Can We Please Not Label Strangers as "Jirai/Landmine"?
When I was attending Fanexpo, I was called a landmine by a vendor who was complimenting my girly-kei outfit. I'm not sure if they knew about the implications of this term, but I still can't help but feel very uncomfortable from that experience. After talking with a few friends about the situation, I found out that this type of situation has also happened to them in the past.
If you're not familiar with the terminology, jirai-kei translates directly to "landmine-type", and is a derogatory term used towards mentally ill people who supposedly "explode like a landmine". I'm not very fond of this term for a variety of reasons, but I'll discuss that more in another post. Girly-kei fashion was associated with this stereotype due to a viral "psycho-girlfriend" makeup challenge, however more and more styles seem to become associated with this stereotype.
Back on topic. Even in Japan, this has become a problem to people who seem to wear any girly, baggy, or dark-colour scheme of fashion. Sometimes, the association gets so bad that some people quit dressing up in these fashion styles entirely. Even online, musicians and digital illustrators were being labelled as "landmine artists" by people who didn't understand the weight of this term.
I don't mind people who use the label for themselves, since I understand how it can help them cope, or feel like they're not alone. but pushing that onto random strangers is bound to cause confusion and/or a negative reaction. Even pushing that label onto anything that doesn't directly describe itself as "landmine" is harmful, as it pushes the idea that these arbitrary and often unrelated traits must make something related to the stereotype.
I was scared to start dressing in girly-kei fashion due to not wanting this sort of association. Even though I do fit in with the stereotype, I don't want that to define who I am as a person.
I know there are other people who are share this concern in terms of wearing this sort of fashion style, and I wish that wasn't the case at all.
If you want to compliment someone's outfit, just tell them that their outfit is cute, cool, etc. It's that easy!
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