AIB

Ashlee Brophy 

Essay 4

Section 06

Comparison/contrast

A & F ‘Beauty’

                I have shopped at Abercrombie and Fitch for a few years, and never had an issue with the stores employees until my recent experience. I never realized how discriminatory A & F was in choosing who they hire to work at their store. I occasionally noticed their strict policy and dress code, but I never thought of looking as far as racism.

               I frequently shop at A & F, so I occasionally notice how some of their employees treat their customers and potential applicants. I experienced an incident around four months ago when a young person of color came into the store for an application. I was standing in the jean section of Abercrombie as she walked in. Looking at her body language, it seemed like she was on a mission to find a store associate. Five minutes later, I heard her and the employee talking about hiring possibilities and applications. The young girl had asked the associate if they were hiring, but to her dismay, she replied “I’m sorry, but we are not hiring at this time.” I felt bad for her because she seemed very excited to possibly have an opportunity to work there.

             Not long after the person of color spoke to the associate about the job, another girl walked in whom also looked like she was in there for the same reason. Instead, this time it was a young Caucasian girl who wanted to ask for an application. She ended up speaking to the same associate as the other girl, so I was expecting the same polite answer of “We’re not hiring at the time,” but that is not what occurred. I noticed the store associate paused and looked around the store for a minute; then, a second later replied, “Let me get you an application.” I couldn’t believe what had happened right in front of me. I was astonished how she bluntly discarded the young person of color’s offer to get an application when ten minutes later she offered one to another girl of her own race. At that moment, the store associate was discriminating against the young girl because she was of another race. I also thought she was being classified into a certain group of people who shouldn’t be allowed to work in their environment. She wasn’t looking at the person of color as a potential co-worker or customer; it was as if she was looking at her as not fitting A & F’s standards and qualifications. 

              After this racial incident, I now look at Abercrombie in a different way.  It makes me think of how many girls may be let down from working there just because of their race. I find it upsetting and unfair to the girls who want a fair chance at working at A & F. Everyone should be treated equally and given the same opportunities, no matter what ethnicity. Potential applicants shouldn’t have to deal with the store associates being judgmental and prejudice against them because they feel they don’t live up to the standards of ‘beautiful.’