B's Rant

Just passing it on...

To the folks at American Apparel:

Whether thigh high socks are the next "in" thing or not is irrelevant compared to the utterly demeaning advertisements you feel are the best way to get your message across. Nearly every advertisement that I have seen by American Apparel screams its message loud and clear. "Wear American Apparel clothing, look like a slut."

It's easy to draw customers with sex. But by doing so, you turn every single woman into a sex object. Isn't there a way American clothing stores can sell their clothing without objectifying its female models? (Do you even have male models??). This particular advertisement (Feb issue Urbanite Baltimore 2006) was particularly disturbing,"Vanessa, a Cubana... manages one of our stores.." Ok. So now your customer knows a couple of things. One, women from Cuba have small brains and are willing to take off their clothes to make a few bucks. Two, store managers at American Apparel are women with small brains, who will take off their clothes as part of their job description.

As a woman, I value my body, my image, and myself too much to step into an American Apparel store in any city. I value all the women out there who are victums of sexual violence, of sexual discrimination and of verbal abuse. It is attitudes like those at American Apparel that perpetuate those messages that lead to these behaviors.

As one woman, I will do my best to continue to spread the word to friends and family that until you, as a company, begin to show some respect for women as human beings, American Apparel is not a store that needs our business.