Why I'm not surprised by the CEO of A & F statement!

How much is this post relevant to my blog? Do I talk about business, bullying, or general journalism issues? I blog about nutrition issues, and a healthy recipe once in a while. I was eager to write about this case. Then I hesitated. Why? Maybe I’m not the person who cares about businessmen. But, then I thought I should speak my mind.

On May 3, Mike Jeffries the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch (the popular clothing teen line) came out in the press, when Bussiness Insider Magazine pointed out that he doesn’t want the stores to have sizes for women larger than 10. The magazine interviewed Robin Lewis, the co-author of ”The New Rules of Retail” and CEO of newsletter The Robin Report, BI reported him saying CEO Mike Jeffries “doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people.”

When I read the news I was skeptical. First, I read the original interview so I could put my thoughts in the right direction. It was published in …Salon Magazine in 2006. Why people are frowning at him? What is wrong with his statements? This businessman’s accomplishments are impressive. Media is applauding successful businessmen and made them role models.

Why we are burying our heads in the sand? Do we respect overweight people? No we don’t! We are treating them like disabled ones that have to fight for their rights. We encourage being thin, and applaud the skinny ones. Teens are suffering from body image issues, and people like Mike Jeffries push teens especially females to lose weight in unhealthy ways. Is he the only one to blame for sabotaging the efforts for improve body image for teens?

In my opinion there are multiple factors:

Mass media and popular fashion magazines: They do the same as Mike Jeffries; they don’t sell for overweight people. Most of them don’t display fashion styles for overweight people or even mention them; they always focus on slender people and emphasize that by posting photos for models, ads for clothing line for women with small size and, advice for reducing the waistline. (I have to make an exception here, in the May issue of Marie Clair magazine; there is one page for an outfit of a beautiful big fashionista)
TV Commercials: Every day there are ads for sugary products, directed at kids & teens, in way that make them tempting and irresistible.

Hypermarket: They arrange the aisles in a way that sugary food is found in every corner. So, whenever you turn your face you will find the “amazing deals’ that you can’t miss! We can’t argue that the solution is not going to these hypermarkets! A lot of people can’t afford to go shopping in fancy wholesome food shops that sell local and organic products.

Dietitians and health advocates: Some dietitians focus on the ideal body weight, and push their clients to reach it as soon as possible! Many dietitians post lot of “healthy” deserts. You can’t tell people that you must only consume treats on occasion, while you post deserts on daily basis!

We live in a big conflict. We can’t just blame one for discriminating against overweight people, and keep attacking him, while others are working tirelessly to push a certain body image for teens.

Today (24 of May 2013) A&F will release the first quarter revenues. Will we expect any reductions? I guess it’s too early. Surprisingly, I never went to this store. Maybe I’ll go and buy a shirt (I’m not sure if anything will fit in me, I’m a new mama!). Why do I want to go? Do I support this brand? No, not really. I’m just curious!