This video talks about the Shironuri subculture practiced in Japan (sort of like punks, goths or hipsters over here) and focuses on Minori, the artist who popularised this specific subculture. Although it originated in Japan, there are people in other countries who consider themselves Shironuri (i think there’s a Finnish artist in particular who is very active within the Shironuri community, I’ll see if I can come up with an article that talks about her at all.)

The video goes over most of what being Shironuri entails–painting your face white, wearing neo-victorian/gothic clothes, having elaborate wigs and makeup. More importantly (to this blog at least) is the interview with the artist herself. At one point, she’s asked how she got into Shironuri, and she says it was because she has always considered her skin to be too dark–and by painting it white she could erase her flaws. Her face becomes a blank canvas that she could use to create art.
I think that everyone–especially women–do this to a much lesser degree. We wear foundation and other kinds of makeup, we dye our hair, and while this can be used to hide our flaws (both from ourselves and from society) it can also be used to create art. I feel like we as a culture usually portray fashion and makeup constricting or limiting our freedom. While this is definitely true, I think we forget that makeup and fashion can be used as a tool for self-expression, not just as a tool of oppression.

Thanks for reading!

(Minori’s website is here, and this blog also has a lot of information about her.)