Sophomore government and politics major

This past May, the Internet erupted in self-righteous rage in the wake of comments made by Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries. In a 2006 interview with Salon, Jeffries admitted his company doesn’t manufacture size XL clothes because he targets the brand toward the “attractive, all-American kid with … a lot of friends.” Consumers blasted Jeffries on many social media forums, boycotted Abercrombie & Fitch and signed online petitions requesting an official apology.

The only thing more disgusting than Jeffries’ comments is the amount of controversy it generated. A mainstream clothing company wants to brand its clothing by featuring the young and beautiful? And we’re pretending to be shocked and outraged by this?

With holiday shopping just around the corner, I’d be curious to see if the same upset consumers boycott every store that uses sex and glamour to advertise products, in consistency with their alleged principles. Somehow, I have a feeling shopping malls and outlet stores will still be teeming with customers.

I do not support the message Jeffries and stores like Abercrombie & Fitch present. Like many young women, I’ve had images of beautiful, thin women weighing down my self-confidence since I was in elementary school. This is without a doubt largely because of advertisements generated by the fashion industry.

What I don’t understand is why the recent outrage has been so narrowly targeted at Jeffries. The only thing that separates him and just about every other fashion CEO is that Jeffries had the courage, or maybe the cockiness, to be honest about his business model. As offensive as his tactics are, they are essentially identical to every other mainstream clothing company. If anything, Jeffries deserves a sliver of credit for at least being honest about what his company does, rather than hiding behind a veil of buzzwords like “sophistication” or “chic” the way other companies do. In my mind, selling products by playing off the self-esteem of consumers while pretending to be something else is the most offensive strategy of all.

But the worst backlash I’ve seen has been the viral videos featuring smug do-gooders handing out Abercrombie & Fitch clothing to the homeless and then documenting their adventures via blogs and social media. The homeless look confused, wondering why they’re being filmed as a stranger shoves a hot pink hoodie in their hands. I’ll admit that, when set to an upbeat indie song, these videos make for an entertaining watch at first glance. But this is entirely the wrong way to respond to Jeffries’ comments.

The video I watched, which has garnered an astonishing 8 million hits on YouTube, is a sad misuse of creative consumer power. The homeless in the video are used as props, the hardships that drove them to their current state being put on display so a self-assured blogger can make a catchy video. I’d be curious to see if the filmmaker of “Abercrombie & Fitch Gets a Brand Readjustment #FitchTheHomeless” has ever donated clothes to the homeless in the past or if this was just a convenient opportunity for him to make a point.

I never want my son or daughter to walk past an Abercrombie & Fitch window in 20 years and feel ashamed, like he or she is not good enough because someone like Mike Jeffries told him or her so. Ultimately corporations such as Abercrombie & Fitch rely on us, the consumers, to keep growing and resultantly spewing out demeaning, fat-shaming crap. While we should be enraged at Jeffries’ comments, let’s not be so foolish as to think Abercrombie is alone in acting this way. Furthermore, let’s brainstorm effective ways to exercise our consumer power that don’t require abusing and highlighting the misfortune of others.

Lauren Nurse is a sophomore government and politics major. She can be reached at lnursedbk@gmail.com.