Size 10 or Nothing!

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"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention"

~ Unknown

Michael Jeffries

Photo credits: David Turner

Abercrombie & Fitch only cater for ladies who are no more than size 10 because they don’t specialise in “fat” women wear. For the men, you can breathe, they have XL and XXL in order to “appeal to large athletes”(Lewis in Elite’s Daily feature on Abercrombie & Fitch, May 2013).

CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch Mr Michael Jeffries in a 2006 interview with Salon mentioned that they only hire ‘good-looking’, ‘hot’ people, ”because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that.”

He further stated that their brand aims to sell to the “cool kids”. In his words, “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”(Basically anyone who isn’t a size 10 or less, isn’t cool or attractive, has a bad attitude and few friends). Criticising other brands for lacking excitement in their strategy he said, “those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either.”

I think by now you’ve guessed i’m here to criticise. Let me start by eliminating the most obviously judgement of me that you’ve already made here. I’m not critiquing because I feel attacked by the brand as a result of my weight as I wouldn’t fall into the “fat” category. As a matter of fact I could easily walk into an Abercrombie & Fitch store and fit me some size 8 pants. But I don’t as I wouldn’t walk into a store and buy jeggings for £130 since i’m a cheap shopper, in the words of Sidney Poitier, “there’s no shame in what you wear, as long as it is clean.” And now, from this knowledge of its discriminatory policy, it’s not a store i’d buy from even if I would spend that much on jeggings.

Having said that, I think you now understand this is not a post driven by emotions from my own insecurities but one as a result of social ethics.

Firstly, I chose the best picture of Mr Jeffries to use in this post(my buddy google can confirm this, though I did contemplate using the worst but that wouldn’t be fair), which forces me to ask; weren’t there ‘better looking’ people A&F could have hired if we are reduced to speaking of hiring based on looks. But needless to say, he was hired based on his credentials as a scholar from CBS and LSE. Now this makes his statements very ironic I must say. Obviously i’m not saying people should be stopped and asked for credentials when shopping, my point is, Mr Jeffries should know something about looks not being everything.

Secondly, let’s not kid ourselves here! The statement that the reason they have up to XXL for men only and not women, in order to appeal to large athletes in the case of men, if anything, is only 30% true(Now you’ll have to forgive me, I don’t do well with numbers, so that was just a rough estimation to help emphasise my point.) The other 70% that is a lie or maybe just something the brand avoids mentioning is something along the lines of “nobody in contemporary society cares how men look”, which then leads me to my third & most important point.

WHY THE DOUBLE STANDARD? I’m not saying don’t have XXL for men, i’m saying have XXL for women too. Why is it that women are objectified, reduced to mere objects, SEX OBJECTS. Why should it matter what size a woman is, if she can pay for the clothes?

Let’s now move away from the pocket value and look at moral values.

Imagine a young girl who’s bullied daily in school as a result of her weight. Everyday, all she looks forward to is the end of the day as she can finally breathe because in school she just feels suffocated by the constant harassment. Bullying in schools is a sensitive issue that our society is currently finding ways to deal with but Mr CEO and A&F here are taking it a notch higher and moving it to the market place; you’re not considered part of the “in crowd” in school, so this is not the place for you either, is basically what they’re saying. Sort of like that clique in an American high school movie others can’t hang out with because they are not tall, skinny and blonde. Like come on, what are we in high school?

Furthermore, I like to think there’s a difference between “fat” and just other body sizes. “Fat” is unhealthy, there’s no possible way you can argue that everyone who weighs more than a size 10 is unhealthy so how does the brand make such a generalisation to call them “fatties”(“No Fatties” is A&F’s marketing strategy). Hypothetically speaking, say they all pass for “fat”, is it really in the place of a brand, or anyone for that matter, to say they can’t sell to such people? And who says people who are size 12, 14, 16 e.t.c are not “good looking”?

Finally, I understand that every brand needs a marketing strategy and it is not in my place to question it, but they make it my business(just as it should be yours) when they openly discriminate, objectify and look down on women. As I stated in a previous post, as we slowly break away from racial divides, a different basis of judgement, amongst many, has emerged. Women are now, more than ever, being judged by the size of their bodies, rather than the content of their characters. Such a primitive social structure should not be allowed and people should not remain quiet simply because it does not affect them.

I will not let this drag on any longer, I think I have stressed my point enough.

For something closely related, read my piece on “What size should be promoted?” here.

Source: Elite Daily.

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What Is YOUR Driving Force In Life?

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“You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it fearlessly.” 

~ Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth and Being Free 

My cousin just asked me; "It seems you deeply feel what you write or support, what do you think motivates you or triggers you? Is it an experience you had? Or an ideal you dream of? Or to make sense of life and find purpose. I don't know what I'm asking, perhaps I'm asking you what makes some people active and others passive... Why are some leaders, others followers and yet others neither. I guess, all one can do is theorize... But it all boils down to me again asking, what is your particular driving force?"

I ended up writing her an essay. At first I didn't know what to say, but I think it's a question I needed to answer for myself too. So thank you for asking Achai. I thought it was worth sharing (or maybe not. but either way, it might help one person out there so here goes it)

"Is it an experience you had? Or an ideal you dream of? Or to make sense of life and find purpose."

^^^ All the above. I think we are all born leaders. Some embrace it, others don't. Leadership I think, takes courage, it takes eliminating fear and having a cause. As my friend put it, "when you have a cause, you don't fear". Thing is, it takes hard work, it's a learning curve. You can't speak from mere opinion or just write from mere opinion. You make informed choices, but to do that, you have to refer to the great men that lived before you(wisdom). Read widely and read on all sorts of theories(knowledge). 

Today our generation is blessed, we have the internet. We can travel from just behind our computers, learn a lot, visit places and the best part about it, as yet another friend once put it to me, it is the "cheapest and safest way to travel - the power of browsing". It means taking anything at face value is an option. We don't have to take what we see on the t.v or others' opinions as facts. We have the choice of learning more, and then forming our own judgements. That however is the harder path. To sit and spend hours reading different theories, learning new things, listening to different people instead of watching twerk videos, or posting them for that matter or sitting to watch celebrities and other people to simply judge their lifestyles without any particular message(hating). The latter is the easier option. It's worthless and it doesn't take hard work because judging, is easier than understanding.

I personally don't consider myself a leader(in terms of changing the world leadership), and not a follower either. I'm just that person who thinks/knows life is greater than me and that there's so much more that I don't know. So as I slowly learn, I share that, hoping that someone too can learn from it(or perhaps correct and teach me otherwise).

When it comes to my drive, it is all the lives I could potentially change, simply from the life i'm blessed with. I know change begins with one and if I can lend a voice to someone, give food to another or simply educate someone from the little I know, then why not? After all, life's purpose is unknown, but one thing is certain, if you leave it better than you found it, whatever little or big a difference you've made, then you can say you have done something for humanity. 

And all this, I have learnt from my father. Now he's a leader, no doubt. And for that i'm thankful. Because he's taught me values and principles all the riches in the world can never buy. So I can't say I understand life or my drive precisely, but i've just decided to lead a 'good' life(whatever that means). Do good unto others and just be human. I might err sometimes, but at the end of the day, to err is to man, what matters most is usually the intention behind our mistakes. They should just be that; mistakes. Not self-centred, maliciously driven intents. 

*** I guess my point for sharing this is just to let you all know, we have a choice. Ignorance might be bliss, but it does more harm than good. Have that thirst for knowledge and that thirst to learn, that it actually scares you how insignificantly significant you are in this life(just accept that, it made sense in my head :p) We are ALL born leaders, some just embrace it, while others ignore it. And we are, everyday leaders, sometimes we just don't see it(watch the clip below) So, what is YOUR driving force in life? *** 

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When Life Gives You Lemons, Paint That Sh*t Gold

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"Stop waiting for the money, keep doing your dream and what makes you happy and the money should only be the bonus of your goal, not the goal itself" 

~ Peter Moll 

I was skyping with my sister yesterday when my mom came in and asked me to skype her on her account when I was done with my sister so we could talk. I finished skyping my sister and called my mum and within those few moments, she had received a phone call that changed her jovial mood. 

“Sanna a very bad thing just happened. Uncle Kuol has been killed in South Sudan. They ambushed the car and along with other colleagues, he was killed. We’ll talk later ok?”, she said. 

At this point her webcam was not on but from her breaking voice I could feel her pain and literally hear her wipe away her tears as she told me this crying… I didn’t know what to say. This was my uncle too but my pain was not even half as much the pain she was feeling (still is), from losing a brother. So before she hang up, trying to hold back my own tears, in a low voice I uttered the words “I’m sorry. Love you”. I knew this wouldn’t change anything or help the situation but I had to say something, anything. 

My sister called me back shortly after; “Has mom told you what happened?” she asked me crying. And I told her she had and she went on “Oh my God, I don’t know what to do. Mum is just crying so much and I really don’t know what to do” and she started crying some more. 

I also didn’t know what to do. How do I tell my sister to do that which even I didn’t know how? I wished I were home. I was cursing the distance between us and the fact that I couldn’t be there to help my mom through this time. Then I stopped to ask myself, what more could I have done if I was there? It’s not like I had a magic wand to wipe away all the tears, or make the pain all go away. It is at this point that I realized all we need to do for those who have lost someone dear is just be there for them because they need to be allowed to grieve. 

“Just be there for her. Be strong and don’t cry, be her comfort”, I told my sister. 

Now my sister is one strong person. I am not even half as strong as this girl so I knew she could do it. As for my mom, I know she’ll be okay. She’s the strongest person I know (one day I will tell you guys her story. Nothing like you’ve ever heard). I mean who else do you know that can cook a whole goat all by herself? Lol 

Yeah, I’m actually serious. Back in the day when the Naivasha peace talks for Sudan were ongoing, we’d have visitors come home everyday, and everyday a goat would be slaughtered. I was too young to help (apart from frying the onions) and my dad had to keep the visitors company (though once in a while he’d come in to help cut the meat. haha). So yeah, my mom would be in the kitchen all alone cooking since we didn’t have a house help at that particular time because they all ended up not working out (my mom’s a perfectionist. Some didn’t clean parts of the house, which annoyed her and even after she asked they still didn’t and others would take a couple of things from the house here and there so she preferred to do everything on her own). At the end of the day, all the meat would be served in all kind of dishes on the table right on time. When I say all, I mean ALL! Apart from the parts of the goat like the legs and head which would later make for great soup the next day. Talk of super woman. 

Okay I’m sorry, I drifted away there, but my point is, my mum is ONE HEAVEN OF A WOMAN so I know this too shall pass. Now on to the point of this blog post… 

I was talking to my friend Sam the other day about how men bravely put themselves in harms way just to stand by what they believe in, and he told me this, “when you have a cause, you don’t fear”. Dr. John Garang had a vision for Sudan, and it didn’t matter if it meant living on the edge, he fought for what he believed in, and to this day he is remembered for just that; the man who stood strong and never compromised his principles. My Uncle Kuol Adol, was a Paramount chief of Abyei. Yesterday he died coming from a meeting where it was the Abyei question that was being discussed. He died for a cause, not in vain. Generations to come will remember him for his struggles for the people of South Sudan. They will remember him too, as the man who stood strong and never compromised his principles. 

The difference between men like my uncle Kuol Adol and those like Omar El Bashir, is that men like my uncle, are remembered through out history as men driven by their passion to work for the people. They fight for a free world and fight with integrity. Men like Hitler, are remembered as men who were driven by their passion for power. Morally corrupt men who care nothing about humanity but for power. Omar El Bashir and his forces may have succeeded in taking my Uncles life, but in our hearts, he lives on as the great man he was. Today we curse his death but celebrate the life he lived. Tomorrow, we’ll celebrate Bashir’s death and curse the life he lived. And that ladies and gentlemen, is the difference between great men, and despicable ones. 

My father told me one thing the other day, “Don’t be in a rush for material wealth.” And that “Integrity is the highest of values and principles. You should never be corrupt. Corruption doesn't mean just financially but morally too.” 

These words, held a lot of meaning for me at the time, but today, they hold even deeper meaning. Through my Uncles death, I have learnt that living for a cause is much meaningful than power. Power corrupts, the more that is your goal, the more integrity you lose. I have decided not to be mad and bitter because of this, but paint those lemons handed to me by life, gold. My uncle's death is something I can't change... But how I deal with it and what I learn from it, is something I have total control of. My lesson from all this, is, as my father put it, to never be in a rush for material wealth. Because, that will come in it’s time, but it shall never be my goal. 

My goal in this life shall be to serve people, speak out for the feeble, march for the weak, be the voice for the voiceless and shun immorality. In the words of Charlie Chaplin, “I’m sorry but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible; Jew, Gentile, black men, white…” because “… in this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone” and I know “… the way of life can be free and beautiful”. So I never want to lose that way but instead, bring others to that realisation too. 

Thank you Uncle Kuol Adol firstly, on behalf of Sudan for dedicating your life to liberating your people, and secondly, but definitely not least, for a lesson well taught through the life you lived and may you rest in eternal peace. With much love. xx

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