BY ALIYAH CUNNINGHAM
In a world where retailers like Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch have dominated 14-24 year olds wardrobes, these stores have come to portray a distorted image of what the “All-American look” is. But as the United States continues to evolve and include a variety of different cultures and races, the definition of what is “All-American” can be very debatable. It isn’t right or fair that these stores discriminate against those who do not fit the mold of the certain “image” the stores try to maintain.
When entering the happy go lucky atmosphere of one of these stores, you can’t help but become drawn in by the hip songs playing nonstop in your ear and the cute clothes surrounding you at every turn. But once you look past all of the carefully thought out marketing schemes you will come to realize that everyone in the store resembles one another in the way they dress as well as their looks. Blonde hair and blue eyes are a recurring look in Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch.
There have been several legal cases filed against these stores charging discrimination. One infamous case was of 19-year-old student Hani Khan. In February of last year, Khan was fired from Hollister for refusing to remove her hijab, which is an Islamic headscarf worn by women to promote modesty. Khan claimed the store managers were fine with her wearing her hijab as long as it was one of the stores signature colors of nay blue, white or grey, but one day that all changed. Khan received a call from the Human Resources Department and Corporate Headquarters where she was told her headscarf was not allowed under the “look policy” and was sent home for the day. Later, Khan was asked by the store and district manager to remove her hijab. Khan refused which ultimately lead to her being fired. In disbelief, Khan contacted the Council on Islamic Relations and filed a compliant. Hollister was violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states that, “discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin is prohibited”.
Besides Khan, there have been other lawsuits of a similar nature such as Gonzalez V. Abercrombie & Fitch. Gonzalez, along with several other African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians filed a lawsuit against the company for racial discrimination, they felt that the company assigned them specific tasks based on their ethnicity.
Even with the staggering amount of evidence being present and many employees coming forward to attest to the allegations being made, Abercrombie denied that they were discriminatory in any way.
Despite the scrutiny Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch have received, they still manage to operate and successfully sell their apparel in the United States and around the world. However, the success of these stores should not distract people from the wrongdoings that they commit on a regular basis. In modern day, the color of your skin or the faith that you have should not be something that determines whether you can be employed. As time goes by, hopefully they will change their ways and openly accept people the way they are. It is important that these stores seek out employees of all races and provide them with training and opportunities of promotion.
