OLD NAVY PRIDE
Hello! Welcome to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month, as it has been declared by our fine fine president, Barack Obama master of the Universe. He actually does this every year, like how every year Jesus says that it’s Christmas, or however it is that everyone finds out about Christmas. Santa Claus? The mall? I’m Jewish.
Anyhow there are so many ways to celebrate this fine month of inequality and intolerance and today I’d like to focus on clothing and the businesses that produce clothing!
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“There is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.”
– Milton Friedman, “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits” (1970)
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So — Old Navy, who has yet to construct a pair of pants that fit me, is rolling out Gay Pride t-shirts this year and donating 10% of the profits to the It Gets Better campaign. These shirts aren’t available in every store, however. WHY NOT OLD NAVY? Well, Old Navy says:
While we understand your frustration at the limited numbers of stores that will carry this line of shirts, please know that this is a step in the right direction. With enough positive feedback, it’s possible that we will continue this tradition next year and have the product available in even more locations. Feel free to spread the word and have your friends send their positive requests to expand the availability!
We should take a few seconds to contact Old Navy—at custserv@oldnavy.com or 1-800-OLD-NAVY (1-800-653-6289)—and express our appreciation. There’s also two petitions to encourage the store to put the shirts in more states.
(Not everyone is convinced, however.) In the meantime, while we’re on the topic of clothing, you shouldn’t shop at Urban Outfitters/Anthropologie any more, either. Confusing, right? I mean, they sell shit like this:
But don’t let Keith Haring designed t-shirts or Obama t-shirts confuse you, my dearest Consumers. Urban Outfitters actually isn’t actually on your side, it’s ALL AN ILLUSION:
Even Miley Cyrus joined the online anti-Urban Outfitters chatter last week, pointing out that president and founder Richard Hayne donated $13,150 to the political campaigns of Rick “gay sex leads to man-on-dog love-making” Santorum. She even went so far as to call the retailer “#SHADYASHELL.” Sharp words from the super-chill salvia-smoking teeny-bopper.
The one message uniting blog posts and Tweets aimed at Urban Outfitters is that it’s time to boycott the company and its brands, Anthropologie and Free People.
Richard Hayne
The thing is, despite Urban Outfitters’ hip liberal image, Richard Hayne has always been our enemy. As explained in this 2008 article from thismoney.co.uk: “There is surely a bigger gulf between [owner Richard] Hayne and his customer base than any other High Street retailer.”
Hayne, the billionaire owner/boss who started Urban Outfitters in the 1970s, is described as “a staunch conservative who donates money to Republican politicians, not least Rick Santorum, a now failed Senator whose views on homosexuality are both bizarre and old-fashioned.” Despite the fact that “shopping in Urban makes you feel like you are somewhere radically Left-wing,” you’re actually giving money to someone “..once described as projecting a “Dick Cheney-esque aura of no-nonsense grayflannel gravitas.”
Why have you never even heard of Richard Hayne until um, Miley Cyrus developed an opinion about it?
Well, Hayne apparently doesn’t give interviews “because he’s afraid that college slackers who get to know him will suddenly realise that buying his clothes is like giving cash to George Bush.”
Even in 2008, it was already clear that “Hayne must be the only retailer whose expansion plans depend on no one finding out who he really is.”
Honestly, I’m genuinely surprised. I guess I always imagined Urban was owned by some skinny-jeaned hipsters in a AndyWarholsFactory-style loft, figuring out how to make really cool looking clothes that break after the fourth wash. But nope. Just another rich white guy!
That being said, the CEO of Urban Outfitters is the only openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and it offers domestic partner benefits as well.
(Sidenote I just realized I’m wearing a “Vote ’08” t-shirt with a donkey on it that I bought at Urban Outfitters right now as I write this. So there you go.)
Anyhow — so where does this put us, the homogay Consumers of America/The World? Bottom line is Republicans usually offer more protection for the wealthiest 1% and more perks for giant corporations than Democrats ever will. (Those protections/perks are, in my opinion, fundamentally unethical, but that’s another story for another day/writer.) However, for companies seeking to maintain a brand identity which encompasses liberal social ideals like being pro-gay-marriage, donating to a candidate with that ideology can serve to reinforce that brand identity and help their overall bottom line and corporate code of ethics moreso than a Republican’s financial policy might help their business.
So, we can’t shop at American Apparel because Dov Charney sexually harassed his employees and uses objectifying child-porn-esque photos for its ad campaigns. We can’t shop at Target because they gave money to an anti-gay candidate. We can’t shop at Wal-Mart because absolutely everything they do is evil in about 56 different ways. (Seriously though — don’t shop at Wal-Mart.) We shouldn’t shop at Forever 21, either. Also, don’t eat at Chik-Fil-A.
Now we can’t shop at Urban Outfitters, too?
Here’s the thing — do we honestly expect corporations to be bastions of morality and ethical behavior? These companies didn’t grow by sticking up for the rights of marginalized people, they grew because they knew how to make lots of money.
A quick search around opensecrets.org will reveal that nearly every major retailer has, at some point, donated to anti-choice and/or anti-gay candidates. In addition to supporting large numbers of pro-equality & pro-choice candidates and once upon a time employing yours truly, Gap Inc, which owns Old Navy, also donated to Roy Blunt, a pro-life/anti-choice Republican candidate for senate. On the flip side, Urban Outfitters is one of the top 100 donators to Patrick Murphy, a Democratic candidate also supported by the Human Rights Campaign and NARAL.
If you’re shopping at any store owned by a major corporation, chances are good that you’re unwittingly funneling some money towards candidates and issues you oppose with every fiber of your being.
This is a given. Welcome to America! Simply by supporting corporations at all — which at the very least wipe out small businesses and often make us very vulnerable to a Big Brother media takeover — you’re already supporting something unethical.
I do feel bad about shopping at Target — and I SHOULD. I don’t celebrate Target. I don’t embrace Target or want a Target shopping bag visible on my person. I feel TERRIBLE about shopping at Barnes & Noble, and I should! It doesn’t stop me from shopping there, but that guilt exists. Perhaps one day when i’m rich like Miley, I can afford to shop elsewhere. But in the meantime I just accept that this kind of guilt is, for better and for worse, part of American life.
So what CAN we do? What should we do? What do you do? You should buy one of those Old Navy t-shirts btw, for starters.
[Oh, here’s a t-shirt you can buy at Urban Outfitters and send to Richard Hayne:]
Urban Outfitters is overpriced anyway. Plus, I’m not that cool to begin with. This is an easy call. Now Target or Walmart’s bargains and convenience? Very difficult to resist.
It’s very true that most corporations will have donated to something you disagree with. And thanks to Citizens United, they can funnel unlimited donations to a 501(c)(4) and you may not even know! It’s not uncommon to see a special interest donate to BOTH candidates in a single race because they want favors from both of them. That’s just reality. But I think there’s a difference between corporations who make political donations as part of their business investment and those who do it to advance a political agenda. Maybe that’s a silly distinction, but I still think we can make choices… I’ll choose Papa John’s over Domino’s anyday because of their politics. (Even though Papa John’s garlic dip… mmm.)
I always thought Miley Cyrus was sort of a dumbass. The only time I ever heard about her, she was getting caught smoking bongs, posing naked with her dad or making fun of Asians. Maybe she’s kind of awesome? Dunno. Either way, thanks for the heads up, Miley. Maybe you are cool.
I’d like to get an Old Navy shirt. In fact, I emailed my mom to see if she’d get me one before they’re gone. The closest city to me is Chicago (where I read that they’re available…) but I’m not paying the tolls (or the parking fees…yikes) to get there. Blargh.
Trying to figure out which Old Navy locations even have these shirts is ridiculous. It’s like they’re afraid to admit it, even though it was their idea. Weird.
+20 for Miley Cyrus. I had no idea she was on our side so vocally.
Luckily, most of those stores listed aren’t ones on my “omigodloveit” list. I will now be more wary of Forever 21, but I hate 98% of the clothes they sell, so, my conscience is clear.
How the hell a teenage, Disney girl from Tennessee ended up so open-minded and vocally supportive of gay rights, I’ll never know. But at least it gives me some kind of justification for why I’m going to see her in concert next month….. (BECAUSE SHE’S AWESOME AND I’M 23 AND HEART MILEY CYRUS OKAY STOP JUDGING ME)
miley cyrus has like two songs that can make me yell “DUDE THIS MY JAM!”
that is a lot. most artists don’t even have one.
and i’m 22.
who owns my heart– bisexual anthem.
BOOM.
I bought The Hannah Montana Movie (I didn’t buy it, I got given it for Christmas..because I asked for it) I’m slightly ashamed of that…but I’m only 17 so maybe that’s acceptable?
No.
I’m a secret Miley fan, being of fan of hers would totally blow away my coolness. haha jk
No but I remember that she actually deleted her twitter because she supported gay rights then started getting loads of hate mail. This just makes me like her more.
like 90% of my clothes are from old navy, i am not ashamed.
i actually spent significant time reading about the old navy shirts thing and their marketing team kind of fails on this one. on the facebook page for it every 2 comments are asking for them to be available online WHICH MAKES SENSE. 26 stores out of like 1000 is really….selective. THEN, all the gay haters out there are like “well im not shopping at old navy any more” because apparently 1 rainbow shirt offends them during LGBT month.
tl;dr:
people want it, but cant get it
people who hate gays dont want to shop at old navy now
i still love you old navy, and your v-neck sales.
wait, they’re not online? Sheesh, I had figured they would at least be online for those people that don’t live anymore near one of the few stores actually selling them.
yeah itd be common sense right?
In my younger, craftier, more free time days, I tried my damnedest to shop the corporate clothing stores as little as possible. I made a lot of really neat and nerdy shirts that everyone envied. I wish I always had the time and resources to make my own stuff. There’s a point though when you do realize that “doing the right thing” in terms of shopping is difficult beyond measure and at times an impossibility. Like you, I’ve accepted the guilt, and I’ve decided that if I can minimize the support I give these corporations, then that’s at least something. “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits” pretty much states it like it is and describes the “American way” to a T.
As an aside, I’ve never shopped at Urban Outfitters. The clientele exiting the store as I’ve walked by always looked a little douchey, which I found off-putting. Maybe I missed out? Because the shirts I’m seeing in this post are kinda fun. Or maybe I didn’t miss out, because Richard Hayne looks like a Grade A Weirdo.
Reminds me of the 30 Rock episode when Liz Lemon finds awesome jeans at this store but it turns out the store is “evil”.
http://tv.gawker.com/5687996/30-rock-mocks-the-fauxhemian-fashion-trend
I’d buy an Old Navy pride shirt if they have a design I like. Their graphic tees don’t impress me.
Lastly, which company do you buy the AS T-shirts from? Are they gay-friendly? Or else controversy later on!
Oh man, I’d forgotten about that 30 Rock ep. Lesbian Mario Bros.!
I’m pleasantly surprised by Miley’s comments! Maybe she’s actually starting to grow up?! O_o
Also, I work at B&N… :( Oh the guilt!
But not forever! I refuse! Damn corporations… they leave no other options for poor college kids.
Only time I’ve worn Urban Outfitters clothing would be hand me downs when I was in 6th grade I believe. Never shop there. Unfortunately forever21 has been the only place I can find jeans that fit perfectly, and I have a $30 giftcard for it that I got from my sister for Christmas and haven’t used. (My sister gets me giftcards to there because she thinks I need to be more feminine).
Only reason I used to shop at forever21 was for ‘nicer’ clothing. (I say nicer meaning I could wear them for semi formal occasions). And I’ve given up buying those because I get paint on them/ they’ll be ruined in daily wearings, my guy shorts & hoard of v-necks are way more comfortable, too revealing/ I will blind people with that much of my paleness showing, I can’t dance in them (you can’t breakdance in them without accidentally flashing the bboys around you & restricted movements).
Most of my clothing from target, forever21, or old navy is over a year old (yay for staying relatively the same size since late 7th grade) or hand me downs. Everything else is from the guys section at kohls. Also have clothing from my oldest sister: hand me downs (West Point cadet issued clothing & track/ training clothing), & hoodies.
Oh no, I just bought I $60 camera at Urban Outfitter. It is so cute… (limited edition Alice in Wonderland Mini Diana). There is no way people can sell adorable lomo-gear and be anti-gay at the same time.
(Anyway, 95% of their employees are gay. right?)
Cheap, unique, environmentally friendly, often supports employees with disabilities or other issues getting into the job market (Arc, Goodwill, etc.)…and if nothing else, you can find some pretty epic neon/sequin/spandex accessories for your next crazy dance party
This.
I don’t expect large corporations or retailers to support my values so I try not to support them when I can avoid it!
I tend to buy at second hand stores exclusively and I have a pretty fantastic wardrobe. I also have a Legalize Gay t shirt, that I bought from the HRC. I’d rather give them my money than American Apparel any day.
For things like books paperback swap is awesome. So are libraries.
STEAL ERRYTHANG.
PLUS ONE
PLUS TWO
JUST BE NAKED!
I am not opposed to political nudity!
LIBERATE
Fashion advice and musings from a stunning queer anarchist mansy.
http://boulevardier4eva.wordpress.com/
Other ideas for a (relatively) guilt-free wardrobe:
-Organize some free boutiques and free boxes in your community!
ALSO!
-If you buy stuff, buy at a locally-owned consignment shop. Often the big chain ones (Value Village, Bibles for Missions) have messed up associations. example: I went to my local consignment shop and told one of the workers I was picking out an outfit for the Feminist Porn Awards. She told me it sounded like something her daughter would go to and found a snappy as fuck outfit for me. I’m eternally grateful.
-Fair Trade certification is still not an ideal measure of awesomeness, but it’s a safer bet than, ya know, anything at Walmart.
-Ask a local union where they order apparel from! Parent/friend/partner may be unionized and can hook you up with some contact info.
aaahh i was thinking the same thing!! i really, really needed this cute hat for Coachella, but i couldn’t bring myself to spend $$ at Target, so i justified it to myself by shoplifting a really cute necklace that i now like more than my hat. but i then felt guilty so i haven’t been back since.
when my friends ask me why i won’t shop at Target anymore, I tell them “I DO NOT BUY CLOTHES WHERE I CAN ALSO BUY CEREAL.”
Make it sound un-classy, & even super conservative bitches will listen.
You guys, this UO thing reminds me of that episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? where the kids find a magical factory filled with free toys and games but then they find out that the factory is *evil* and run by sinister aliens with *no faces.*
I LOVE that episode, one of the creepiest imo.
I gotta say, I’m kind of surprised that this is the first you’ve heard of the UO/Anthropologie/Free People and Richard Hayne connection. Good job Miley Cyrus, I guess, for educating people about important things? Did I really just type that sentence?
I’m really tired right now and I just took some cough medicine to stop coughing so maybe this doesn’t make sense but I honestly don’t understand:
Why shouldn’t we attempt to hold corporations and businesses to higher standards?
I mean, we as a culture and as individuals should hopefully be past the stage of assuming that companies actually do have our backs, but just because Milton Friedman (EUNGH Chicago School of Economics! Gah! So much frustration!) says that businesses have no moral responsibility to do anything but make money doesn’t mean that is so or that it has to be so or that the Chicago School of econ is law, and it doesn’t preclude consumers attempting to pressure/actually pressuring corporations to Do The Right Thing. Somehow the attitude that ‘if everyone has done it it must be inevitable’ doesn’t seem particularly useful, however realistic.
SO MANY FEELINGS, SO MUCH COUGH SYRUP FOG.
Also, mostly not related: there is a lot to the UO/copying the necklace story that Ms. Cyrus is referencing; the most measured commentary I’ve read on the story can be found, surprisingly, here: http://www.regretsy.com/2011/05/27/urban-outrage/
This is a good comment, and you should feel good.
I’m not surprised that April hit the nail on the head as well as she did. She might be snarky as all hell, but she’s also crazy smart.
Thanks, Riese, for this article. It IS complicated to live in the world today, and I am of the belief that it is not about being purists persay, but about a) always asking the question: does this make me or other people stronger better humans or not? and if not, b)is there an alternative right now o9r for next time that will? And how can there be alternatives unless we make them ourselves, or support them when we do find them?
Granted, to be a little freer to pay more for locally grown or produced food/stuff means having a little more than the bare minimum, so one has to be realistic. But I think the big discounters are cheap at the consumer level, but actually creating a toxic global community. They entrance us with their ‘good’ cheap stuff (I too, know the feeling of that high at Target) en masse. But what a different feeling to buy a tank top from Autostraddle.
I also eat at a cafe owned by friends, where the food costs more cuz it’s all organic or local or fresh. And you know what they also have there?
They have a jar with cash in it, and a sign over that jar that says: MONEY: Take some, leave some. And a book to record withdrawals and deposits. You can take up to 15% out of the jar. 10% will be donated to local cultural initiatives. It’s like a free bank. That’s the kind of stuff we could be doing with our money.
Look at what happened to Autostraddle! 20 grand in a blink? There is SOOO much more culture-shaping stuff we could do with money.
When in doubt, give your gift money at the beginning of the month and not at the end, when you bought everything you thought you needed. You probably needed half of it at most, you were just bored. At least that’s what happens to me.
Don’t be too sad if Old Navy doesn’t make pants that fit you, Riese, they get all stretched out and weird after a few washes.
In other news, I am now able to claim that I am voting with my dollar by not wearing Urban Outfitters, when in reality I am nowhere cool enough for UO clothing in the first place.
they are too short and have too much room for my barely-existent hips!
urban outfitters has a nice sale rack
Thanks for this article — it puts a lot of things in perspective. I certainly don’t expect corporations to be bastions of sweetness and light, but I do expect that when they make a big deal out of supporting a community, they actually do what they claim to be doing. To me, choosing to sell gay pride shirts in less than 3% of their stores sends the message that love and equality are only marketable in “select locations” — and that gay people in small-town America aren’t ready to “Love Proudly” yet.
I’m the originator of one of the petitions linked to in the Queerty article. I wrote it to thank Old Navy for taking a positive first step, but to let them know that the rest of the us are ready to love proudly too, and they should make their shirts available in all locations and online. I don’t honestly expect it will happen this year — as someone wisely pointed out the me, the manufacturing is probably a done deal — but I hope it will convince them to go all-out next year.
If you have a moment, consider signing and sharing my petition. Every signature sends an email straight to Old Navy’s customer service department, PR rep, and the CEO of Gap Inc. http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-old-navy-support-pride-in-all-50-states Thanks!
can autostraddle just make a list of places we’re allowed to shop? or at least make a commune where we can grow our own food/make our own clothes? because this is getting ridiculous.
and i know there are lists somewhere on the internet, but i’m lazy. and anything the internet can do, autostraddle does better.
I just mistakenly read “make our own food/grow our own clothes”
I was like
BOYSHORTS ORCHARD RIGHT NOW
I wish it weren’t 3:30 AM. There’s a Fruit of the Loom joke waiting to be made but I’m way too tired to think of it. :(
http://www.hrc.org/buyersguide2011/
i’m going to try to diy everything. i mean fo’real.
<3 http://lifehacker.com/5752803/super-simple-screen-printing-makes-custom-prints-a-snap
I stole from American Apparel once. Those fingerless gloves are pretty hip.
Yes, steal shit. XD
It’s arguably just as ethical to steal from WalMart as it is to pay for their products. Corporations of that size have so much insurance that they can’t argue that shoplifting even impacts the prices or their employees’ wages, which they are committed to suppressing anyway. I would never steal from an independent or smaller sized store but I would totally rip off shit from WalMart if I had the guts.
I don’t know if anyone’s ever seen The Corporation (woo documentaries!) but that film literally checked off every characteristic of a corporation that conforms to the definition of a psychopath. I have since given up hope that corporations will ever have an ounce of morality.
yes that’s how i felt after seeing wal-mart: the high cost of low prices
Wow, go Miley! :D
I am (mostly) wildly successful at not shopping at Target, Urban/Free People/Anthro, and 100% successful at never ever shopping American Apparel, Forever 21 and its bastard children stores, or Wal-Mart. Oh, and Aerie/American Eagle Outfitters (even though I bought one of their dreamy bras before knowing that they were evil).
We’ve boycotted Best Buy for long stretches of time, and are forever adding companies / business to our joint shit list in time increments (3 month, 6 month, year- and 10-year bans).
Not to be smug, but because as soon as I’m aware of shittiness, I feel shitty like a STAIN ON MY CORE BEING if I shop the offender anyway.
PS. People from TN will shock you with their stealthy awesome.
PPS. If I found out that Asos was in some way mega-evil I would be sooooooooooooooooooooooo fucking sad, but I would stop shopping there, too. Whatever. My gay bucks, eh?
Urban Outfitters/Anthropologie is a difficult one for me. These days, I don’t shop there because I’m poor, but damn, I really loved their clothes and, even more so, their quirky book collection.
I even wrote an editorial in high school supporting my hometown’s branch of it when our local Morals ‘n’ Values Ultra-Conservative Brigade made a big push to get all the books on drugs and sex removed.
With regard to shopping at Etsy, Lady Gaga (Queen/God of the gays)has teamed-up with them for something…so I guess that place is now ours more than ever.
She teamed up with Etsy and is promoting the sale of some posters for $400+. Yeouch. I mean it goes to a good cause, right so that’s something.
I’m a little over LGG.
Etsy’s not exactly clean-handed, either. They say they’re for handmade and vintage goods only, but resellers pop up on there CONSTANTLY and they refuse to do anything about it. It’s pretty well-documented on Regretsy: http://www.regretsy.com/category/not-remotely-handmade/ http://www.regretsy.com/category/compare-and-save/
Of course, most of your purchase on Etsy would be going to the actual person who made the things (assuming you’re careful and don’t buy from resellers)… but still.
(That being said, I still buy from Etsy.)
Please note that the CEO of URBN is an openly Gay man who supports Gay and Democratic causes. There are gay people (like myself) at all levels.
This is pretty unique among Fortune500 companies.
I have moved to Asheville, N C a wauy cool place to be. Once lived in San Fran, the Corp connec,ion capitalmof the world. I now shop at Goodwill and other second hand . Perfect fit, Do It !
bahhh milton friedman, f that
There’s just too much crazy in trying to avoid every retailer who ever did anything anti-gay. I don’t want to have to stop and check Google each time before I set foot inside a store, and I don’t want to drive ten miles for something I can get two blocks away. If there is a Pride shirt to be had at an Old Navy near me, I’m buying it. The fact that Old Navy is doing this at all, to me, is a sign of hope. That they’re donating even part of the proceeds to It Gets Better is awesome. We scream we want the mainstream to accept us, and the minute some mainstream corporation takes a step in our direction, we yell “exploitation!” We can’t have it both ways. All retailers are out to make a buck from whatever demographic their product is aimed at. Therefore, Pride shirts, aimed at gay and gay-friendly people, are targeted at our wallets. Welcome to mainstream acceptance. Be happy about it. This is a good thing.
I struggle with this concept of moral consumerism daily. Does anyone know of a site that lists all the good guys? The few, if any, that don’t hate on teh gheys? Just don’t anyone tell me that Zara is evil. I couldn’t handle that. They are the only ones who make my perfect tiny pants.
Why Are We Still Expecting Rich Corporations to Like Gays More Than Money?
*Corporations love money more than they hate anyone*
The Urban Outfitters founder may hate gays but when we became a target market it was suddenly worth it to print pro gay shirts that are totally antithetical to his hateful values. And we aren’t the only vilified minority targeted like this; how else could there be a Fox news latino? Racist American record companies throughout history have caved and signed black artists when it occurred to them that they could make a ton of cash of them, even in the days of strict segregation.
I wish I could shop exclusively at ModCloth and Etsy and awesome local boutiques, but most of my clothing is many years old and falling apart and I’m never going to make that kind of money. I’ve been trying to eliminate companies from my personal shopping list when I find out their ethical issues, and this post really sums up why it’s been so exhausting. My budget is already constrained to the Forever 21/Target sale rack level and those were eliminated.
I keep trying to find anything that I like/looks decent/work-appropriate at Goodwill and Kohl’s (when they have sales), and just…failing. I want to feel pretty or like a professional adult, and just keep looking as threadbare as I feel.
Anthropologie! I mean, it’s not like I could afford it anyway… and I’m already sick of Urban Outfitters.
I keep saying I want to shop almost exclusively at Forever 21 because they are SO cheap. Uh-oh.
What’s wrong with Barnes & Noble? Did they do something bad in particular or are they just A Chain Bookstore? I just bought Huntress by Malinda Lo from them, where it was prominently displayed on the Teen Paranormal Romance shelf along with Vampire Diaries/Meg Cabot stuff/whatever.
it’s just that they’re a chain bookstore wiping out the independents. this is scary because this positions B&N to literally determine what everybody reads — the future of your book depends highly on B&N table placement. If you think about this in the long term, that’s a pretty easy way to sell a certain agenda to the entire American public, which to me is frightening. But I don’t know of anything evil that they do besides existing.
I love Miley. I love how she is so supportive of the LGBT community and yes, I do like some of her songs. I’d rather kids listen to “My Heart Beats for Love” than “She gave him everything she had” ala Taylor Swift. Which reminds me…the other day I was listening to a few of her (Miley’s) songs, and I was like, why is it that when I listen to ‘Want Me Back’ or ‘Why Did He Leave Me?’ (they’re not titles just subjects of the songs) song by Miley she comes across as empowered in the song both vocally and story-wise but when I listen to a Taylor Swift song on the same subject/s, Taylor comes across as utterly pathetic? Seriously? Is it the husky voice of Miley that does it for me? Surely not?
I’m lucky enough to live in a small college town, which = excellent thrift shopping. My broke ass can buy decent brands secondhand, with all proceeds going to the SPCA <3
So I spent a long time trying to figure out whether an Old Navy in my area had these pride shirts, but according to their facebook thingy there was one in my area (Tysons for all you DC peoples).
Took the trouble to go out there and they totally didn’t have them. I still want a rainbow shirt, but its annoying that they said that store would have them and they didn’t. Did I miss something?
I live in Hawaii and I went to Ala Moana and they weren’t there. I asked the guy there and he said they’ll be in on June 6 which seems kind of pointless cause Honolulu Pride is this Saturday two days earlier…so it may be that they are only in stores from June 6 onwards.
This probably makes me a bad gay, but I honestly have way more of a problem with the fact most of these companies have appalling labour practices with respect to the manufacturing of their clothes (poor conditions, minimal pay, no unions allowed etc), than the fact they have donated to anti-gay causes. Also the fact that most companies have donated to both pro life/anti gay and pro choice/pro equality makes me think it’s probably some sort of tax thing and they couldn’t give a shit who they’re giving money to.
Word.
I don’t think it makes you a bad gay, I think it makes you a good person. :)
I’m taking the donation thing with a grain of salt as well…I think they donate to candidates that will serve their interests. Sometimes corporations donate to both sides to cover all their bases. That’s politics.
It’s interesting that, as a journalist, you fail to mention the fact that Urban Outfitters is the ONLY Fortune 1,000 company with an openly gay CEO.
but i once went to urban outfitters and a cute gay girl who was working there smiled at me.. what’s up with that?!
i actually work at urban outfitters. our CEO is the only openly gay man to run a Fortune 500 company. while the personal views of the owner may be what they are, and i’m by no means defending them, trust me. but the company itself is the most liberal place i’ve ever worked. they give us domestic partnership benefits, which i’ve never, ever had before.
i’m not trying to justify his political views or anything like that. i’m just saying that people don’t know the whole story. the company is actually extremely gay friendly. i’m sitting in our offices right now. i can reach out my left hand and point to at least 5 openly gay people sitting within 10 feet of me at this very moment.
i just wish they’d present both sides of the story truthfully.
i applaud everyone who gets that it IS worthwhile to do your best to avoid shopping at large corporations…and even more applause for those who let that knowledge dictate their purchasing decisions.
it is not necessarily about cost….i only buy things from local independent businesses, am broke as fuck, and still manage to look semi-decent. its really about need. you can certainly afford a more expensive tshirt from a hip local boutique if you don’t spend as much money on shit you don’t really want or need.
thanks for the article.
I went to Old Navy on 34th St in Manhattan just now in search of these shirts. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. I couldn’t find them on the women’s floor so asked an employee if they had them & he said they’d only gotten a very few, around 40, and they were on a counter right by the cash registers. Found them, picked up two for my wife & I, then went upstairs to the kids’ floor to find one for my daughter. Didn’t see them on the kids’ floor either, asked another employee, and was told they were BEHIND the cash wrap. (Also they’d only gotten baby/toddler sizes, not bigger kids. Apparently it’s only cute for you to dress your kid in a pride shirt if they are under the age of 5.) So I got in line & hoped they had my daughter’s size because if not I would’ve just stood in line for nothing since it’s only cute if the 2-year-old has one too.
They did have her size so I did buy the 3 shirts, but this is a huge merchandising fail. I appreciate what Old Navy is trying to do by offering these shirts, which is why I still bought them, but a customer would have to know these shirts exist & be specifically looking for them (& probably ask an employee) to ever find them in the store. Would it have killed them to put the pride shirts on the table in front next to the 12,000 4th of July flag shirts so a casual shopper might find them? Or at least put one a mannequin on the separate table so it’s visible while walking the floor? Or put the baby ones SOMEWHERE actually on the floor & not behind the registers?
It actually would’ve made the most sense for them to sell these online, that way everyone who wants them could easily get them.
I’m still really happy that your family is now certifiably 75% cute. And I’m sure the shirtless child looks cute too.
…wait, that did NOT come out right.
:P
BOO OLD NAVY. SELL THEM ONLINE!
um buy used clothes? and the occasional splurge at a local boutique? even if there isn’t a problem with a company donating buckets of money to hatehatehate, then usually those huge companies buy sweatshop labor produced goods as well… but it’s definitely difficult to act one percent according to one’s morals all the time, i ain’t perfect.
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