McBride: Why I Hate Ambercombie

In this chapter McBride is describing why he hates Ambercrombie, which is because of the racial categorizing through marketing the company practices. Ambercrombie & Fitch is a clothing company which has become a lifestyle more than just wearing clothes. As McBride states, "Ambercrombie & Fitch has devised a very clear marketing and advertising stategy that celebrates whiteness- a particurly privleged and leisure-class whiteness - and makes use it as a "lifestyle" that it commodifies to sell otherwise extremly dull, uninspiring, and ordinary clothing". That states that the companies strategy is to be prodominently worn by white people.

He uses the Ambercrombie, "Look Book" as an example showing racism against blacks. The look book is a small book composed of 30 pages that contain images of models, which people should want to look like. The book only has one black model, who has a specific look to him/her. She examines the book and clearly states that Ambercrombie should be bought by whites. Ambercrombie has had lawsuits in the past from employee discrimination. When you walk into an Ambercrombie store their are certain people you expect to be working there. They include good looking, in shape, whites, aged from 16-20. McBride makes a good point which I have never realized while in an Ambercrombie store. He points out how there are no blacks ever working there. I have shopped at Ambercrombie multiple times and can not remeber a time when I saw a black person working anywhere on the floor. Supposively they only hire blacks who are willing to work in the back, stocking products. If so I will never buy another Ambercrombie piece of clothing again. That is racism to the fullest and I know plenty of black people who would do a great job working at Ambercrombie.

Two Discussion Questions:
1.) Just wondering, if I went into a prodomiently black clothing store and tried to get a job, as a white male, would I get the same treatment that Ambercrombie gives to black people applying for a job?

2.) How many other stores such a Ambercrombie treat black employees different than white employees.

I thought this was a good chapter which made me realize how much racism there is, that goes unnoticed. I would have never even thought of getting all of these points out of a small magazine called the "Look Book". I liked this chapter as well because it used something that relates to me, menaing I shop at Ambercrombie and have never realized until reading this that I have never seen a black employee. This class is really helping my to think outside the box when look at racism. Now when ever I go anywhere I am starting to notice little things where racism surfaces.