Stakeholder #3

Who's Up Third?

The final group we are going to look at is the women criticized by A & F.

Gerd Altmann. "Women's Power Specialist Businesswoman Woman Female" 9/21/14 via pixabay. Creative Commons 0 Public Domain License

What Are They Like?

The group of women that are being discriminated against are those that aren't capable of wearing A & F's clothing line (before they increased the sizes post controversy). Although men were given plus sizes (for athletes), women were not given the benefits that guys had. As a male that used to wear 2 XL clothing when I weighed 285 pounds, I can assure that I didn't look pretty. Bigger women are often looked down upon by an average guy and even their own gender. To be identified as "fat" in this post 2000 setting is to look healthy. Girls that have become ideal often have rib cages prominently showing or to have completely flat stomachs. Although neither being skinny nor being a little heavy are bad things, the world often criticizes the women who are in the plus size category. It changes the way girls are treated, and Abercrombie and Fitch only fueled the criticism of larger women. Obviously not everyone in the world judges by looks, but looks are the first encounter of interaction. This causes a preface to what the world thinks of these groups and how to treat them as group rather than individual human being. The label of being fat or overweight overshadows the beautiful personalities that exist under their skin.

What They've Said

"To put it in your words: "unpopular kids" with "cool kids". It's socially acceptable for same to be paired with same, but never are contrasting bodies positively mixed in the world of advertisement." Said by Jes Baker from Thee Militant Baker blogs, found on the site Jezebel.

"That would make me never buy anything from Abercrombie even if I was cool and thin. I got two kids in that [age] bracket that will never walk in those doors because of his view of people," Said by Kirstie Alley here.

"Well, at least the feeling is mutual, Abercrombie. I don't want my body's personal brand associated with your creepy, predatory, bedbug-infested, bigoted, racist garbage clothes anyway." Said by Lindy West here.

Are the Claims Valid?

These claims appear to be valid and seem to carry quite a bit of weight as it shows the opinions of several different women in the world. The reaction to this controversy was not positive, and it's very fair to understand why. These sources are credible for the purpose that they are used for. They aren't presenting facts, but rather reactions to what A & F did. This gives us perspective of what the world thought of as A & F made these announcements and discriminated against larger women. This stakeholder plays on the emotions very effectively because of the heart aching stories that they use to describe how this affected them. Such as Kirstie Alley claiming she won't let her children set foot in the doors of A & F. Words like these would concern moms everywhere.

Similar or Different?

This stakeholder is not similar to Jeffries' views or the pre- A & F views by any means. However they do share the views of the post Jeffries era of A & F. After the departure of Jeffries, Abercrombie and Fitch took a better approach to the market by showing clean cut models for their products. Instead of using half-naked God given bodies, they use much more acceptable models to get their brand out there. The pre-controversy brand completely went against the view of the women who were offended by the brand. The Jeffries and A & F's original view was to be sexy and elite, whereas the women wanted a brand that made them feel sexy without being judged.