Results matching “american apparel”
Is feminist art "the most important artistic movement since World War II"?
American Apparel does it again.
Mom Refuses C-Section, Baby Taken Away (More at National Advocates for Pregnant Women)
Family Guy will take on abortion - whether it will be aired is another story.
Ain't That a Shame (author has her book cover "white washed")
This past weekend, after failing to get tickets to see W., I went to see Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. I mean who can say no to Michael Cera's sarcastic, self-conscious, nerdiness, that makes feminists gush. Yes, I like quiet, shy, nerdy boys. So. What.
I love movies that try and capture youth culture. Maybe because I am obsessed with youth culture, or have participated in almost every sub-culture of my generation, but I am always fascinated with Hollywood depictions of spaces and places, most people don't have access to or know about. I always relate to characters that are underdogs, that don't fit in with the popular kids and choose to hang out with the punk/goth/skater/hip-hop kids. I especially like movies that depict one eventful night where they are spending the whole night chasing a party, band or DJ. Those movies make my heart smile because I spent so much of my youth chasing parties, DJs, bands, boys, or the next fun thing in the night. They allow you to see what I saw-nerdy kids go to parties, we have fun and adventures without the judgment and gaze of the mainstream normative non-queer world.
It's not ironic. It's not edgy. It's not retro-cool. It's just sexist.
For previous posts of the "it's not hip, it's racist/sexist" variety...
American Apparel: Jungle prints are back!
Not-Thinking and Drinking: On feminism, role models and humor
Andy Samberg: Pro-feminist or ironic hipster douche?
Gentrification, Hipsters and "Ghetto Chic."
Groping, leering and hipster harassment
Meet Paternalism.
I am now about to lose my shit... (on "kill whitey" parties)
So the last time I wrote about American Apparel's use of mock tribal prints and the name, "Afrika" for a line of clothing, it was a little bit controversial. Some folks didn't understand why putting thin, white models, in faux tribal and animal prints with the title, "Afrika" was racist. So be it.
UPDATE: I think one of our commenters put the argument for why the use of "African" symbolism is problematic and racist best here.
She says,
For people who have not been exposed to critical race theory or the study of colonialism and cultural appropriation, the new Afrika line probably doesn't look racist to you. The reason it doesn't look racist to you is because the attractiveness of the line is meant to play on the unconscious attitudes that non-African westerners have about Africa. Here's a set of association words:exotic
primitive
tribal
jungle
wild
animalistic
hypersexualI can go on, but you get the point.
And this time to add to the classiness, they are being marketed as the "Afrika" collection. Please get ready to see self proclaimed, post-racist, ironic hipsters near you wearing this fall trend. You know because this isn't totally racist or anything. This company well never cease to amaze me, in every way. (Unfeminist guilty pleasure soon to come.)
American Apparel, who puts out some of the classiest ads around, is apparently now selling soap. And in case you're not sure how to wash yourself, the site has an instructional video of a nekkid tousled hair lady to help you along. Blech.
On the upside, at least this will encourage some hipsters to clean themselves. Maybe.
Thanks to Sarah for the tip.
A premium denim company, Fiorana, is has created a "Latina-cut" jean.
"The Latina body is different in waist and hip structure," says Mike Braden, Founder and President of Fiorana, Inc. "When wearing Anglo cut jeans, there is always a fit problem around the waist area. Our 'Latina Cut' collection will provide the American Hispanic woman a sexy, sophisticated premium jean that caters to their feminine curves."
'Cause all Latinas look like J-Lo? What? Laura Martinez responds,
Still, reading and re-reading the staggering conclusions of the apparel maker's internal research among Hispanics, I couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that the jean maker is simply generalizing about what a Latina body is supposed to look like? Either that or I'm going to have a serious talk with my parents, as perhaps I am really not what they told me I was, but the adopted child of a non-Latino, voluptuously challenged family clan from some far away place.
I am absolutely, 100% in favor of a wider range of denim cuts and styles (cue commentary about how hard it is for every woman to find jeans that fit well). And I don't have a problem with culturally-conscious marketing. But this is different. It implies that curvaceous is the only "authentic" Latina shape. Women like Laura Martinez, who aren't particularly curvy, don't count. I mean, is Fiorana planning on rolling out a style of jeans for every race/ethnicity? "African cut," "Asian cut," etc.? The company would *never* make a "Caucasian cut." Why? Because it's acknowledged that white women come in a variety of shapes and sizes. There's not one specific shape stereotype attached to the "white ass" (unless I'm unaware...). But, uh, last time I checked, women of all races came in all shapes and sizes. Perhaps Fiorana should stick to selling jeans by their measurements, not by ethnic stereotype.
Check out Dane Cook's new movie poster after the jump. I think you'll agree that it's...special.
There's been some great stuff on HollaBack lately... and by "great" I mean very articulate responses to truly appalling experiences. One woman writes, interior monologue-style, about how it feels to be ogled by a stranger:
So yes, I am kind of dressed up. I was just at an internship interview. Yes, I am sitting by myself eating my lunch. Thanks. By the way - what the fuck is your deal? I know you can't be looking at train schedules for all of those 15 minutes. I know you keep leering at me. You're not being that discrete, and you are kinda grossing me out. Why can't I just sit alone for half an hour and eat my lunch without someone thinking I'm there to look pretty for them?
There's the tale of what should be branded "hipster harassment" (an incident of the American Apparel variety), in which a woman at a Bowery Poetry event was asked to take her shirt off for a photographer, some dude who was compiling an "art" book of polaroids of shirtless women. He actually told her he "likes the authentically dykey ones the best, next to the trannies."
Another woman reacts to being groped on the street:
I have my wits about me always and I walk confidently with a sort of 'don't fuck with me' look on my face, but it still happened! I was just walking, and this guy walking by, out of no where, stuck his hand out and felt my vagina. I just can't believe it. If there's anybody with any encouraging words, I'd love to hear them, because right now, I just feal like I never want to walk outside by myself again- and I hate that.
And Sandra sums it all up nicely:
Now, some might think it was a bit of an overreaction to kick someone's property in response to a "compliment". I'd like to tell those people to take their ignorant, sexist agendas and shove it up their arses. As a woman and as a lesbian, I spend every day of my life confined by the consequences of men's belief that it is perfectly acceptable to verbally, physically and sexually assualt, harass, and intimidate me. I spend each day fighting off unwanted physical advances, being powerless to respond to drive-by sexual advances, having to shut up and ignore the endless streams of catcalls and wolf whistles, watching program after program representing women as sexual/domestic play objects for men, and battling with both men and women to convince them that yes, it is important to be aware of the the power issues that surround gender relations. I spend nights crying as a result of the sexual abuse I have experienced, days altering my routes so I can feel safe when walking home, and endless hours being overwhelmed by how much work is yet to be done in order to create a world which is safe, equal and free from violence and intimidation.
... which is why we need HollaBack. The site is having a fundraising concert on Dec. 14, so if you're in NYC you should definitely go. I wish I could make it, as I love both HollaBack and Langhorne Slim, who will be performing.
The latest issue of Clamor Magazine hits newsstands September 1, and features extensive coverage of American Apparel's "co-opting of progressive values to hype an otherwise less-than progressive workplace." It features parody ads like the one above, which reads:
Kristina, born to an Iranian mom and Belgian pop, is a native Ohioan. She’s seen here sporting an emerald 100% cotton racerback tank. Unfortunately, her brand devotion to AA could never land her a spot in their ads: Dov Charney thinks short hair on girls is “unnatural.�
Indeed, Kristina would never make the cut at AA. Female employees/models must be fully waxed and stripped down to their tube socks. Sure, the company's sexed-up ads feature half-naked and provocatively posed men, too. But the female ads are far more condescending. Compare these two ads, both selling AA's "Summer Shirt":
Meet Melissa. She won an unofficial wet T-shirt contest held at the American Apparel apartment in Montreal. Her prize for winning was a travel mug from McGill University, and the satisfaction of a job well done. Melissa is wearing our new ultralight Sheer Jersey T-Shirt, AKA "The Summer Shirt," available at our stores and online.
And the male version?
Meet Memo. He's a 31-year-old creative director living in Mexico City (where this polaroid was taken). Memo is wearing our Summer Shirt with bootleg Playboy Bunny briefs from a street market down there.
Yeah. As John Straub writes in Clamor, "The company possesses a downtown textile factory straight out of the ’40s, a sexploitation ad campaign from the ’70s, and a marketing strategy so sophisticated it almost seems to come from the future. Old-world manufacturing paternalism meets sexy transnational marketing: has American Apparel vertically integrated different eras of capitalism?"
Charney & Co. are less than pleased with Clamor's coverage, and are threatening the tiny indie magazine with legal action. I think this means the folks at Clamor have struck a nerve and are doing something right. Props to the editors/writers for pointing out that AA's non-sweatshop stance doesn't make up for its proto-porn advertising campaigns or the fact that Charney reportedly thinks sexual harassment is OK as long as you're a hipster.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirms a ruling that waitresses in tank tops and tiny track shorts are actual products, not symbols that can be trademarked. Disgusting.
The RightRides program in NYC has expanded, and with help from ZipCar is now providing late-night shuttle service for women in many parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan.
The Mapping Our Rights project is an amazing resource for information on women's rights in your state.
The Stranger examines pharmacy war being fought in Washington State.
CoverGirl has paid for product placement in young-adult novels.
An analysis of Esquire's "State of the American Man" issue concludes that it's no so much a requiem for men as an unintentional hammer blow to the kind of gender politics that produce articles like these in the first place.
A British study says girls don't benefit from sex-segregated education.
When actress Anne Hathaway asked her "The Devil Wears Prada" co-star Stanley Tucci to stop touching her breasts, he responded, "What do you expect? You're flinging those melons around like it's harvest season." Also disgusting.
Men in India are cashing in on the country's single-woman shortage by renting out their wives. (This is classified as "Weird News." They must not have a "Revolting News" section.)
Time magazine covers the new HPV vaccine-- and arguments for and against making it mandatory for public school enrollment.
Are "female chauvinist pigs" really to blame for thongs, impants and "the death of real passion"?
This article on women and the sportscars they love also informs us that women are "no longer afraid to be seen" driving pickup trucks. Good to know!
Parental notification for abortion is likely to be on the California ballot once again.
Newsweek profiles American Apparel founder Dov Charney.
A judge has decided that 40 white male professors at Northern Arizona University are entitled to $1.4-million in back pay and raises. The professors brought a lawsuit alleging that the university had discriminated against them by giving raises to minority and female professors, but giving no raises to them.
I guess our American Apparel question has been answered.
I’m all for “personal freedom,” but when sexual harassment is played off as nothing more than a boss trying to foster a hip work environment, there’s a serious fucking problem.
UPDATE: Check out Pinko Feminist Hellcat's excellent take on the issue.
What do we think of the new American Apparel advertising campaign? Perverted pornography or a break from rigid "typical (read anorexic)" advertising? American Apparel is a t-shirt/other cotton goods company well known for its very fair labor practices. The owner Dov Charney seems to be a rather complicated character, well mainly he seems like a big pervert, but what do we make of this kinda contradictory politic? His recent hire for their ad campaign is porn star Lauren Pheonix. I was recently in the store and I couldn't get a hold of how I felt about it either?
There is, for example, no silicone. There is no collagen. No Botox. There is no obvious retouching and no major Photoshopping to eliminate bulge or nipple or shiny forehead and there is occasional body flab and stocky leg and there are plenty of "average" (read: nonanorexic) female body types, and as mentioned all the models are amateurs, real women and men, and each is funky and ethnically mixed and unexpected, and Charney even leaves in the red eye and the sweaty lips and the odd angles and there is an air of salty delicious intimate funk to the pictures that makes you go, now this is what T-shirts should really be all about.
Like obviously I see the goods and the bads here. Incidentally, the owner has several pending sexual harassment suits against him probably stemming from his desire for a free and sexually open workplace.
Tell me what you think?
