Their Catalogs Have Been Called Soft Pornography, Their Clothing Lines Have Been Seen As

Their catalogs have been called soft pornography, their clothing lines have been seen as racist, and their employee hiring practices arehave been deemed to be immoral. Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) havehas been through many lawsuits and bad press, yet they areit is still one of the most popular clothiers catering to the young consumers. While many retailers performhave the same acts of advertising strategy, employment hiring practice, and sexy catalogs, A&F has been in the spotlight as the most controversial clothier.

Abercrombie & Fitch was created in 1892 by David Abercrombie under the name David T. Abercrombie Co. Abercrombie & Co. catered to campers, fishermen, and hunters. In 1900, the store changed its name to Abercrombie & Fitch after taking on a partner, Ezra Fitch, a New York lawyer. The store’s customers consisted ofincluded Presidents Hoover and Eisenhower, Ernest Hemingway, and John F. Kennedy (Leung, 2003).

After 7 years of partnership Abercrombie retired because of the difference of interest that each partner wanted for the store. Abercrombie wanted to continue his focus on catering to the outdoorsmen while Fitch wanted to cater to the general public. With 50,000 customers, A&F became the largest sporting goods store in the world. In 1977 the store went bankrupt and after changing hands of ownership, The Limited, Inc. bought it in 1988. With this change came the shift in store image of the store as well. A&F no longer caters to the outdoorsman but focuses its marketing towards teenagers (Saint Mary’s College, n.d.).

Abercrombie & Fitch havehas been reported for hiring employees based on the applicants’ attractiveness. According to A&F employee Kristen Carmichael, the sales representatives are rated either a 0 or 5 on the A&F attractive scale. “There is no in between. You’re either Abercrombie hot – or you’re not” (Meyers, 2008). Abercrombie’s hiring practice is not a new concept. In fact, according to industry experts and sociologists, it is a growing trend in American retailing. Cover Girl Ccosmetics hires models and actresses such as Drew Barrymore, Queen Latifah, and Molly Sims to promote their makeup line. Victoria’s Secret uses models such as Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum to pose in their sexy lingerie. Even fast food companies such as Carl’s Jr. raised their sales by hiring sexy icons such as Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian to endorse their products.

Hiring employees based on their looks is not limited only to the retail industry but is also prevalent in hiring for business office secretaries, waitresses, and flightattendantsattendance. According to British economist Barry Harper, men and women in Britain either receive pay penaltypenalties or pay raisepremiums based on their attractiveness. Tall men receive better pay than obese women who experience lower pay penalty (Beautiful people have advantages in the workplace, 2010).

A&F not only hires attractive employees for their retail stores but also for their catalogs, which hashave been accused of being too sexy. TheirIts stores are adorned with large posters of the half naked college co-eds posing in sexually suggestive manners. TheirA&F catalogs have been called soft-core porn because most of the images show the 20-somethings barely wearing any clothes at all. However, A&F isn’t the first known clothier that has been called soft-core porn before.

Victoria’s Secret is the most recognized and powerful brand specializing in women’s intimate apparel and beauty products. TheirIts catalogs are full of scantily clad models. Victoria’s Secret has been operating under the concept ofthat sex sells since the early 1970’s. “Today, Victoria's Secret lingerie is the top performer for the conglomerate. Victoria's Secret, under Limited Brands, has a history of being sexy, youthful and romantic” (Fragrance X, n.d.).

Due to the image that A&F is trying to create for itself, there have been many lawsuits involving discrimination. Arguments have been made that hiring based on attractiveness is different than hiring based on race. According tothe Equal Employment Opportunity CommisionCommission (n.d.),the Equal Opportunity Employment Act “makes it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information” (Overview, para.1).

A&F does not deny that it is going for the all-American image. When Mike Jeffries, CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, was asked how important it is sexual attractions attractiveness is, as it relates in relations to his customer, he states, "It's almost everything. That's why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don't market to anyone other than that” (Denizet-Lewis,2006, para 23).

Many industries have a certain image they want to represent their products. Once again Victoria’s Secret is an example of discrimination. TheirIts employees are tall, skinny, attractive models with flawless skin. In 2009, Liu Wen became the first Asian Victoria’s Secret model. Wen stood at 5’10 casting shadows over her classmates in China (Piazza, 2009). According to CBS, one of the rules to becoming a model for Victoria’s Secret is to be 5’8 or taller with bare feet (CBS, n.d.).

Roxy and Quicksilver are sibling retailers that cater to the lifestyle of surfers, snowboarders, and other athletes. Their advertisements and catalogs show athletically built teenagers smiling, laughing, and enjoying the time of their lives. One would not see overweight teenagers modeling their athletic wear.

“Retailers expect a degree of attractiveness from their sales force for the same reasons they put models in their advertisements: to move the merchandise. Is that unfair? Take it up with the gene pool. If you're my Apple support team, I don't care what you look like. But if you're selling me pants, it's entirely possible that I do” (Williams, 2010, para.8).

Aside from their hiring practices and sexy catalogs, A&F’s clothing itself themselves, more specifically t-shirts, havehas been generating controversies making racist and sexual references towards the Asian community and women. Members of the Allegheny County Girls as Grantmakers group boycotted A&F after t-shirts printed with “Blondes Are Adored, Brunettes Are Ignored” and “I Make You Look Fat” went on the shelf (Words can never hurt, 2005). “Buddha Bash” and “Wong Brothers Laundry Service - Two Wongs Can Make it White” t-shirts, again created a boycott but this time from the Asian community. A&F quickly pulled the shirts off the shelves and offered an apology. However, not everyone thought it was necessary. Vi Ngo, a 23 year old San Jose account says “I think it’s a humorous T-shirt, and you should have a sense of humor about these things. If they don’t like it, they shouldn’t buy it” (Strasburg, 2002, para. 11).

Racism and sexual discrimination cannot only be found on t-shirts but it’s everywhere.

References

Advertising Is Not Harmful. (2005). In W. Dudley (Ed.), Opposing Viewpoints.Mass Media. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Consumers' Research Magazine (1998)) Retrieved from

Beautiful People Have Advantages in the Workplace. (2010). In R. Espejo (Ed.), Opposing Viewpoints.The Culture of Beauty. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. Retrieved from

CBS.(n.d.).The Victoria's Secret fashion show model search contest official rules.Retrieved from

Denizet-Lewis, B.(2006, January 24).The man behind Abercrombie & Fitch.Salon.Retrieved from

Equal Employment Opportunity Commision.(n.d.).About EEOC.Retrieved from

FragranceX.(n.d.).Victoria Secret.Retrieved from cid_perfume-am-lid_V__brand_history.html

Leung, R. (2003, December5). The look of Abercrombie & Fitch: retail store accused of hiring attractive, mostly white salespeople. CBS News. Retrieved from

Meyers, J. (2008, August27). Employees: 'hierarchy of hotness' rules at Abercrombie & Fitch. Dallas News. Retrieved from

Piazza, J. (2009, December2). First Asian model on Victoria's Secret runway. CNN. Retrieved from

Saint Mary's College.(n.d.).The history of Abercrombie and Fitch.Retrieved from

Strasburg, J. (2002, April19). Abercrombie recalls t-shirts many found offensive. SFGate. Retrieved from

Williams, M. E. (2010, August3). Hiring hot people: the overblown outrage. Salon. Retrieved from

Words can never hurt? Teens ticked off over tees. (2005, December 16). Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication, 105(14), 3+. Retrieved from