Rad Geek People's Daily

official state media for a secessionist republic of one

Abercrombie & Fitch Say Sexualization of Children is “Cute and Fun and Sweet”

Here's a pretty old legacy post from the blog archives of Geekery Today; it was written about 22 years ago, in 2002, on the World Wide Web.

Clothing-makers Abercrombie & Fitch are once again in the news for paedophile-chic clothing lines. This time it’s thongs for seven year old girls, imprinted with such cute and fun and sweet slogans as eye candy, sexy, and wink wink.

A&F apparently thinks that it is cute to portray little girls as eroticized future sex objects. However, this is pretty obviously a lie; as usual, they are trying to attract attention to their stupid clothing line by being edgy. The thing that people don’t seem to get is that this kind of shit isn’t even remotely edgy. It’s the same old cultural detritus, repackaged. The quasi-child porn thing was already old when Calvin Klein did it; it was even older when Britney Spears did it; and it’s older than dirt by now. It’s not only not cute, it’s not edgy, either. It’s just also-ran, offensive and stupid.

Take action!

Write a complaint to Abercrombie & Fitch asking them why they think that portraying children as sex objects is cute and fun and sweet, and ask them to pull the line from stores. Public outcry has already forced them to remove their racist caricatures of Asians from stores, and now it’s time to turn up the heat on their paedophile-chic.

  • —Rad Geek

55 replies to Abercrombie & Fitch Say Sexualization of Children is “Cute and Fun and Sweet” Use a feed to Follow replies to this article

  1. Monica /#

    I am sad to say that all of this is very true. I stopped shopping at Abercrombie and alot of my friends have too. I am only 14 and I know the difference between right and wrong. Abercrombie and Fitch needs to be stopped.

  2. Jenny /#

    I agree with Monica, I am no longer shopping there and I am emailing all of this to each and everyone one of my friends. This is very wrong and needs to be stopped. Thongs for little kids is just sick! Fuck you Abercrombie and Fitch makers!!

· April 2003 ·

  1. Serj /#

    Im sick and tired of stuck up white boys wearing abercrombie and fitch! Grow the fuck up!!!! get your own identity, quit trying to be like everyone else DAMMIT!

· July 2003 ·

  1. Andrew /#

    Well I agree that selling thongs to little kids is wrong But,I also think that 85% of it is the parents fault for letting them get it but it is peoples rights to where what the please but it is just sick to sell 8,9,10 year old girls thongs but I still I like that place and will still buy there clothing.

  2. C /#

    In a way im glad they sold thongs to little kids. Hey, whatever it took to grab you by the neck and shake you until you realised that A&F is sick, maniacle, and over-all blows big time.

· August 2003 ·

  1. Z /#

    Who cares?

  2. an ex manager /#

    Everyone who has stopped shopping there is awesome. No one needs to do anything, however to destroy the company, or speak out against it. Abercrombie and Fitch will do it to themselves. Its self destructive behavior.

· October 2003 ·

  1. EL /#

    I never shopped there in the first place. That is so corrupted. I feel bad for the next generation of girls. There’s probably going to be more sluts out there because of this clothing matter that they start wearing at such a young age.

  2. hannah /#

    A&f is perverted, and twisted. I wonder who thought of the idea? sicko…

  3. Reverend Flash /#

    It’s not Abercrombie & Fitch who are perverted; it’s the rest of you for conjuring up all those images in your heads of underage girls in their underwear. Any girl who wears this item will hopefully have clothes on over it; it’s UNDERwear. Nobody’s gonna see it but her! If she is in a situation where she is on public display in only her underwear, then maybe there’s a bigger problem in that girl’s life. I mean, is it okay for a preteen girl to be hanging around adults in only her normal-sized panties? And for the record, I also think “2 Wongs Can Make It White” is an adorable and entirely non-racist saying. Can you all now get off A&F’s back and direct your consumer concerns where they belong, like at Wal-Mart and Exxon, please?

· November 2003 ·

  1. Mollie /#

    you are so weird if you dont like A&F dont shop there there is not need to “stop the store” its your opinion i love A&F and not because it makes me feel sexy its because they have cute clothes that fit me..so if you dont like it go shop at some trashy store like wal mart!

· December 2003 ·

  1. ghdhj /#

    OH yES!!! It is totally acceptable for kids to wear them…and you know…the cute little saying just make them better. NOT!!! It is sick! This is not the only problem A & F has. They discriminate against heavy people and people that are less attractive. They cut their hours or don’t hire them at all. The company is a piece of shit. They hire clueless, snotty people to push their lame ass clothes on people stupid enough to buy them.

  2. mledro /#

    I think if you dont like A&F clothes then dont buy them…and if you are a fat ass stop being jealous of the skinny pretty people! it just sucks for you…and if you are saying A&F only sells for skinny people then why dont we just shut down laine brient for the fatter people because they dont sells clothes for skinny people!

  3. Brittany /#

    Well i love Abercrombie and I wear it regularly. I don’t care if they sell thongs or dildoes I will still wear their clothes b/c I think that they are cute and opionions are like assholes everyone has one. RIGHT?

  4. adam /#

    I really do get sick of it. I HATE walking by that store. It truly amazing my how many people buy into all this shit. All some people want is to be told how to live, act, and be. I think that it is immoral to shop at a store like AF. that person that posted named mollie, i can see all to well exactly what kind of person you are. maybe someday you will see the faults in centering your life around materials and items.

  5. adam /#

    I really do get sick of it. I HATE walking by that store. It truly amazing my how many people buy into all this shit. All some people want is to be told how to live, act, and be. I think that it is immoral to shop at a store like AF. that person that posted named mollie, i can see all to well exactly what kind of person you are. maybe someday you will see the faults in centering your life around materials and items.

  6. Mollie /#

    okay ADAM i dont thnik you can see what kind of person i am, you are just sterio typing me because i like A&F and i dont just center myslef around material idems i have been to many countries to help people less fortunite and i did it all wearing A&F clothes the type of clothes you wear does NOT deturmine the kind of person you are~

  7. Ramen /#

    “so if you dont like it go shop at some trashy store like wal mart!”

    I resent that!

    –A Wal-Mart shopper.

  8. Mollie /#

    well ramen…thats friggen great you shop at wal mart..i dont like it i think it is trashy and gross but its not like im going to make a web site trying to stop people from buying things at wal mart…if you like it great for you if i dont oh well its not like we need to shut down stores cause some people dont like it

— 2004 —

  1. Reverend Flash /#

    There are 7,710 Google returns on the search query ‘”hate Wal-Mart” OR “Wal-Mart sucks”‘. So, please return to your minivan and spare us the Wal-Mart sympathy before we have to sick the deprogrammers on you.

  2. Avril /#

    finally! someone to stand up to abercrombie! great job

— 2005 —

  1. Joy /#

    PEOPLE!! This is REAL LIFE. You’ve gotta be smart in real life. Attractive workers will attract more people to their store. Its better for business, so GET OVER IT. Its not fair for everyone else, but seriously. GET REAL. Life isn’t as “dandy” as you think. You can’t get rid of a store because you don’t fit into their clothes or you think what they’re selling is shitty. Kid thongs? WHO CARES?! You DO realize that a size M in kids is the same as an XS in Victoria’s Secret. Besides, Abercrombie Kids is supposed to be for junior high schoolers, like 13 years old. Its not for 7 year olds. Everyone has their own opinion and their own likes and dislikes. A lot of people love abercrombie, and a lot of people hate it. Just wear what you want to wear.

  2. Apathy /#

    I’m sorry but have we missed the real issue that if a young girl wants to buy a thong, or skimpy clothes of that nature. A store supplying it or not makes no difference. If they want it they cant get it

  3. Nicole /#

    i dont really see why people have such a problem with it because if you dont want your kids to buy it them tell them not to and if they do then thats your problem not A & F’s.There are lots more stores you could be critcizing on. So shut the heck up!!!!!!!??���

  4. Jackie /#

    abercrombie isnt as bad as you guys think.. if you dont want to buy their stuff then dont but other people do.. i love that store and me and my friends wear their clothes all the time, if your not skinny enough to wear their clothes then go to some fat person store, not my fault you ate to many twinkes.

  5. Elyse /#

    Look, I think every one should stop arguing. If you are a parent, it is your job to take care of your own child, and determine what they should wear, like that other person said, ABERCROMBIE IS MEANT FOR PEOPLE 13 AND UP!!!!!!!!!! I wear abercrombie every single day of my life, and those are the only clothes I wear, and ever will wear. Abercrombie os only doing what they do best, selling their clothes. This is America people, and if you want to live here, you have to deal with some things you don’t like, so I suggest you all get use to it. One man’s opinion doesn’t matter to all of America except the president’s, and I think you all know that. Now, I understand I am only one individual, and my opinion may not, and probably doesn’t matter to any of you, but let me tell you this one thing, it’s not people’s fault that some people can afford Abercrombie, and other’s can, and it’s not other people’s fault that they are skinny or not, but I prefer Abercrombie, and that’s the way it will always be.

  6. Justin /#

    Please, who cares if they want to sell thongs to girls. The point of a thong is so your underwear dont show through your pants. Its not like there selling condoms and sex toys to kids. Abecrombie isnt trying to be edgy ether. They are just selling their own style, however similar it might be to past retailers and trends. Abercrombie has broken barriers and I think people should just grow up and stop living under a rock. SEX SELLS! theres no two ways about it.

  7. Loliea /#

    Get over your fucking attitude!! Abercrombie Rox, and if you dont like it the whole world wont stop 4 u, so that u dont have to see the store. And if girls want to buy thongs, theres is absolutley nothing wrong with it, its just a way to keep pantylines from showing through. If you guys dont like it, it shouldnt matter to yall N E wayz cause your not the one wearing it. there R some things that we dont like and some things we do, but if a majority is covering it theres nothing we can do so get over it.

  8. I /#

    Get over your fucking attitude!! Abercrombie Rox, and if you dont like it the whole world wont stop 4 u, so that u dont have to see the store. And if girls want to buy thongs, theres is absolutley nothing wrong with it, its just a way to keep pantylines from showing through. If you guys dont like it, it shouldnt matter to yall N E wayz cause your not the one wearing it. there R some things that we dont like and some things we do, but if a majority is covering it theres nothing we can do so get over it.

  9. Kelsey /#

    i love abercrombie its my fav. store and if you wanna wear it wear it if not then dont whats the big deal ?

  10. des /#

    these people are saying they want to help americas youth by getting rid of their form of self expression and fashion but yet they go on in there post and say FUCK a&f. seriouly now whats up with that?

  11. Faith /#

    What a bunch of materialistic, moronic, idiots you all are. Frankly, it should not matter if you shop at Abercrombie or not, if you like the clothes, you should wear them, if you don’t, you aren’t being forced to. As a few people mentioned earlier, it is the fault of the parents for buying their young daughters racy clothing. I don’t see why your so against a goddamn clothing store! Because in reality, that’s all it is, is a clothing store! Stop worrying about petty matters such as clothing people wear, if you dislike Abercrombie, than don’t endorse it! If you like it, buy their clothes if you please!

  12. of age /#

    This discussion makes my head hurt.

  13. Regina /#

    at my school EVERYONE wears abercrombie. its like in order to get people to like you you have to wear that shit. i think that the only reasons people shop there is cause everyone else does and they want to be cool or cause they wanna feel sexy. selling thongs to seven year olds is gross. there are gonna be ALOT of sluts in the future because of that twisted place. they also discriminate. if you shop there you need to stop acting like a preppy poser and get a life!!!! FUCK ABERCROMBIE!!!!

    If Abercrombie decided breathing was uncool, more than half of the teen population would be dead.

  14. bill /#

    shut the fuck up about abercrombie, its sexxxy. let the girls wear what they want.

  15. Marie /#

    ppl who hate A&F r wierd they need 2 stop trashin ppl who love A&F I wear Abercrombie Kids & A&F thats all I wear every 1 calls me a little rich spoiled girl but I dont give a shit cause thats what I like! I dont mind them selling thongs 2 like 10 yr olds but selling 2 7 yr olds is not so good.But its the parents desision if they want 2 buy it or not! SO STOP tryin 2 shut dowm A&F just cause u hate it!!!! GO shop somewhere else!!!!!

  16. Grace /#

    Wow. You people NEED to get the hell over the fact that Abercrombie is sellling thongs in the childrens store. IF ITS THAT BIG OF A DEAL then DONT FUCKING BUY THE GOD DAMN UNDERWEAR. Your fucking stupid and must not have a life if u have time to make stupid sites about it. HOW LAME. I dont understand what the big deal is. Do u leave your 7 year old child in the mall by themself to go shop for chlothes? If not then that must mean your with them and you can simply tell them “No u cant have it” how hard is that!?? seriously. and if its THAT big of a deal dont fucking shop there period. Quit raising hell with Abercrombie just cuz all u old hags have nothing better to do! Some kids (I have a daughter) who is FOURTEEN! and will be FIFTEEN IN TWO MONTHS and she still shops are abercrombie kids bcuz she’s small so she dosent fit in the junior sizes, therefore she wears thongs and she can buy them. JUST FUCK OFF LOSERS.

  17. linda /#

    Oh people please. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. My two daughters ages 16 and 11 wardrobes are 95% ABERCROMBIE and FITCH. The clothes are neither sexy or slutty but rather comfortable and made well. My younger daughter is so tiny that if it wasnt for a nd f kids she would be shopping in the childrens place where the styles would not be age appropriate for her. I cant believe that people would be in such an uproar over this. Plain and simple if you like the clothes buy them if you dont walk by.

  18. Douchebag /#

    The fact is that all stores are going to create some form of a marketing ploy, this is one of them. Girls think people’s opinion of them varies on what kind of underwear they wear, but I mean they are women. Everyone knows they are walking chemical imbalances and shouldn’t be allowed to spend money in the first place. And if parents actually buy thongs (a piece of string that rides up your asscrack) for little girls, they just suck at parenting.

  19. honestbroker /#

    Sure, there is plenty of parental responsibility that should be inviked. Unfortunately, many parents don’t see any harm in letting their kids buy or wear whatever they want. That’s the easy way out parents. Being a parent is most important and sometimes that means making and standing by unpopular decisions. Hopefully these decisions are for the good of the children. I can’t help but wonder if Grace really is the kind of person she sounds like in her note. Especially the mouth on her, wow! A&F does peddle sex and permissive attitudes to children. There are plenty of parents who don’t let their kids get caught into the trap. Many parents explain to their children that they are individuals and they should celebrate their own self, not be caught up in being like everyone else. A&F simply herds all the kids together.

  20. Anella /#

    Right on radgeek! Thanks for sticking up for the children! I never thought freedom of speech (expression) meant free to exploit and victimize whomever for the sake of money!

    I did try the link you provided to let Abercrombie and Fitch know how I feel, but the url is no longer available. I’ll see about sending them some snail mail if I cannot find a url that works.

  21. Jen /#

    OMG YOU GUYS ARE SO IMMATURE. all store do some inapropetite things, so why take it out on only abercrombie and fitch? You guys need to chill and calm down. It isnt a big deal its just a store. And there is NO WAY you weridos are closing it down!

  22. carley cobb /#

    holy crap, abercrombie is the best store ever. all of you have problems if you seriously think that abercrombie is going to get shut down because a bunch of poor freaks like you all want to stop abercrombie so that you can be in with the style, and not go broke. my name is carley cobb. i go to lime kiln middle school. come and find me if you have something to say about this. i am single and ready to mingle. i try to wear abercrombie i steal it from my sister but it is very expensive. even aerpostale is expensize at times. ok so, if you have to beat me up or something feel free! i also live in maryland.

    POOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SHUT DOWN ABERCROMBIE YOU SUCK BALLIES.

  23. Callie /#

    A&F is my faovorite store ever! Almost all my clothes are from there. Now that I here they are selling thongs to 7 year old girls. It makes me think.

  24. Melissa /#

    I think this whole situation is ridiculous. Who CARES if A&F sells thongs? It’s our fault if we buy them anyway. If people want to buy them, let them. We don’t have any say in what other people want. And for those people who say that Abercrombie is perverted…it’s just a clothing line..what harm could it do? I personally shop at Abercrombie and if you don’t, fine by me..but you don’t need to criticize the people who do. I don’t think thongs for little kids is a good idea in the least but if the idea is as bogus as you say then how long can it last, right? This whole thing will blow over eventually but you’re really not going to stop anybody who wants to buy what they want to.

  25. your name /#

    Eveyone who hate A&F needs to get a life. If you spend so much time paying attention to it you must like it.

— 2006 —

  1. Nick /#

    I like abercrombie. I buy stuff from there all the time. I never knew the truth tho. It makes me think. Im not trying to discriminate anybody, or make myself feel”sexy”, or promote a sexual image about myself…i just liked the clothes. Im not trying to discriminate people of different sizes either. I like the clothes, thats it. I havent put the fact that they used to have porn in their catalogs. It makes me wonder tho,how could a store for outdoor goods like guns and stuff, perfectly normal, turn into a store that promotes sex. Now i wonder if i should still shop there.

  2. Rachel /#

    I have a little sister named Elise and she loves abercrombie- she is 13. It is not racist of meant to be offensive in anyway. They are just clthes- get over it. Abercrombie Kids is just smaller clothes- my sister wears 12 slim. I doesn’t matter what size you are- i have seen numerous people of varied sizes not only working at but buying things from the store. Get off A&Fs back- if you don’t want to shop their don’t, i don’t, and if you do then suite yourself.

  3. Kurt /#

    This is a pretty heated debate about abercrombie, so I thought I could get my two cents in. First of all, thongs for seven year old girls, that is gross and immoral. Why does society have to make our youth grow up so quickly? Who cares is a 7, 8, or 9 year old is in style? Oh, are they going to get a little girlfriend or boyfriend? This is purly ridiculous. For the teenagers, go to abercrombie if you like it, that is your choice. The thing I do not get is why spend $50 for a shirt and $85 for a pair of pants? This is the main reason why I do not shop at abercrombie, because it is way to expensive. They can make their clothes so expensive because they know they have loyal costumers that will return and buy their products no matter what. Now, please do not call me cheap or poor because I am neither. I rather spend (or save) my money for something more important, like college. So, shop where you want, but I won’t be shopping at abercrombie any time soon.

  4. Abbie /#

    i freakinlove A&F. get over it you freakin prude.

  5. Trisha K /#

    I took a look at the underwear, andI must say, it’s CUTE! If I had an 8 year old daughter, I would get it for her, because no daughter of mine would be wearing disgustingly loose, elastic-waist sweats, but rather nice-fitting trousers. And what does that require? A thong that won’t show panty lines. And I would much rather get her the cotton Abercrombie version than some polyester blend at Sears. I think it’s sick your minds even WANDERED to the idea that the panties are meant to sexify young girls. Rather, I would say the little sayings like “wink wink” and “eye candy” allows the girls to be comfortable with themselves, and dare I say their sexuality before they reach preteenagerhood, a miracle in itself. Now I know that I will get bashed for saying that, but maybe you don’t realize that girls who are comfortable with their sexuality are LESS LIKELY TO START FUCKING AT A YOUNG AGE!Parents, abercrombie is not the problem. They simply do not carry slutty clothes, but rather comfortable classics that will last. You want to know what will REALLY prevent your kid from becoming a sexed-up, materialistic halfwit? Turn off the MTV and spend some time with them. Talk to them about your values. Let them know it’s OK to be an individual. Let me use myself as an example: I shop at A&F, and at least 50% of my wardrobe is from there, but I am no conformist. My best friends in the world are goths and emo kids, though I try to be nice to everyone. I prefer to go to an opera or metal concert than some boozed-up frat house party (And not like I haven’t been invited!). I never turn down a good book. I’m a virgin. I put on gallons of sunscreen in fear of losing my un-tan, alabaster skin. Not exactly the stereotypical Abercrombie kid, eh? And about Abercrombie catering only to skinn people, I don’t see waht is so bad about providing fat teenagers incentive to take up Tae Kwon Do and lay off the McDonalds. And I say that as a person who lost 60 pounds because I wanted to shop at stores like that. I went from an 18 to a 6. For the record, I couldn’t find any clothes that fit me at Hot Topic, either. Why should Abercrombie pollute its image with fat slobs? Its mean, a lot of people don’t like it, but its true. Wal-Mart isn’t exactly a “hawt: clothing store because of its association with fat soccer moms (Though I must say it’s a great place to get 5-dollar flip-flops ^-^)

    So there’s my rant. Bash me all you want, try and find me, I could care less. Besides, I used a fake name, unlike that idjit who posted her city and middle school. Hope a pedophile finds you and makes you suck his dick in his basement.

  6. michele /#

    well abbie, i believe that using children to advertise “adult” clothing is simply disgusting, selfish, and ignorant of the next generation’s standards. i have also heard that some of the abercrombie shirts that were meant to be “funny” actually proved to be racist. child nudity, racism, law sutis, the list goes on. i totally agree that abercrombie has some major issues.abbie, we are not the prudes, you are for your ignorance, unsensibility, and lack of concern for the youth of our country. so ha!!! >:)

  7. xxcandie /#

    personally i luv abercrombie, it’s stlyes are so cute and so sexy without being too sexy, i mean i don’t get why people are so worked up over selling thongs, every girl wears them. Their stuff can make you feel so great about yourself.

  8. bubbles /#

    i use to hate AF too, but now i love it. their stuff is the best, i think it’s really cute that they are making thongs for 8 and 9 years old girls. i buy all my clothes from there, the store makes me feel happy everytime i go in there.

— 2007 —

  1. sera /#

    people! we need to start a boycott!!!! aberzombie and bitch most stop!!!

Anticopyright. This was written 2002–2008 by Rad Geek. Feel free to reprint if you like it. This machine kills intellectual monopolists.