American Apparel Doesn’t Want ‘Trashy’ Black Girls With Straight Hair
The next time you’re in need of another pair of leggings, think twice before you go to American Apparel. The company’s discriminate hiring policies could fill your socks drawer.
Former employees wrote to Gawker giving us more reason to give the ‘all-American’ brand our fiercest side eye.
An American Apparel ex-manager was given specific instructions on the type of Black girl the company looks for during open casting calls:
“None of the trashy kind that come in, we don’t want that. we’re not trying to sell our clothes to them. Try to find some of these classy black girls, with nice hair, you know?”
For you natural hair undergrads looking to rock seemingly cool clothing for the coveted retail employee discount, it seems, surprisingly, American Apparel is looking for you.
“The other manager on the call with me later became a district manager, and at one point instructed me to tell two of my employees (both of whom happened to be black females) to stop straightening their hair. I refused to do this, but wondered if the mentality behind her request was related to what Dov had said.”
“Dov” is Dov Charney, the company’s eccentric owner and the mastermind behind the brand’s frequent soft porn ads. Seems Dov considers an afro ‘nice hair,’ and straight hair bad hair. This is a fascinating paradox for anyone remotely familiar with Black hair politics. A preference for natural hair could be considered progressive, but discriminating based on an employee’s hairstyle, or any other trait is never cool.
For more on American Apparel’s bizarre hiring practices, check out Gawker.
What do you think about the brand’s employee preferences? Share your thoughts with us!
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It’s a wonder why women in general throw their money at this nut, Dov Charney. He’s constantly accused of sexually harassing his employees, finds his models in the most demeaning way (wet t-shirt contests), and displays the most disgusting ads. Does someone need to be naked to sell a t-shirt? He attempts to save face saying that he’s a free thinker and sexually liberated. Please, you’re a sick fuck and that’s all there is to it. And yes, AA even endorsed a blackface ad, created by i-D Magazine, but they posted it on their site. Just google, American Apparel blackface ad.
Speaking of ads, if they doesn’t want “trashy girls” what the hell do they call their ads now?
The companies view is not shocking considering their tacky, cheap-looking over priced clothes.
Use your power and shop elsewhere.
I don’t see a problem here. Every company has the right to hire who they want. Look at the crowd American Apparel aims for, chic, eccentric, alternative young women and men. Yes there are women with straight hair who can be just that but I am sure they speak of those girls name Boquita with lace fronts to their ankles. They have the right not to want to attract that type of crowd. I like American Apparel I just went there the other day.
Does this come as a surprise? Look at the people of other races that American Apparel hires. It’s a store that caters to the all-American hipster, and right now natural hair is in. They only hire stylish, well dressed young people. Any one who frequents their retail locations should know this. If their hiring policy is offensive to you, simply stop shopping there. The prices are ridiculous anyway.
ditto!!! they do the same shit at h&m and other stores this is noo suprise!
generally the word “urban” pretty much equates to inner city bourgeois these days.. at least where i’m from.
“…if black models are employed, they are basically white with dark skin…”
******************************************************************
Statements like this, as well as those basically referring to a female as a “white girl dipped in chocolate,” are ‘interesting’, borderline offensive and just as colorist as people accuse whites of being. It’s like implying these women are not ‘real’ or ‘authentic’ simply because they don’t look like India Arie, Alek Wek or Whoopi Goldberg.
Although the majority of AA’s ancestors hailed from West Africa, West Africa does not constitute the totality. The ‘look’ of people across the continent is diverse and, for example, I’m not disparaging wider noses or bigger lips but they are not the definitive.
Africans are ‘original man’; people walked out of East Africato go on and populate the word, and there is not one facial feature a European possesses that did not originate in mother Africa.
From the ‘asian-like’ eyes of Bantu Xhosas like Nelson Mandela or Sans…to the curlier hair and different (aka “white girl dipped in chocolate”) features of the beautiful women of East or Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea etc.) like Iman, Liya Kebede…to the reddish coloring of some in South Africa…to the tone and features of North Africans (i.e. Egyptians)…there is no definitive.
There are light-skin Africans in central Africa (even lighter than most folks in the United States) besides the wide-nose ones you were implying in your post….I’m assuming you consciously assumed there weren’t or conveniently refuse to acknowledge that.
Speaking of the pot calling the kettle black….
Well, Dot, that’s what you get for assuming!!!
I gave examples to show the diversity in looks across the continent but didn’t know I was required to go from A to Z and list those of all locales, countries, tribes, ethnicities etc. to keep you from getting a hair up your ass!
If your going to cite the different genetic backgrounds in Africa to make a point, do it right!
@Dot
What do you mean by do it right? The examples and execution that Akai used to make her point was pretty straightforward.
Akai stated and I quote:
“Although the majority of AA’s ancestors hailed from West Africa, West Africa does not constitute the totality. The ‘look’ of people across the continent is diverse and, for example, I’m not disparaging wider noses or bigger lips but they are not the definitive.”
West Africans apparently have wider noses and bigger lips. What I should have stated in my own post was that in central and WEST AFRICA, that statement is absolutely false and is quite ironic because she implied earlier and I quote.
“Statements like this, as well as those basically referring to a female as a “white girl dipped in chocolate,” are ‘interesting’, borderline offensive and just as colorist as people accuse whites of being. It’s like implying these women are not ‘real’ or ‘authentic’ simply because they don’t look like India Arie, Alek Wek or Whoopi Goldberg”.
The narrow mindedness she mocked is exactly what she’s at fault for. What she may have “known or didn’t acknowledged” or “conveniently refused to acknowledge” is that there are Africans who are lighter than most African Americans, with thinner nose and thinner lips and a few do not look like Whoopie Goldberg or India Arie.
African American weren’t the only ones who unwillingly mixed with Caucasians and probably haven’t mixed with Arabs.
That is one gripe I have with most commenters. Don’t bash someone and do the same thing as well!
You appear intent on insinuating that I thought or implied ‘all West Africans have wider noses and bigger lips’; nice try, but there was a reason I wrote “for example.” I’ve visited West Africa and, with all the Tuaregs I saw in that region, your “assumptions” are a big fail!
Don’t look high ‘n low to pick out something to get ire over, erect straw men or twist what was stated to justify your argument. Get it right as I didn’t write one word about DNA or genes and, obviously, was not citing “different genetic backgrounds in Africa.” My points were and remain just as clear as when I originally wrote them: “the ‘look’ of people across the continent is diverse” and “there is no definitive.”
From slimmer noses, smaller lips, creamy complexions or looser curls, again, “there is not one facial feature a European possesses that did not originate in mother Africa” and to say that certain females are “basically white with dark skin” is problematic.
Can’t say that I give one good gotdamn what you have a “gripe” with as your issues are yours and yours alone. I did not bash Female17 nor did I personally attack; I respectfully disagreed (you know, what mature people do when discussing an issue) and simply stated that I found the comment “interesting,” “borderline offensive” and “colorist.”
Correction:
You appear intent on insinuating that I thought or implied ‘all West Africans have wider noses and bigger lips’; nice try, but there was a reason I wrote “for example.” I’ve visited West Africa and, with all the Tuaregs I saw in that region, your “assumptions” are a big fail! Further proving your “assumption” erroneous is the fact that I also mentioned Alek Wek and she is not West African. She is a Sudanese Dinka and, even in Sudan (the biggest country on the continent), the ‘look’ diverges across that country i.e. those of many in southern Sudan vs. features like tan skin and curlier hair of many in the north.
@Dot
Apparently, you are creating an issue where there is none. She clearly stated that West Africans and in turn African Americans exhibit all physical characteristics in humans. What you are claiming she said is actually the exact opposite.
Hola mi hermana from another mama!
But you know how this type of shit goes. Most of the time there is no disputing what is actually stated but tantrums thrown over someone being unafraid/not intimidated to speak honestly and say what a lot of people may think — yet are too concerned with riding some wack pee-cee-dee-cee kick to mention.
Maybe I should have looked for one small irrelevant thing to nit-pick like Dot and thrown erroneous assumptions all over her initial mention of features in Central Africa and omission of those throughout West Africa. (*shrug*)
Models were mentioned and it doesn’t come bigger than Naomi Campbell; bad behavior aside she is uber-gorgeous, 40 and still at the top of the game, and possesses some of the juiciest lips ever. Yet I fear my comments were intentionally twisted into either a disdain for fuller lips – when mine are fairly full – or statement that all AAs (as if Beyoncé looks like Oprah who looks like blue-eyed Vanessa L. Williams etc. — I mentioned these because they all have two AA parents) and West Africans shared the exact same features.
If I offended anyone, I offer an apology. My point was that it is colorist and problematic and – at the heart – factually erroneous to disparage these models as “basically white with dark skin” because they don’t have X, Y or Z features as if they are not ‘real’ or ‘authentic’ and supposed to look one particular way.
It’s just as problematic as the powers-that-be at American Apparel ‘talking’ as if females with straightened (as well as natural) hair can not be classy, non-trashy, sophisticated and well-put-together.
@Akai
I am familiar with the antics that go on here. Your thesis was clear and well supported. I wouldn’t worry about it lol.
On another note, I could care less about this brand. Their advertisements are tasteless and reminds me of a Playboy or Hustler’s magazine. I think this whole ordeal is quite amusing actually. No one looks to this brand to experience class and for them to even think that they exude even an ounce of it is just a joke.
A few months ago, they had an “Ass Contest” where women with their bare backs out sent in pictures to be rated and such. I have no idea who the victor was but this is just an example of the hypocrisy here. This whole company and what they represent is “Trashy” so I don’t know how they got in their head that they could determine what and what is not trash.
yes, but the majority of black people have plumper lips and round noses, and for some reason, I hardly ever see black models with these features, fact!
@ female, 17: Quiana Grant, Alex Bok, Tebatso Tshuma, Kate Mensen, Mirash Davis, Angela Asare, Sunna Gottshalk…++ so many more, all supermodels.
Trashy ‘black women’, are ghetto hot mess females (same as white trailer trash rednecks female — no differ).That who can not afford to shop at my store , because I do not like to server them … Period!!! I am a proud 100% natural black Urban woman!
P.S. The straight hair part, was referring to black girls who wear that kool-aid, McFry kid hair weave. Come on … let’s not be blindside about the truth.
Is that so? So you don’t accept money from all people? What part of the game is that? Who tells their customer, “No no, your money is no good here. Please shop elsewhere.” Talk about money walking out of the door. And from my experience in retail, those same “trashy” and “ghetto” women have money, and they will spend it. You and Dov should probably think about that next time. Did I mention that his business is struggling? Check their stock: APP. Horrible.
Look! I did have a shop in the “hood”. Trying to server and provide customers with upscale services. Who will never have receive them from the ‘Gold Coast’ — downtown Chicago. But those ‘hood’ customers always …
*Argue about the prices — not negotiate
*Let they children’s run wildly throughout the shop. When the front door sign read “No Children”. Yes, they want to argue with you about that … also.
*Always want something on CREDIT, by trying to seek your friendships
*Asking about the per monthly income
*Displaying they personal problems loudly on the cell phone
*Some don’t grooming themselves
*Always endless ‘Thug Macking’
*Your place of business will become the new hood hanging spot — thur hours of operations
*etc, etc,etc ….
let please boycott this company and all us who have american apparel clothing dontae those to goodwill.
[...] Former American Apparel employees exposed CEO Dov Charney’s bigoted hiring policies saying that he only wanted to hire “classy black girls, with nice hair” instead of the “trashy kind” that shop in his stores. [Clutch] [...]
To call hair natural means that to straighten it is un-natural. So whats natural, as far as hair go, for whites, is un-natural for a lot of Black people. Of course some Black people have almost straight natural hair. Scientifically American Apparel is correct.Black people have spiral form hair because of the protein keratin, which makes it spiral and give it body. Its spiral is like the spiral of our galaxy. When white female want body to their hair, they use keratin. Even when Black females out of ignorance do everything to kill their hair, it comes back to life with the lifegiving water. Therefore Black women iln order to keep from resurrecting the hair, avoid exposing it to water. DUH! Animals who have straight hair lack Keratin.
Ummm, I think you’ve missed a few things.
All hair is made up of keratin. White hair, black hair. Also fingernails and several other parts of our body.
Also, most white people I know (I’m white) have pretty curly hair (or at least hair with some natural wave) that they either straighten or don’t. Please don’t assume that all white people have naturally perfectly straight hair – I would say those people are in the minority. Asian hair, I would say, is more often naturally straight, which is why you see fads like ‘digital perms’ originating in places like Japan.
I’ve been trying to convince not to shop here for the last couple of months… Maybe this will help
The customer service is horrendous and half of the people hired there were taken straight of a half-way house.
I’ll gladly take my business elsewhere, nappy or not!
Will never shop there again anyways the quality of their clothes is cheap
I get the feeling when he says natural, he doesn’t see the short ‘fro or anything like that. He sees the “good hair” natural: the curly, I’m biracial kind of hair. That’s just my honest opinion.
Maybe he’s seen too many bad weaves/relaxed heads that his ignorant mind assumes all black women wear messy, unhealthy hair? I’m surprised to see support for natural hair. The only time I see natural hair on TV here in the UK is on a biracial-looking person’s head. One step forward and one step backward. Same discrimination but a different victim. If it is just a fad then the black community can’t complain because we did the same thing in the 70s before turning on natural hair again.
i can’t even pretend to be offended by this, when i enjoy the fact that my natural curls differentiate me from a certain type of black woman!!! i don’t enjoy being clump together with loud,rude, neck-rolling, inarticulate, uncivilized people. if my hair makes you dissociate me from that image GREAT, because that is not who i am!!!its not racist, saying it is racist, is saying all women belong to said race exhibit that behavior. this is an example(a poor, fumbled example) of someone realizing we are not homogeneous or monolithic, we vary!!! i wouldn’t employ a certain type of black woman either, nor would i want to work with her. i avoid her in public, i am embarrassed when she curses at a cashier for her mistakes, i ignore her when she yells in the middle of crowded streets”stay away from those devils” when i pass with my husband!! she is no me, we have nothing in common. why should i be offended because the don’t want this girl as an employee
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9MrCLXq5ubs/TBWOq1-0C2I/AAAAAAAAUGQ/8eWaIpptNU0/s1600/x2_18d3abb.jpg
I hate the fact that almost everyone is deeming trashy to be loud and ghetto basically all you see on the outside. I have discovered the trashiest people after I thought they were classy. I am so not surprised at this, being that black people are and always have been judged just based on physical attributes and overall appearance (be it our skin color, clothes, or hair). The fact that AA is now judging us based on who has “nice hair” is not a shock what I would love to know though is how you can determine how trashy someone is based solely on how strait their hair is (or unnatural). So if a black women with a long weave down her back wearing a business suit comes to apply your’re telling me she won’t get hired because her hair isn’t natural. I would love to add if she has a degree or if she speaks illiterate but they aren’t looking for those pros and cons they are only looking at hair. I feel like black women are so late with just realizing they don’t have to perm their hair and wear weave me doing everything with my hair I always felt like long strait hair was boring. But I NEVER will ever look at another black women funny because of what hair style she chooses I have never put “naturals” in a different category as black women because it seems like they are. I don’t choose one over the other because our hair can do everything and we should celebrate that by wearing it any way we want. I can’t believe something that is suppose to be “liberating” (which I feel is the wrong word to use anyway) for an individual seems to be a ticket to look down on someone or deem that you know more. That is so ridiculous black women come in so many different forms and it is erroneous to separate a group of people because they don’t wear their natural hair. I have worn my hair natural for years but decided to perm it and leave it short, I perm my hair maybe once every 3-5 months I have plans for my hair because I know it can do anything I love that I can change it to whatever I see fit and I wish people would really fall in love with their hair and mind their own follicle because what AA is doing is the same thing black women are doing now with natural hair vs. unnatural. They are judging and discriminating. No need to stop shopping there (I have never shopped there for their ridiculous prices and plain clothes) because really what AA thinks of black women is so irrelevant to how black women treat other black women.
What AA does not know is that our hair is diverse! A natural woman can straighten her hair. Unlike white people we have CHOICES. I love seeing the diversity of our hair but why do naturals see approval from massa as such a great accomplishment? What’s next, water tests for black women? It bothers me that black women are the only women called trashy. White people do not CARE they see us all as trashy.
American Apparel is one of those funky stores that wants to hire unique individuals. Natural hair is more unique than straight hair – - it doesn’t make their hiring practices right at all… but I do get what they’re going for.
Just like Hooters hires girls with no boobs, American Apparel can hire ‘trashy black girls” with straight hair lol…. The companies stock fell considerably last quarter. I think they need to work on getting customers into the store more than the type of black girl selling the clothes.
[...] Apparel jumps on the fail-wagon again! Anyone [...]
well…hot d*mn….sort of feels like affirmative action for some of us nappy-headed folks.
but in all seriousness – hair-based discrimination – not cool.