An All-American boy stands butt-naked on top of a blue Volkswagen. A topless female in a pirate suit salutes the captain. A guy and girl splash each other, nude in the water. A teenage girl pets a horse while unclothed at the seashore. Playboy, you say? Well, no, not exactly. This is Abercrombie & Fitch’s new “XXX” summer 2002 quarterly catalog. By standards of Playboy, the catalog may seem tame–but if you haven’t seen it yet, you’re in for a surprise.
Labeled “Paradise Found: A Serial Adventure in Four Acts”, this “mag-a-log” undoubtedly glamorizes sexual behavior. Out of 280 pages, the first 121 contain nudity, suggestive photographs and group orgies. Only the next 103 pages display clothing, but who gets that far anyway? You figure any self-respecting girl who opens the catalog closes it before the one-shirt-a-page advertisements begin, and the guys drooling over those first 100 pages go back to look at the photos all over again. This provocative catalog does nothing but surprise and worry me–not only regarding how far companies will go for profit, but the controversy and questions it brings up.
Is the best way to sell women’s shirts and men’s pants to flash models who don’t wear any at all? The clothes actually displayed on the models aren’t even for sale. Abercrombie defensively states that its catalog is nothing “racier” than a beachwear magazine. But don’t beachwear models at least wear swimsuits? These photographs aren’t sporadic, they are a regular feature–they are blatantly soft-core suburban pornography.
Obviously, Abercrombie & Fitch is more interested in selling its culture and lifestyle rather than its clothing. Speaking on behalf of the catalog, Hampton Carney, A & F’s spokesman, stated, “It’s all part of the college experience . . . a commentary on college life.” I don’t know about you, but the last time I walked down Bascom Hill I didn’t see any topless girls studying their Accounting 101 and swinging their top in the air, or a guy playing the guitar nude against a wall in Library Mall. This so-called “hotter than a backyard barbeque” issue of A & F depicts an unreal world and the human need for fantasy. This issue portrays college as one mass orgy, with suggestive situations between young men and women. At least Playboy targets adult men, and its intentions are obvious.
Sam Shahid, A & F’s creative director, refuses to admit that the catalog is offensive or startling. Shahid commented, “The photographs are beautiful; there is nothing pornographic about it.” Whoops, sounds like someone forgot to do their research before defending their company. According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, pornography has a fitting definition: “the depiction and/or material (books or photographs) of erotic behavior with the intent to cause sexual excitement.” Looks like porn to me.
If I didn’t want the catalog, why did I buy it? I didn’t. I used to work there and received it through the mailing list. When I pulled the catalog out of the mailbox, I was shocked to find it wrapped in plastic with “XXX” and an explicit warning printed on top. What young-adult clothing catalogs come wrapped in plastic? The youth-oriented retailer not only sells you this raunchy catalog for six dollars, but you’ll even be carded to purchase it. The need to be eighteen to purchase a catalog is appropriate for those companies in the business of selling porn, not clothing.
Supposedly, this trendy retailer’s main target is college students aged 18 to 22. But how many times have you gone into Abercrombie and seen nine 12-year-olds huddled around the $19.90 sales tables? It is offensive to think that the leaders of A & F consider college students’ lives to be purely nudity and sex. The catalog lowers the concept of modesty and brings down self-esteem. Children who see this trash could be desensitized to thinking they need to grow up faster and that respect for human bodies isn’t necessary. I even just found out that the kids’ Abercrombie store, which targets seven to 14-year-olds, sells thongs.
I’m not asking anyone to hate Abercrombie. I’m not asking anyone to boycott Abercrombie, like the American Decency Association and the Christian Coalition. I am not a feminist, nor a religious fanatic. I love most of their clothes, despite their outrageous prices, and I’m not going to stop wearing them. I am merely offended and irritated that this is what our world is coming to. I just see the need for Abercrombie to be a bit more responsible for the “art” it has presented the nation. After all, the lifestyle is what they are really selling–the clothes are simply the accessories.
Nina Balistreri ([email protected]) is sophomore majoring in public relations and advertising.