https://www.instagram.com/p/BhWR8KhgUB6/?taken-by=rebekkaharajuku
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhWrxtsgpFi/?taken-by=rebekkaharajuku
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BhVoLOygYXc/?taken-by=rebekkaharajuku
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhRnzBVA21U/?taken-by=rebekkaharajuku
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhRWWCYAxq8/?taken-by=rebekkaharajuku
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhQoKJHHe4S/?taken-by=bellahadid
Celebrities having alter-egos is nothing new. Beyonce has Sasha Fierce, Real Housewives favorite Erika Girardi lives a double life as Erica Jayne and now we have Rebekka Harajuku.
Who is Rebekka with two ridiculous K’s? Bella Hadid’s new and problematic alter-ego.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhRWWCYAxq8/?taken-by=rebekkaharajuku
Bella is currently sashing her way through Asia doing press and posting on Instagram constantly, as modern day models do. Recently she has swapped her raven-haired locks for a blonde bob wig. The wig has piecey across bangs that just brush her dark eyebrows. And the end of the bob is curled in, barely tickling her angular chin.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhQoKJHHe4S/?taken-by=bellahadid
When Bella puts on this wig, she transforms into Rebekka Harajuku or just Bekka. The world was introduced to Bekka on April 6. Since then she has made her own Instagram and has an impressive 16,600 followers.
It’s uncertain what makes Bekka different from Bella besides hair color and the name. There’s only one photo that gives us regular people with a singular identity insight as to who Bekka is.
The photo shows Bella’s friend and DJ, Taco in the blonde Bekka wig pondering where her Juul charger is.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhWgNvbgUmF/?taken-by=rebekkaharajuku
So is Bekka Bella’s alter-ego? Or whoever is wearing the blonde wig becomes Bekka? Does Bekka solely live in the golden-haired wig?
Who Bekka is is murky. One thing that is clear is the name is problematic. Harajuku is a district in Tokyo and is known for being the center of fashion and culture. Harajuku fashion has made the area famous, but it’s distinct characteristics have made it easy to appropriate.
Take Gwen Stefani for example. She had a phase where her backup dancers were Japanese women called the “Harajuku Girls” and they embodied so many Japenese stereotypes, to the point where it’s widely viewed as being racist. She appropriated Harajuku culture for her own capitalist gain.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhT9t9JHNHP/?taken-by=bellahadid
Bella naming her alter-ego Bekka Harajuku isn’t quite on the same level of appropriation as Stefani’s years of being disrespectful is, but whenever a white person uses a cultural term for “fun” it should always be looked at critically.
I think it’s safe to say it’s not okay for Bella to dub her alter-ego Rebekka Harajuku even if she was created in Tokyo. The blonde wig doesn’t have any cultural connection to Harajuku. And the fashion Bella wears while in the wig isn’t representative of Harajuku. It’s the equivalent of her being in India, putting a wig on and calling herself Tajah Mahal, is it not?
Hopefully, Bekka will just drop her last name and continue living her best Juul vaping blonde life.
