A shrinking group of Japanese teens who want to be black are still changing how they look. B-Stylers wear hip-hop-inspired clothing like loose sweatpants and backwards caps and use words like motherf***er and man often, while braiding their hair.
It’s a very tiny subculture, one of many weird fads in Japan, like Lolitas and Dekotora. One does not really see it on the streets any longer.
According to Hina, a boutique owner who sells the look, it was bigger a couple of years ago, but is fading fast. There are only a few die-hards left in each city. It’s definitely not mainstream, and maybe still too small to even call it a subculture.
What do B-stylers like Hina mainly do?
Hina, for example, visits a tanning salon every week to darken her skin. Most would be surprised to learn that these tanning salons even exist, because in Japan it is a classic beauty ideal to let your skin be as pale as possible.
B-stylers also listen to hip-hop, and visit special African hair salons to get braids or curly hair. These salons are usually found in Tokyo’s ghettos and are run by small African communities.