Over the years that I have been on the forum, the term gurls has been bandied about as either a corrupt version of girls, an insult, an OK term for guys who are gender bending etc. While I was looking for information about the 'gyaru" style of dress in Japan, I came across this odd bit of information and thought I would pass it on. It does leave open how the term came to be used here in the US, and possibly it came by way--if it did--of tourists, or sailors or cd's who visited japan.
"Gyaru (ギャル?) is a Japanese transliteration of the English word gal. The name originated from a 1920s brand of jeans called "gurls", with the advertising slogan: "I can't live without men", and was applied to fashion- and peer-conscious girls in their teens and early twenties. Its usage peaked in the 2000s and has gradually declined."
More surprising to me is the fact that the Japanese had 'jeans" in a culture that was very restrictive in very many ways, and jeans would certainly have been out of place among kimonos. where exactly did they wear these jeans?
further,
In Tokyo, more often than not, a shopping center at each main train station is dedicated to offering the newest and trendiest items from popular Gal brands. Some brands are also reaching overseas by having their items easily accessible in webshops offering world-wide shipping services. A Gal Circle is a meet up of gals to hang out together.
So Gal is also among their words from the West. Is this the result of "sailor invasion"? Or perhaps from the old song, "Me and My gal".
