Author: I Am BMichavery

Not only is there prejudice and bullying in schools, workplace, your communities, &social media , but now we must contribute prejudice to the retail stores we shop at. According to Mike Jeffries CEO of Popular Brand Abercrombie &Fitch say’s “In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either,”“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, “A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong.““Abercrombie is only interested in people with washboard stomachs who look like they’re about to jump on a surfboard”“People said we were cynical, that we were sexualizing little girls. But you know what? I still think those are cute underwear for little girls. And I think anybody who gets on a bandwagon about thongs for little girls is crazy. Just crazy! There’s so much craziness about sex in this country. It’s nuts! I can see getting upset about letting your girl hang out with a bunch of old pervs, but why would you let your girl hang out with a bunch of old pervs?”“I don’t want our core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing our clothing.”“I really don’t care what anyone other than our target customer thinks.”“I think that what we represent sexually is healthy. It’s playful. It’s not dark. It’s not degrading! And it’s not gay, and it’s not straight, and it’s not black, and it’s not white. It’s not about any labels. That would be cynical, and we’re not cynical! It’s all depicting this wonderful camaraderie, friendship, and playfulness that exist in this generation and, candidly, does not exist in the older generation.

Very interesting the perspective of prejudice and justification many retail and restaurant owners are taking to stand out. Excluding a person based on their size is no different then alienating someone based on their race, religion, or sexual preference , and the fact that they attempt to justify it as anything other than prejudice and discriminatory is pure ignorance. Its one thing to express your freedom of speech, however it is a very thin line that must be defined in order to practice that right. I hope that parents and other supporters see that it is more than not shopping at these locations, but also taking a stand and letting this retailers know we will not accept the injustice and discrimination of these corporations. Its one thing to speak out about obesity which is a huge issue in america as a whole. Why not use their business as a platform to engage the youth in more healthy lifestyles, conduct campaigns, giveaways, and commercials to increase the interest in people becoming more fit and healthy as a whole, It is NEVER acceptable to make people feel unworthy or not beautiful enough to wear your clothing or use your products. These corporations have marketing all wrong, and unless they are hurt business wise they will never realize the negative impact they have contributed to a society already filled with adversity and prejudice! Society has formed to a perspective of it no longer matters what your integrity represents, its now about what you look like and what their perception of Beauty is and how you don’t fit it .

Below one consumer took a stand, he searched goodwills, and gave away the clothing to the homeless in an effort to take a stand! Watch his compelling video by clicking the photo!.

B.Michavery/B.Brave