in the asian-american community, there is a huge issue concerning the matter over t-shirts from abercrombie and fitch.

from cnn.com:
"The shirts, which retail for $25, hit the shelves this week and carry caricatures of slant-eyed Asians in conical hats along with such slogans as "WONG BROTHERS LAUNDRY SERVICE: TWO WONGS CAN MAKE IT WHITE" and "WOK-N-BOWL -- CHINESE FOOD AND BOWLING." ... Asian-American groups in California reacted with anger this week after the shirts appeared in local Abercrombie stores, with local activists saying their cartoonish representation of Asian figures carried a racist message."
http://www.cnn.com/2002/BUSINESS/asia/04/19/sanfran.abercrombie.reut/index.html (interesting how this is under the "asia" section of cnn when it's really in san francisco)

there have been protests and boycotts over this issue, calling it "racism."

actually i thought it was pretty clever - and thinking about it, the Chinese did own several laundromats when they first started out in San Francisco and STILL do. if i were marketing my laundromat, that would be a very clever tagline - only if my last name was wong, of course. the drawings show the two Wongs as slanty eyed men wearing the rice-paddy umbrella hats.

i can't decide if this is really racist - stereotyping maybe - but i am not sure about racist. everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and abercrombie did mean well. they marketed these shirts with the intent of appealing to asian americans. however, this was not a wise move. they should have known that this could be considered offensive to some or many, doesn't matter how many really, and never approve the project. abercrombie is based in New Albany, Ohio, and i would really like to see how many asians live there.

i remember interviewing for abercrombie during recruiting. the recruiter was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. i was wearing a full blown black suit and tie. we talked for a total of 6 minutes. the recruiter told me, "well, i saw on your resume that you have a tennis background and wanted to just see... well.. just wanted to meet you." basically, she was judging my looks as an 'abercrombie' type. did not ask a single question about my experience, my future, my education, nada. just wanted to see what i looked like. i know that's illegal, and i know i should be enraged, but i don't really care. they want to carry a jock image in their stores, and i definitely do not look like a jock. i know this because when i interned at nielsen//netratings, i would meet coworkers and they would assume i was in engineering, when i was actually in product marketing. also when i play softball, i'm always benched or rotating with someone else every other inning while everyone else keeps their position every inning. gosh, i'm such a loser. in any case, i'm the last person that should be wearing abercrombie, but oh well. maybe i'll stop because i've been wearing abercrombie the past... oh.... 9 years?

but in all honesty, i do love abercrombie and fitch clothes. right this moment, i am wearing an AF jacket, AF button down shirt, and an AF t-shirt. i've always worn abercrombie, and when i started going to college, people were like "what's abercrombie and fitch?" but since this controversy has triggered some thoughts within me, who knows what i'll do next. maybe i'll start wearing white t-shirts or wife-beaters. with kenneth cole shoes. and get a rice rocket.