Short answer
Gyaru (ギャル) is one of Japan’s best-known street-fashion cultures: bright hair, bold make-up and a confident, sociable attitude. You’ll see the word on creator profiles, as a MyFans tag and on our own genre page. This is the background, from reputable dictionaries, encyclopedias and media.
Where the word comes from
Japanese dictionaries trace ギャル to the American English “gal”. The 精選版 日本国語大辞典 dictionary records it as early Showa-era slang, citing a 1931 source, when it was often written ギャール. In later use it simply meant a young woman, with a sense of either liveliness or frivolity.
The modern meaning is narrower. The デジタル大辞泉 dictionary describes a gyaru as a young woman, especially one who is bright and sociable and who shares a sense of style with others by following current fashion. That is the sense on creator profiles: a look and a personality, not a body type or a job.
A short history
Tokyo Weekender describes the culture taking shape in the 1990s as a rebellion against pale, demure beauty ideals. Wikipedia’s account adds that early gyaru were seen as nonconformist, at a time when women were expected to meet pale-skin, dark-hair standards.
Shibuya was the centre. Tokyo Weekender notes that the Shibuya 109 fashion building stocked the brands gyaru wore, and that its shop staff were often gyaru themselves. Singer Namie Amuro became an icon of the look.
Magazines spread it. In the late 1990s, egg magazine acted as the culture’s guide, filled with purikura photo-booth pictures and reader stories. Tokyo Weekender reports that egg stopped publishing in 2014 as the culture declined, and has since restarted.
| Period | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1990s | Gyaru fashion takes shape in Shibuya; Shibuya 109 and magazines such as egg set trends |
| Late 1990s to early 2000s | The deeply tanned ganguro look is at its most popular |
| Early 2000s | Hime gyaru (“princess gyaru”) style blossoms |
| Late 2000s to early 2010s | Himekaji, a casual take on the princess look, peaks |
| 2010s | The culture declines; egg stops publishing in 2014 |
| From about 2018–19 | egg returns and a revival begins: more subdued, more accessible, more varied |
The main styles
Gyaru is a family of styles rather than one uniform look. Wikipedia lists dozens of sub-styles. These are the ones overseas fans meet most often.
| Japanese | Romanization | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| ガングロ | ganguro | A deep tan with bleached hair; also called 黒ギャル (kuro gyaru, “black gyaru”) |
| ヤマンバ / マンバ | yamanba / manba | An extreme version of the tanned look, with white hair and white make-up |
| 姫ギャル | hime gyaru | “Princess” gyaru: a princess-inspired fashion style |
| 姫カジ | himekaji | A more casual version of the princess look |
| お姉ギャル | onee gyaru | “Big sister” gyaru; Wikipedia names it among the styles that continue in the revival |
| ギャル男 | gyaruo | The male counterpart: big hair, similar fashion, often a tan |
Gyaru vocabulary
| Japanese | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| プリクラ | purikura | Photo-sticker booths where friends decorate their pictures, a staple gyaru hobby |
| パラパラ | parapara | A synchronised arm-movement dance, usually to Eurobeat |
| デコ電 | decoden | Decorating phones with crystals and charms |
| ギャルサー | gyarusā | A gyaru “circle”, a friendship or event group |
| 読者モデル (読モ) | dokusha moderu (dokumo) | Reader models: ordinary readers who appeared in magazines |
For the Japanese words you’ll see on MyFans profiles and plans, such as 加入 (joining a plan) or 単品 (single item), see our Japanese terms glossary.
Gyaru on MyFans and on this site
On MyFans, ギャル is a style label creators choose for themselves. MyFans lets creators add genres and tags to their posts, so searching for ギャル in katakana finds creators who use it. Our guide to finding Japanese creators on MyFans explains how search works.
We use “gyaru” the same way: as a description of a creator’s fashion and on-camera personality. Our gyaru genre page lists the adult creators we cover who describe themselves this way. Every creator we list is 18 or over, and we don’t list accounts marketed around school settings or school uniforms. You can also browse all creators.
Creators to start with
Quick answers
Is “gyaru” the same as “gal”?
Yes, in origin. ギャル is the Japanese rendering of the English “gal”. In Japan it now refers to a specific fashion culture rather than any young woman.
Is gyaru still popular?
It faded in the 2010s, then revived. Tokyo Weekender describes today’s gyaru as more subdued and accessible than the original movement, and egg magazine has restarted.
What is the difference between ganguro and gyaru?
Ganguro is one gyaru style, defined by a deep tan and bleached hair. Gyaru is the wider culture.
Keep reading
- ギャル, in デジタル大辞泉 and 精選版 日本国語大辞典 (Kotobank) (Japanese)
- Kim Kahan, “Japan’s Gyaru Revival” (Tokyo Weekender, 10 May 2024) (English)
- Gyaru (Wikipedia) (English)
- What are genres and tags? (MyFans help) (Japanese) · English version