanese, stop using English words in her songs and leave her hair dead straight and brown for all eternity, she would become to me just an average J-Pop singer. Nothing about her would stand out and she would be lost in a sea of thousands of other wannabes and try-hards.

A huge part of Ayu that I love is her willingness to try new styles, to put herself out there into the public with something that could be seen as scary and slowly let people appreciate it. Her hair styles haven't always been great but you have to admire her for trying them. Also, in my experience, Ayu is one of the first Japanese singers I've found to use English letters for every single one of her songs. Lots dabble in English and lots have 2-3 songs with English in the title but Ayu is the first I found to use it every time. This might be seen as very bold in Japan (it is to me) and is one of the ways Ayu pushes musical boundaries (it's a shame this style isn't appreciated and reflected better in our musical charts!!).

But putting that aside, Ayu works very hard, why can't she enjoy her little free time to change her hair style, to experiment with different sounds, to dabble in foreign languages here and there? I certainly would if I had the time

[Yum!Fruit_Salad!]

Originally Posted by ストロボ・EdGE

I also think it's stupid that the whole world feels that the English language is superior in every single way.

English isn't an universal language because people find it superior, it's because of the internet and the roles the US played after WW II.

[emi♡]

Originally Posted by ストロボ・EdGE

That's what I mean, since Japan in general is very westernized I wish Ayumi would stand out a little more than the typical Japanese girl.

I'm sorry if I've upset anyone, it wasn't my intention.

But like I've always thought it was dumb that a lot of people feel that if you're blonde, you're beautiful, regardless of race cause lots of american and latina girls feel that way too. I also think it's stupid that the whole world feels that the English language is superior in every single way. Since so so many girls feel that way, I want Ayu to stand out more,,,

I think a lot of Japanese girls think
「金髪じゃなきゃキレイなワケがないな」"If I'm not blonde, I'm not beautiful" <-- I don't want Ayu to feel that way. 　（　≧　д　≦　）／

Being blonde is an idea that's been around since back in the day.

It went in fashion and the whole "Gentlemen prefer blonds" type idea has sort of evolved into this whole "Blonds have more fun" idea, and also the stereotypical blonde haired, blue eyed, big boobs kinda thing, that many girls think men enjoy...and not to be too general, but a lot of men do

What's funny is, I read an article where they looked at the significant others of the top men in power...and they all prefer brunettes lol.

About English...someone already took care of that.

Besides, Ayu stands out on her own. Other Japanese girls are just...I don't know. Japanese people are wierd to me. Japanese men are just...woah. And the women are usually annoyingly vain. But...I shouldn't really say those kinds of things about the whole country. Just like a lot of other people shouldn't really stereotype Americans in certain ways.

America is a HUGE country. I've been to whole towns where EVERYONE is blond. Not because they dye their hair, just because, that majority settled there, and it just stays in the gene pool.
Similarly, I've been to places where everyone is mixed. You can find any type of person here. The whole "Blondes = America" thing is...just weird.

Is this all Marilyn Monroe's fault?

Next time Ayu goes blonde, I'm gonna make a thread and say she's being too Nordic or something.

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by Yum!Fruit_Salad!

English isn't an universal language because people find it superior, it's because of the internet and the roles the US played after WW II.

English is also universal because it is the Lingua Franca, the language of commerce. Since the United States / Great Britain have (had) such strong economies and trade, English is the language of trade world wide. When that status changes, the Lingua Franca changes as well.

[emi♡]

^It goes even deeper and further back into history, with Imperialism and colonization of other countries by those countries.

It always makes me think...when the English defeated the Spanish armada in 15-whatever, and we were learning about it in class, my teacher made the comment "Imagine if Spain had won? We'd probably all be speaking Spanish right now." lol

[SolarAngel]

No way. The only westernized thing about her is her blonde hair and her penchant for watching american dramas. I think her mindset and mannerisms are still very much japanese.

[Yum!Fruit_Salad!]

Originally Posted by emiko

^It goes even deeper and further back into history, with Imperialism and colonization of other countries by those countries.

It always makes me think...when the English defeated the Spanish armada in 15-whatever, and we were learning about it in class, my teacher made the comment "Imagine if Spain had won? We'd probably all be speaking Spanish right now." lol

My history teacher pretty much made the same comment.

[emi♡]

Maybe they teach them to say that at some convention.

Did you have AP?

[Huaka]

I don't know. I'm mostly Japanese and let me tell you I hate my normal dark hair. I think it's plain, boring, dull, drab, and I always color it. And with the hairstyles I have, my normal dark hair doesn't look very nice, so it's better if it's colored a lighter color. I don't see how her constant hair dying makes her too "Western" if you ask me.

[AyUta]

Originally Posted by ~ayu-cake~

I think she's fine the way she is tbh.

I agree =D