American Apparel
"I entered American Apparel’s “plus-size model” contest as a joke-and won. But I want nothing to do with a company that’s wanted nothing to do with large women until now."
My Big, Fat Photo Spoof
Hmm.
Things like this generally don't appear on my radar, but I happened across it.... I don't entirely understand what the author was trying to accomplish with her joke contest entry. Do you? What do you make of it?
"The puns, the insulting, giggly tones, and the over-used euphemisms for fat that were scattered throughout the campaign’s solicitation began to crystalize an opinion in my mind. How offensive the campaign was. How it spoke to plus-sized women like they were starry-eyed 16 year olds from Kansas whose dream, obviously, was to hop a bus to L.A. to make it big in fashion. How apparently there were no words in existence to accurately describe the way American Apparel felt about a sexy, large woman, and so phrases like “booty-ful” and “XLent” would need to be invented for us-not only to fill this void in American vocabulary, but also make the company seem like a relatable, sassy friend to fat chicks.
A relatable, sassy friend who was looking to broaden its customer base after warning it might need to declare bankruptcy earlier this year. And a relatable, sassy friend who wanted as much free press as possible. That’s when I finally put my finger on why I couldn’t get this “contest” out of my head: American Apparel was going to try to use one fat girl as a symbol of apology and acceptance to a demographic it had long insisted on ignoring, while simultaneously having that girl (and a thousand other girls) shill their products."
This entry was originally posted at http://serenissima.dreamwidth.org/269800.html.
My Big, Fat Photo Spoof
Hmm.
Things like this generally don't appear on my radar, but I happened across it.... I don't entirely understand what the author was trying to accomplish with her joke contest entry. Do you? What do you make of it?
"The puns, the insulting, giggly tones, and the over-used euphemisms for fat that were scattered throughout the campaign’s solicitation began to crystalize an opinion in my mind. How offensive the campaign was. How it spoke to plus-sized women like they were starry-eyed 16 year olds from Kansas whose dream, obviously, was to hop a bus to L.A. to make it big in fashion. How apparently there were no words in existence to accurately describe the way American Apparel felt about a sexy, large woman, and so phrases like “booty-ful” and “XLent” would need to be invented for us-not only to fill this void in American vocabulary, but also make the company seem like a relatable, sassy friend to fat chicks.
A relatable, sassy friend who was looking to broaden its customer base after warning it might need to declare bankruptcy earlier this year. And a relatable, sassy friend who wanted as much free press as possible. That’s when I finally put my finger on why I couldn’t get this “contest” out of my head: American Apparel was going to try to use one fat girl as a symbol of apology and acceptance to a demographic it had long insisted on ignoring, while simultaneously having that girl (and a thousand other girls) shill their products."
This entry was originally posted at http://serenissima.dreamwidth.org/269800.html.