Recently, I came across a disturbing article explaining why the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch does not cater to plus size women. I think for this it is best to let him say it in his own words: ““In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” he told the site. “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,” he told Salon.” (Courtesy of http://elitedaily.com/news/world/abercrombie-fitch-ceo-explains-why-he-hates-fat-chicks/).
Now I need to say that although this bothers me on so many levels, this is not what the blog post is about. This quote brought up a firestorm of comments from celebrities and others about how off color the comment was and how cruel it was. But, the thing I think people are missing is society has made this sort of thinking okay, this is the problem. Granted, what he said was cruel. But do you think he got to this way of thinking all on his own? First of all, look at him:
Abercrombie CEO
This man was never part of the “cool” kids crowd. I think he has found a way to take control of a situation he was once a victim of. He is a disturbed man but I think the larger fish to fry in this debate is society. Lately, clothing companies have become more accessible to all body types by adding a “plus” size section. But, wait…has anyone take a second to look at the so- called “plus” size models. Lets take H + M for example, see below the model for their “plus” size section on-line:
H + M +
Does anyone else think it is wrong for a plus size to be anywhere near this girl? She is absolutely gorgeous and is not at all “plus” size. But somehow this seems to make society feel better because clothing is offered for this type of girl in a rather high end clothing line.
I think in order to stop this type of thinking people need to stop basing beauty on weight. Whether a girl is super skinny, average or plus size if she has a beautiful heart she is a beautiful girl. That is where the judgment should lie, not on a body which will change with the years.
What do you think? Do you think the Abercrombie CEO should take all the heat? Do you think society should take some blame? And how do you feel about H + M’s version of a “plus” size model?
cestlavie22 