red balloon: Stefani's mascots
...With their sexy outfits and subservient demeanors, Stefani's Harajuku girls seem more like colorful, geisha arm-candy than trendsetters. In Stefani's act, they're seen either giggling and fawning over the Caucasian star or staring with blank expressions and behaving like robots. If the rumor that they are under contractual obligation not to speak in public is true, they literally have nothing to say for themselves. "I do think it's harmful," said Sophia Kim, who has created anti-racism and anti-sexism campaigns with the Asian American Resource Workshop, "It's imposed this box on Asian women, on who we can be and can't be. And with non-Asian women and men, it shapes what they think about Asian women"...more...
