Many know the brand American Apparel as fast fashion brand with a distinctive nineties character. Yet what many don’t know about the cult like fashion of the brand. The company has been a large marketer of the over sexualization of the body for many years prior to their bankruptcy. CEO, Dov Charney even stated “Sex is a way to bring people closer.” (1) In an article on the story behind American Apparel on Refinery 29 states although sex is a way to bring people closer it is also a way to manipulate. Also stated is that “If they do know it, it’s justified as consensual. The woman feels empowered, but it’s actually a manipulation, an abuse of the differential of power.” (2) Which all ties in to the add displayed above. This advertisement is a clear indication of the sexual manipulation, specifically of the female body. The woman is being manipulated in a way where we cannot see either individual, yet we can quite literally infer who is “wearing the pants” in this situation. As well in not being able to see the faces of either individual there is a disconnect from their mundaneness and rather emphasizes the two bodies as just such. The add is borderline aggression and overall offensive toward the woman in the advertisement as well as all women looking to buy such a product, that through this ad embodies morals of sexual manipulation, degradation, and control. What is most questionable is the products in the ad, themselves, are anything but eye catching. They are blatantly plain and uninspiring, possibly why such subjective material was introduced in creating this ad, most likely making up for the bland aesthetic presented. The very center of this is best defined by Susan B. Kaiser’s passage stating, “Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves.”(3) I feel that this so closely relates with the ad pictured above is because the only reason that this specific ad would sell is based on the way in which women regard it as a way of seeing themselves with a man. The body language suggests submission and control, a viewpoint that most would argue is the way that men would like women to regard themselves. Overall manipulation of the body and the way in which the subjectivity uses the sexualization of the female body to simple grab attention, rather than promote anything of significance.
1. “American Apparel Cult.” Refinery 29. October 2015 https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2015/10/95863/american-apparel-cult
Accessed September 18, 2019.
2. “American Apparel Cult.” Refinery 29. October 2015
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2015/10/95863/american-apparel-cult
Accessed September 18, 2019.
3. B. Kaiser, Susan. “Fashion and Cultural Studies” Bloomsbury. 2012. Page 128.
Bibliography:
B. Kaiser, Susan. “Fashion and Cultural Studies” Bloomsbury. 2012
Refinery 29 “American Apparel Cult” Last modified October 2015. Accessed September 18, 2019.
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2015/10/95863/american-apparel-cult
