Why I hat Abercrombie and Fitch post

1. The very sense-making, the deciphering of the codes that allow one to appreciate what it is that “Abercrombie” stands for and means in our culture, can only be accomplished when we bring a variety of racialist thinking to the experience. (86)
2. The first thing that Dwight McBride did in his article was give us a brief history of the company. He said that Abercrombie and Fitch first dated back to 1892 when David Abercrombie opened his store and featured outdoor supplies. He then went into a partnership with Ezra Fitch and their company became Abercrombie and Fitch. But just a few years later Abercrombie resigned from the company because the two men wanted to take it in separate directions. By 1917 it became the largest sporting goods store in the world. Things kept getting better for Abercrombie as the company eventually became a huge business. McBride puts it, “Abercrombie’s reputation was so well established by this point that it was known as the outfitter of the rich, famous, and powerful” (86). After telling how the company came to be, he explained why he hates the company. The main reason was because, “Abercrombie has worked hard to produce a brand strongly associated with a young, white, upper-class, leisure lifestyle (86).” There are several facets of the company that point this out. One is that in their advertising; most of the models that they use are white. The appearance that the company considers the best contains features that are mainly white and not many that are black. For instance, Dreadlocks are unacceptable. It is also stereotypical to Asian Americans as one shirt that they put out read, “Two Wongs Make It White” (72). Another thing that bothered McBride about the company was their refusal to hire employees that were of the “A and F” look. In June of 2003, this was taken to court as a lawsuit was filed against Abercrombie and Fitch. But no action was taken against them. It is clear though that Abercrombie clearly hires a much larger percentage of whites than of any other ethnic group. One man whom McBride spoke with said, “The Company requires its managers to hire and continue to employ only Brand Representatives who fit within the narrow confines of the ‘Look Book’ resulting in a disproportionately white Brand Representative work-force” (78). The only non-white people who work at the stores are usually found in the stockroom, so they were not noticed. Another person with whom McBride talked to said they were looking for “All American, clean shaven, natural, football player- looking guys” (82). I think a good quote that sums up the article is, “Abercrombie, through its strategy of marketing…has convinced a U.S. public… that if we buy their label, we are really buying membership into a privileged fraternity that has eluded us all for so long, even for such vastly different reasons” (85).
3. I thought that this was an excellent and very readable article. I feel that the author gave an awesome amount of support for her arguments. It seemed as if all of the previous employees gave the same description of the racist actions that go on at Abercrombie and Fitch. With so much support from sources who actually experienced A and F first hand, she makes a rock solid argument. In my opinion, this was the best written article that we have read all year.
4. I have never seen or been to and Abercrombie and Fitch store. But I have seen many people wearing their products. I just thought it was a clothing company similar to American Eagle or Aeropostale. But clearly it is not. Therefore I’m glad that I have never seen a Abercrombie and Fitch store and after reading this article, I will never step foot in one.