Posted by Sam Richards
This is rather troubling story and all the worse because this young woman was hired with the agreement that she would be wearing her head scarf while at work. While we haven’t heard from the company spokespeople, aside from the letter from which they quoted in the story, it doesn’t seem as though this fired employee was not doing her job. Hmm…
Come on Abercrombie & Fitch are you kidding me? After seeing this video I doubt I will ever shop there or Hollister. For a company who says they are committed to leveraging diversity this right here is a big step back, and is really showing the kind of company they are. For a girl who was working there to be told not to wear her hijab which is a religious practice is crazy. After watching this video I am just sitting here in shock, to see a company like Abercrombie & Fitch pulling a stunt on minorities such as Muslims, and even in the past to people of color shows the kind of company they really are which is a racist company. If they only want white people working for them put a sign up in the store, or put it on the application that we prefer white people, and all the minorities will understand, no need for them to come out with false statements stating they want to please their communities, which community are they talking about the Muslim community, the colored community? Neither the only community they are talking about is their own the white community. This article builds anger in me, to discriminate on someone because they are following their religion, or because they are not the skin color you are accustomed to is racism to its fullest level. People should take a stand and let companies like Abercrombie & Fitch know that they are not going to support a company like them who discriminates against different races and cultures.
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dabusiness Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
I completely agree with this statement because I feel just as shocked and disgusted. It is embarrassing that this company that is so popular with American teens and in some ways represents our style and country would discriminate in such an obvious manner. It seems as if the manager did not even try to blame the firing on something else, saying the reason for unemployment was the hijab. If she was told at the beginning of her working experience that she could wear her hijab in certain colors, then that is what she is allowed to do. We need to become more accepting to other cultures.
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Furrbaybay Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
I agree too. This is pretty damn shocking that the company that is probably one of the most representing of our generation is practically throwing out an entire culture. I wouldn't be surprised if their profits go down in the coming months after this incident. But the thing that surprises me most is the fact that they threw out a woman for such a stereotypical item. If you lined up all the stereotypes in order of most used, I would think this would be one of the ones at the top. I would think she would be able to get quite the reimbursement if she took this to court. It is terrible that people of a different culture have to worry about this kind of thing when applying for a job. I couldn't imagine changing my look or my attitude just to maintain a living. Even still, if a company as a whole felt that way about my way of life, I would not want to work for them anyways. I would find a completely different job with people who actually respected me. This is definatley going to make me think twice before walking into this store and purchasing something from this company.
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I was pretty appalled after watching this video. During middle school and high school I used to be love these stores like Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch. However, I began to realize how overpriced some of the things were, because you were basically paying for the label. I figured out that you could find the same quality of clothing for a much cheaper price, just with out the little moose or eagle symbol. I defiantly began to notice that they only hire the prettiest skinniest males or females that wear all of their clothes, have their hair the right way, and just fir their "look". I think that part of that is because many of the time they will hand select their employees by personally asking males and females that fit their exact style, that are customers in their store if they would like a job. I do not understand why they would fire this girl for wearing a scarf, especially because it is for religious purposes. I think by doing this they are loosing out on a lot of customers. Why would anyone want to buy from a store where they only see the same type of people working there and modeling their clothes. It is important for a store to show diversity and that their clothes can work well on a wide variety of people.
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Veggie_man Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 3:41 am
I don’t mean to pick on you Brittany because your anti-Hollister/ Abercrombie and Fitch sentiment are matched by every single blog post that I’ve read so far, but did they do something that bad? In the grand scheme of things, this whole scarf ordeal isn’t that big of a deal.
It seems like every single clothing company is using sweat shops these days, however not one single person on this blog as mentioned that. I would think that enslaving people (including children) is far worse than this small bit of religious prosecution. Granted, I would rather this woman still have her job, but as far as human rights violations goes, this isn’t that bad. And for the amount of people getting up and arms about this, but not mentioning any of the other practices of this company is ridiculous. Either people are blind of these companies’ business practices or just over-reacting for the sake of responding to a blog.
And the thing is, this issue isn’t even going to be a blip on the radar screen to most people. Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch aren’t going to lose any business over this. Far too few people care about how they treat this Muslim woman, and these clothing stores main demographic, younger kids, are going to be even more oblivious to this than the rest of the population. For those who are concerned about their practices, I think they will see that this racism is far better than their normal practices. That’s why most people who actually care about human rights violations wouldn’t be seen in these clothes unless they were out of a dumpster or second hand store. That way they know they aren’t adding to the demand of these products.
And again, I don’t mean to pick on your post since there has been response after response with the same sentiment as yours, but you said that the reason you stopped shopping there was because of the expensive prices for low quality apparel. That has nothing to do with their cruel practices.
I do like your point on how they get the skinniest, best looking girls and guys to work at these places. I know in Manhattan, they have these jacked guys standing outside without their shirt on. And girls are the same way. You were talking about diversity in the end of your post, however I really don’t think they need to show diversity. They just get people to think you need to dress the way these workers dress to look good.
Anyway, what they did to this Muslim woman wasn’t fair, however it was barely a big deal when you look at the big picture. They are likely going to lose a small amount of money in a lawsuit, but the money they bring is will be far greater. People are going to shop there regardless—just look at the last few years they have been in business. If people actually cared how they treat humans, they would have been out of business a long time ago.
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This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard but it is not unbelievable by any standards. Abercrombie & Fitch try to pride themselves on looks from having male shirtless models welcome customers, and by doing have naked photo shoots for their clothing catalogs. I knew that they had a strict hiring policy because a friend of mine got asked to work there because he was good looking and the manager thought he would "fit" well. His job qualifications did not matter at all they were almost ready to hire him on the spot because of his looks. I know at the Hollister store in my mall it is mostly only good looking people who work there because they want to try to keep their "beachy fresh" image. Newsflash, not many people who buy their clothing actually look the way their workers do. My friend ended up taking the job and that even while working there he noticed discriminatory actions. The store had hired an African American girl but she never worked on the floor of the store she was always in the back steaming the clothes where no one could see her. These policies are crazy and such a huge company should realize they are going to lose more and more customers each day they continue to hire people who only fit their looks standard. Even all around the store images of mostly white all Americans are plastered on the walls and in the dressing rooms as if when you try on a pair of jeans you should feel like crap because you do not look as good as the blond gorgeous girl in the picture. Even the bags that they put the clothing in after you purchase them half half naked people laying in grass on them. This store really needs to update it's look because a lot of people are going to stop shopping there because of things like this. What really gets me is that they hired her at first and then fired her about a week or so later I think. What is the point of even hiring her if they felt iffy about the situation? I do not know if they hired her only to say they've hired Muslim woman or not but to fire her so quickly after and actually tell her it's because her look does not match theirs is insane. They said in the video that they told her no hats or caps but that is completely acceptable. The fact they continued to ignore her after she said it was for religious purposes is crazy! Hiring her and keeping her probably would have brought a few more customers in that might not have shopped there otherwise because they would see someone working they felt close to. For the lawyers of the company to say they care about diversity is one of the biggest lies/jokes i have ever heard. Based on this woman's story, people like here that this has happened to previously, and my own stories of Abercormbie & Fitch is enough to know their lying and just saying what people want to hear. If they actually followed through with what they "think" they would not have this problem on their hands.
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PamBeesley Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 12:01 am
I was thinking the exact same thing you said in your blog post. This is unbelievable, but believable at the same time. Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister both pride themselves on having everything based on looks. I also know a few people who work at those stores and they were also told that they would "fit" well because of their looks. I also know someone who wasn't hired at A&F and I guarantee it was because he didn't pass the "look policy." I really hope a lot of people read this article because the way these stores treat people are ridiculous. Everything is based on looks which is incredibly shallow. I refuse to shop at these clothing stores because of these policies. The thing that makes me most angry about this story is the fact that A&F hired this girl and then fired her a week later because of her scarf. That's definitely not part of the "look policy" because I've passed by those stores and seen both guys and girls wearing scarves and hats, so they obviously had a problem with the fact that she's Muslim.
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I think it is wrong that she was hired for wearing her scarf. If they had a certain “look policy”, she should have been told from the beginning. As Americans, we need to become more welcoming and understanding of other cultures that have found its way into the United States. When the word racism is talked about, it is automatically thought of to be between white and black people, but it goes far beyond that. I think this is a clear case of racism and discrimination. The “look policy” is discriminatory obviously if she was fired because she didn’t have a certain “look”. It is wrong and the company should be sued on the bases of racism, discrimination, and humiliation.
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kml5139 Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 12:45 am
I totally agree that if they were going to disallow the scarf, they should've just neglected to hire her rather than claim it not a problem then go against their words in the future. I'm guessing they did this to avoid any legal repercussions for hiring discrimination, but looks like they screwed up that attempt. I do have to say that I was not a TAD surprised at this happening. A&F and Hollister exist to portray certain images ("wilderness slut" and "west coast hussy", some may agree), and head scarves worn for religious reasons don't quite "mesh" in their perspective. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a Christian or Jewish female employee were asked not to where necklaces adorning crosses or stars of David. Basically, I sincerely hope A&F will be pounded with the legal ramifications of this case and that it's widely covered by the media, because they deserve punishment.
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Veggie_man Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 3:55 am
Big deal she was fired for wearing her scarf. Yes it wasn’t right, but that is nothing compared to their normal business practices. Just a few years ago Abercrombie and Fitch lost a class action lawsuit because they used sweatshops. I’m pretty sure slavery is a little worse than this small bit of religious hatred. I’ve said this before in a previous post, but it boggles my mind that people are so outraged by scarf ordeal. What did you expect from a company who uses slavery? To actually care about their workers? There have been a number of people who vowed never to shop there again. Good for them, but I’m curious where their head was over the last 10 years?
Long story short: Scarf thing should not have garnered this much outrage when compared to their other business practices.
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I shopped at Abercrombie and Hollister for most of my high school years. However, I never felt like I was discriminated against as a customer. I have noticed that the employees that are on the floor are predominantly white though. I have seen a Black girl and a brown guy in their stores. I think it depends on where the store is located for there to be diversity or for the lack of it. Now that I see this video, I think it is really wrong for corporate to have fired her for her scarf. Then again, Abercrombie does have their “look” policy so it makes sense that they would not do that. I think it would have been a different story if the girl did not wear that scarf. Even if she was Muslim, she could have been hired.
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Unbelievable is what I have to say for Abercrombie I am already non supportive of the company because I believe it represents a “fake” person, by that I mean people are wearing things that are making them someone besides themselves. Our First amendment, our freedoms, one of which being religion, there is no excuse for her not being able to wear her religious head wear. This is just downright discrimination unless Abercrombie wants to act like a Hooters where unless you are an attractive waitress with large “hooters” you aren’t hired. I believe this a very similar policy because they both are aiming for a specific demographic and culture and this particular one is not on that Abercrombie wants representing their apparel.
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jholzberg8 Reply:
March 7th, 2010 at 1:42 am
I have never really thought about it in this way before, but Abercrombie’s policies are very similar to those of Hooter’s. You must look a very specific “all-American” way in order to be considered to work there. A friend of mine worked at Abercrombie for exactly one day in high school, and upon being hired she was given a thick packet of guidelines for how she was expected to look, everything ranging from her hair to nail polish to kinds and colors of make up that she was allowed to wear. I am not at all surprised that someone would not be allowed to wear a head scarf, even for religious reasons because it doesn’t fit with their “look.”
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I'm going to take the minority opinion here and say that I have little problem with Abercrombie's "look policy."
First, I think it is wrong that she was told the scarf would be fine and was then later told that it was not. Obviously, somebody made a mistake and this is an unfortunate consequence of that mistake. The look policy should be very clear on what it does or does not allow and the policy should be adhered to. I won't deny that this is a problem in this instance, but this alone is not newsworthy.
Aside from that, I don't have a problem with the look policy banning any type of clothing or action, be it religious or not. Sure, it may be shallow, contrived, etc, but it should be well within their legal rights to do so. Consider this: If I were part of a small religious "cult" that required me to paint my skin blood red and wear a floor-length cape, would you demand that Abercrombie allow me to engage in that sort of dress? Would you demand that they not discriminate against my sincere religious practices? Why or why not? What makes this ideologically different than the head scarf?
Granted, a head scarf is certainly less extreme than painting your body red, but the concept is the same; companies are trying to create an image with their products, and certain symbols and styles of dress that conflict with their image are potentially harmful for business. It's easy to see how someone painted red wearing a cape would be off-putting to customers, and the same goes for head scarves, which are often viewed not just as fabric, but even as signs of oppression (not that it's my view). The concept of giving a higher level of respect and deference to religious practices is entirely unfounded. Had the girl been fired for wearing a spiked "dog collar" instead of a head scarf, this story would have never made the news. This illustrates another point – it's not even clear this this is a religious neutrality issue for Abercrombie. Just like a dog collar (which many people wear) doesn't fit the look Abercrombie is promoting, a scarf covering almost the entire head and shoulders is simply not "stylish" in the Abercrombian sense.
The bottom line is that companies should retain the right to remain politically and religiously neutral (or affiliated) through their practices and through the requirements placed on their employees. The "uniform" exists for good reason: company cohesiveness, neutrality, and image. Anti-discrimination laws, if deemed necessary, must stop at the level of religious affiliation, not religious practice. That is to say that Abercrombie should be open to hiring me regardless of what "cult" I'm a part of as long as I agree to leave the paint at home.
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PamBeesley Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 12:05 am
I agree with what you've said about having a certain dress code and look policy. When i worked at target we had to wear a red shirt and khaki pants that both looked presentable. We also weren't supposed to wear hats or scarves. However, there was a girl who worked at Target while I worked there who was Muslim and who was allowed to wear her scarf because it's part of her religion. You're right about A&F firing her because wearing a scarf around her head isn't "Abercrombian." Dress code is fine to a certain degree, but this is clearly discrimination against someone because of their culture and religion. Companies should remain neutral when it comes to be associated with cultures and practices. I'm wondering if affirmative action played a role in this at all. If someone hired her to say they hired someone who is Muslim but had every intent of firing her a week later.
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Npeffer Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 2:05 am
Why does being a member of a religion grant you the right to wear whatever you want to your job? Are you really proposing that simply having religious beliefs should grant you an enforced legal lenience on what parts of your job you comply with?
Like I said above, if I were part of a religion that required me to wear overtly ridiculous things or be naked, etc, would you call it discrimination if a company didn't hire me? It would maybe be different if this were over a piece of jewelry with a Muslim symbol (if they simultaneously allowed crucifixes), but a head scarf is a very large and obvious breach of their dress code and there is no reason for them to overlook it simply because it's "part of her religion."
Companies simply having a dress code, no matter how strict or silly, is not discrimination. They can't be forced to pander to everyone's religious concerns, just like they can't be forced to pander to everyone's political or social concerns. Should I be allowed to wear my anti-abortion-dead-fetus shirt when working at Target because it's part of my political affiliation? Why does "religion" or "culture" get a free pass?
It seems to me from reading the stories here that Abercrombie certainly does have a few discrimination issues. This is just not one of them.
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apd24 Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 4:27 am
I agree that any company has the right to regulate what their employees wear, however, the messed up thing about this story is that they hired her and told her she could wear it and then went back on their word. It there is a strict dress code then it should be enforced from the beginning and be well stated before an employee applies for the job. I feel bad for this girl and the fact that she is recieving death threats is the most disturbing part. I can't understand why anyone is taking offense to her being upset over losing her job.
KiaTNique Reply:
March 7th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
You are completely crazy. I really don’t understand how you or anyone else can think this isn’t an issue. It was an extremely discriminatory action to fire her because of her hijab and it would have been discriminatory if they never hired her in the first place just because of it. Your comparisons don’t really make any sense because they are not parallel to the girl in the video's issue. If you work at Target no you shouldn’t be allowed to wear your anti-abortion-dead fetus shirt because it is offensive and not allowing you to wear it there does not change your beliefs any. If target mandated that you no longer believe that then it would be discriminatory, and impossible. The hijab is worn so that men outside of the household should not see a woman's hair and shoulders. Removing it in public, even for an instant, shatters the purpose completley. Religious discrimination is a very serious issue. Abercrombie has made it impossible for anyone wearing a hijab to work there and maintain their religious and spiritual beliefs. This is an issue that is very close to me because of my spiritual beliefs. Most of my family, including both of my parents, have dreadlocks. I did at one point to until my parents and I made the extremely difficult decision to cut mines of so I wouldn’t be discriminated against like this woman in the video was. I don’t know your religion or your beliefs but try to follow me for a second. Do you realize how hard it is to do something like that? To go against everything you believe, everything that God wants for you just to be able to exist like everyone else in this society. I now realize that was a mistake. It shouldn’t be up to me and my family to alter our beliefs or the physical manifestations of our beliefs in order to have the same opportunities of anyone else. It’s easy to say that her scarf doesn’t fit into the dress code so she should work somewhere that doesn’t have a problem with it and whose dress code doesn’t require a certain "look" but now that means that she and anyone else in her situation now has less jobs to choose from and has to compete with everyone else who has been discriminated against because of their religion. In truth that might not be a huge issue because there are many companies out there that do not discriminate against religion, the real issue is that people are not able to be who they are and still receive each and every opportunity that is available to them. We are given in the first amendment the freedom of religion and as long as anyone is discriminated against because of any manifestation of their religion it is unconstitutional and wrong.
Npeffer Reply:
March 8th, 2010 at 1:17 am
> "Your comparisons don’t really make any sense because they are not parallel to the girl in the video's issue."
How so? Why is a hijab different than someone who has an equally sincere religious belief that they can only go out in public with red paint and a cape on their body? You claimed that it's not analogous, but didn't give any argument to support it. Also, I hope nobody thinks I'm mocking the hijab with such analogies; I only intend them as an argument in the style of "reductio ad absurdum." Look it up on wikipedia to see what I mean.
> "If you work at Target no you shouldn’t be allowed to wear your anti-abortion-dead fetus shirt because it is offensive and not allowing you to wear it there does not change your beliefs any. If target mandated that you no longer believe that then it would be discriminatory, and impossible."
Not allowing head scarves does not change anyone's beliefs either, only their actions. Just like your hypothetical Target bans my shirt but not my belief, A&F has banned the scarf and not the belief that the scarf should be worn. If I'm in a religion that considers all clothing unholy, and being seen in public with even one article of clothing on goes against everything God wants for me and goes against all of my religious beliefs, would you defend that as well? Would you demand that a high-class restaurant give me equal opportunity to work as a waiter while naked (barring obvious health concerns)? Is it religious discrimination that they do not, or do you think they're simply interested in having a clean, structured, formal look among their employees?
Also, like I mentioned before, many people (especially feminist groups) consider the hijab and other head coverings to be extremely offensive, sexist, misogynistic symbols of oppression and control. It is no more or less offensive than nudity, animal furs, red face paint, etc depending on who is judging them. In any case, who or what these things offend is of no relevance. The only important thing is that all could be sincere religious practices, and all break the dress code.
> "It shouldn’t be up to me and my family to alter our beliefs or the physical manifestations of our beliefs in order to have the same opportunities of anyone else.
So businesses and government should alter their policies and principles to suit everyone's religious beliefs instead? My religion requires an hour of prayer for every half hour I do physical labor. Should I reasonably expect a construction company to hire me under those conditions? We all limit ourselves and our opportunities by the beliefs we hold and the actions we choose to take. If I were a conservative Christian, I would be "prevented" from getting a job with the Obama admin. or at a Muslim bookstore. Technically, I could get a job at these places, but I would have to suspend the actions associated with my beliefs. I would be expected to help promote liberal policies with Obama, and at the bookstore, to not preach the gospel to every customer I check out, even though the bible requires me to spread the word to all non-believers. It is not discrimination for them to expect these things of me, and the same goes for a head scarf when there is a dress code in effect.
You make your own decisions regarding your religious beliefs, how strongly you hold to them, and the sacrifices you are willing to make in order to maintain them. Expecting the rest of the world to not only cater to everyone's religion-associated actions, but put into law the unyielding respect for those actions, is not only selfish and absurd, it's impossible.
I am honestly not surprised that Hollister or Abercrombie and Fitch would discriminate against someone that looks slightly different than a skinny white girl. I’ve known people that worked at those clothing stores and if they had a blemish on their face they would be sent to work in the back rooms. The part I don’t understand is that they were fully aware that she would be wearing her head scarf and condoned it. Out of nowhere they just decided that it was against the rules to wear anything on an employees head. The fact that it isn’t the first time they have discriminated against minorities before does not surprise me. I have seen black employees and both stores but I feel like you have to be very attractive to get a job working out front where customers are, which is sickening. If you look at the advertisements for those stores and the models who’s pictures are hanging up in the store are usually Caucasian and very good looking. They might try and say they would like to be more culturally diverse but I don’t believe a word of it. Not letting a girl practice her religion because it makes her look different is the complete opposite of being culturally diverse. I think these clothing stores need to stop being so hypocritical. Do they think people won’t buy clothes from them if they have someone who looks a little different working there? If that is the case than they are just ignorant people. The people that work there aren’t even helpful or friendly so maybe a change from rich snobby white kids to something different is a good idea. I’m not saying all employees for those two stores are rich snobby white kids but I have experienced that many times while shopping at both stores. I just think stores like that are so one minded. They can’t look at the big picture. People of different races shop at stores like this so wouldn’t it be a good marketing idea to have people like them working at those stores. I’ve had experiences of being uncomfortable shopping in those stores and I’m a white girl. It’s intimidating, I can’t imagine working there. I think she had a lot of guts to apply and work there while wearing her head wrap. A lot of people wouldn’t understand and judge her. The fact that she had the guts to work there and they shot her down is disgraceful. Being proud of your heritage and religion is something more Americans should learn to do. Christians don’t get fired for wearing a cross around their neck, why should her head wrap be any different? I think the complaint she filed against Abercrombie and Fitch should be a wake up call to that store and all clothing stores that being fired for something you believe in will not be taken lightly.
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Abercrombie and Fitch has been in trouble many times before involving discrimination and something seriously needs to be done. A couple years ago, Hollister was the only store I would shop at for clothes, and now I can say that I am disgusted that I gave them my business.
Sadly, this blatant form of discrimination by Hollister doesn’t surprise me. Every time I would go into the store to shop, the staff would be very unwelcoming and you could tell that they were judging you. I feel that I continued to shop there anyway because I wanted to be “cool” and fit in.
Abercrombie and Fitch always has come up in my past sociology classes when talking about discrimination. They have gotten in trouble before for having t-shirts blatantly mocking Chinese and Asian culture, and making a girl without an arm only allowed to work in the stock room.
After this most recent account, this company should be punished big time. Obviously they have not learned their lesson from the past times they have gotten in trouble for discrimination.
The thing that surprised me is that corporate fired her. I would think that if anything, it would be the local store manager who would fire her. I don’t understand why corporate fired her, especially when they are well aware of past instances of discrimination. Did they honestly think that this time around it would go unnoticed?
I am really interested to see what Abercrombie’s spokespeople have to say about this, because I really don’t think they have a way around this. What happened to the girl was blatant discrimination. She obeyed the color rule for her headscarf and seemed to be a good worker, yet corporate wanted to get rid of her just because she dressed differently than other people.
Why is Abercrombie so scared to hire people who are “different”? Is it because they think their sales will go down because they aren’t considered to be cool and fit in? It seems that everybody else in the world, especially the younger generations, are becoming more accepting of other races. Why doesn’t Abercrombie realize this? I don’t think hiring minorities or people with disabilities would hinder their sales, I think it would help their sales and reputation rise. I know that after all these discrimination incidents they have lost me as a customer, and I hope other people too are going to take a stand against the company until serious changes are made. They need to let go of their image of only hiring the typical American boy and girl and start having more diversity of workers.
If Abercrombie wants to stay in business, they need to do some serious reevaluating.
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Veggie_man Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 3:00 am
I’m glad you commented on both of these companies past discriminatory records, because I hadn’t known of those previous instances. I did know of their sweatshop practices though. Either way, the more knowledge we share, the better!
A lot of your post echo’s the distress about this company and their racist attitudes similar to many other people on this blog. That being said, though you may not, many people here are going to continue to shop at these stores. The thing is, are there any other places can you shop that don’t have these controversies? A lot of my friends get their clothes out of dumpsters since they believe it doesn’t add to the demand of these practices and I only get my clothes from second hand shops, but for people who want the new, first hand clothes, where can you shop?
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WOW! Abercrombie and Fitch, are you serious?!?! This is a complete outrage to me! I cannot believe that a store has reached such a low level. I can’t believe this woman got fired for wearing her head scarf! I mean, where is that even coming from??? I don’t even fully understand this story, so she was hired by the local level, and a district manager from corporate came in and told her that she couldn’t work. Was she working earlier before the district manager? Irrespective, I think this is such a disaster on the companies’ part, and I am so glad that this woman has spoken about her story.
I have actually worked for Abercrombie and Fitch, and I remembering having to comply with their certain standards of wearing their merchandise and following certain clothing accessories regulations. Never once did I have an ethnic difference problem, with my Indian culture and ethnicity. I also worked with other minorities, so I cannot even support the fact that there weren’t other people of color working at Abercrombie and Fitch. District managers and local managers treated me with the same respect I would have received anywhere else; and the fact that I wasn’t white didn’t matter to them at all. This is just so surprising to me. Because of my past experiences of never having a problem working at a store like this, I never thought a headscarf would create enough issues to fire someone out of their job. This description totally fits religious discrimination. I mean, really where is the freedom of religion? It’s not in anyone’s position especially a corporate company to tell anyone that they can’t wear what they have been grown up and believed in?
I really feel at least this story has announced to the rest of the corporate world that religiously and politically something needs to change. Companies do not have the right to go around and boss people based on their mere appearance or their culture. I am so glad that these two women are speaking out, and reaching out to the equality opportunity commission. I am also very surprised to hear that there have been past stories with Abercrombie and Fitch with religious discrimination. I would have never known, unless this issue was confronted today. I hope that Abercrombie and Fitch gets affected as a company after all this mess, because it’s just not right. Their response statement had nothing to do with what the situation was, and how it affected the woman that was working at the store. When I was reading it, I was considering calling them out because it had absolutely no relevance to the actual topic.
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WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Corporate America has gone to an all time low. How dare they not only discriminate a person, but his or her religion? Corporate American has truly taken a turn for the worse. They are continuously producing businesses that entail nothing but discrimination for everyone of color. However, it had gone much farther than color. It now seems that these businesses are going to discriminate against those with a different religion and look as well.
Hani Khan, a former worker for Abercrombie and Fitch reported that she had been working there for quite some time wearing her head scarf and that she had complied with the specific colors for which the company told her she could wear. Now the company has company has terminated from her position because the high authorities of that company said that her Muslim head scarf did not comply with the company’s look policy. Look Policy! Look Policy! What type of nonsense is that? She also stated that she immediately told the company that she wore her head scarf for religious reasons and they still fired her because her look was not up to their standards. This is pure BS!
I find it amazing that the company describes themselves to be the type of company to give everyone a fair shot. They want to expand their style and diversity in the communities in which they perform business in. I say that they are just full of it! This really makes me wonder, did they fire her only because of the way she looks? Or could they have possibly fired her because they thought they might lose customers because of the way she looks. This company must really think that they have pulled the wool over our eyes. They forgot that what is done in the dark, will always come to light. How horrible can a company be? They fired her because she did not comply with their rules and the way they wanted her to look. Well what about her religious beliefs and her policies? What about the way she wants to look? Does that not count for anything? I she not welcomed to be who she really wants to be? I find this entire situation to be morally outrageous! No one should have to go through type of discrimination.
In conjunction with being discriminated against, now she has to hide from the public because she is being attacked with death threats. When will this madness ever stop? We as Americans are not doing our jobs! We are not accepting different cultures the way we should. We are not standing up for our fellow woman or man. We are simply letting fall into a trap of constant discrimination and pain. It is our time to stand up and help one another. It is our place to help one another.
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I dont think this is fair at all. This lady lives in america and its a free country. I mean i understand that Abercrombie has its dress codes because i have a friend that works at one of the stores. But if they hired this lady and they told her that she would be able to wear her scarf over her head than they shouldn't be allowed to go back on what they said. This lady needs to fight for her right to wear that scarf. Im sure if because of religious purposes that she wears it so i really think she should be allowed to wear it if they already gave her permission too. This is the same thing as the blog with the ladies in London wearing burqas. They didn't want to allow them to wear them in London which i guess i can understand because they don't have the same laws as us here in the US. But here in america we are allowed to wear whatever we want and represent ourselves how ever the hell we want. It is very unfair to tell this woman when she applied for the job that she would be able to wear her scarf and then tell her out of no where that she no longer will be able too. I believe Abercrombie and Hollister are racist companies anyway. The majority of there employees are white and they hire very few minority employees. I had a friend who worked at Abercrombie and they had to take a store pic. And she told me that they organized them in a certain order in which they put a minority in between each white person so that it would look that the store is diverse. When in reality its really not. I believe if a store needs to go out of its way to show that its diverse and in no way prejudice than that company is racist. This is a free country and this lady should be able to wear what ever she wants.
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My thoughts on this video and issue are a bit mixed. I understand that the headpiece is because of religious reasons but I also know about Abercrombie and Fitch’s strange dress code. I fully support the freedom of these women to wear their religious headpieces and I do not think it is right how much people discriminate against them. It is like the one video that we blogged on earlier in the year where women were being fined even possibly arrested for wearing their head pieces in public. There was no reason to fine the women they were not causing an uproar or dilemma of any sorts. I commented in my blog that if they were starting trouble then there would be reason to demand them not to wear the head pieces but they have not started any trouble therefore there is no reason. Abercrombie and Fitch have very strict and odd dress code policies. So in a way I sort of do understand why they said the young woman would no longer be on the schedule till further notice. I know it may be wrong to think that but in a way Abercrombie and Fitch discriminates against most of the people who work there. They tell them exactly how they are supposed to dress and look to portray that “All-American” boy or girl image. I know at the mall near my town you have to be asked to work there you can’t apply for a job. That right there is an example of discrimination. They only hire people who they think look qualified. Abercrombie is just ridiculous to work for. My older sister, Heather, worked at Abercrombie and Fitch for a couple months when she was in high school. She said that they had to wear certain colors, they could only do their hair certain ways, they had to wear neutral makeup, and they couldn’t wear anything that stood out from anyone else. The formed everyone to look alike. They could only wear earth tones. So I see how telling this young woman that she will be off the schedule till further notice is wrong but I really am not surprised that Abercrombie and Fitch did that. Take for example trying out for a part in a play or musical. A Muslim woman would most likely be asked to take her head piece off for the part and if she said she could not because of Religious reasons I do not think that would change anything because in a play you are reenacting and depicting a story. They are setting the scene by telling the actors what they have to wear, like Abercrombie and Fitch tells their employees what they have to wear to set the “All American” look. So yes I feel very bad for this young woman but I also feel bad for the other employees because Abercrombie and Fitch just discriminates against almost everyone and if you don’t want to be told what to wear you shouldn’t work there.
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Wow, I can't believe this is still happening. It makes me want to cry just watching it. This is ridiculous! People need to get with the times and stop discriminating against minorities. I hope that girl can stay strong while she is going through this. I only wish that more people would support her rather than threaten to hurt her. She is just sticking up for herself and to be honest I would and will do the same damn thing if I have to! You go girl!!
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The fact that Abercrombie even has a "look policy" bothers me. People who are being hired or fired from jobs should be judged only upon the basis of their skills at the work place, not based on their skin color, or anything having to do with physical appearance. This is a clear example of discrimination. I know that I myself judge a lot of people on appearance and care a lot about my own, but I wish I didn't. If I saw a Muslim woman working at Abercrombie with a head scarf on I would probably notice because it's different. But, it wouldn't be a negative thing. It wouldn't make me want to stop shopping at the store. It would actually make me happy to see that they are actually following through with their statement of having more diversity at the store. The fact that she is receiving death threats is ridiculous. She deserves to be heard if she is going to be discriminated against. She is a human being who wears a head scarf for religious purposes. What's so wrong with that? American girls wear tight clothing that shows their bodies off, and that's wrong in so many other cultures. But do you see us getting in trouble for it? Or getting threatened for it? Why encourage such acts but discourage the dressing codes of the Muslim culture? Our society cares so much about appearance and what is considered to be "hot." If you look through any magazine you will get this message. Same with television shows and media. White, skinny girls are always advertising products. You rarely see bigger girls in these magazines. Also, you don't see a lot of diversity in the magazines unless those people are dressing like Americans. Maybe if we had more magazines of different clothing styles of people from other cultures, it would not be so wrong or different to us. This girl was already working there for a long time as a successful employee. I find it beyond unfair and I feel so lucky to be Caucasian as sad as that sounds. For reasons like this, I appreciate my white skin and wish everyone wouldn't be judged on physical characteristics. We could start slowly. Hopefully one day it won't matter as much. I know it's gotten a lot better but it is obviously still going on today. I hope this girl can find a better job or get her old job back if she still wants it. I hope she can win this battle of discrimination, not only for her, but for all the other Muslim woman. I hope she comes out stronger from all of this. In life, one must go through challenges to grow and improve.
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I think that this is appalling, and additionally perhaps more troubling that a clothing store can have a “look” policy. I am just curious also if upper level management, sitting in their corporate offices, must also adhere to this look policy. Also, the employee in question had absolutely no actual merit for being fired, other than that her religious beliefs indicated that she must wear a head scarf which is not a legitimate reason in the least. I would hope that corporations would be more accepting of others in practice instead of simply claiming their racial neutrality in carefully crafted public statements.
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Throughout middle school and high school I shopped at many stores, including Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch. To discriminate against someone for their culture and background is absolutely terrible, but to tell that person up front that their practices will be accepted, and then fire them for that reason is outrageous. The video clip said that the local store was not the one to fire her for her scarf, it was corporate that fired her. Obviously there was some sort of miscommunication between the two, and the video did not include if corporate spoke to the local company about the issue before firing her, but I hope they at least did that. Now a days, the Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch that are located in my local malls have a diversity of people working on the floor and behind scenes, but when I was younger they did not. This video is very interesting to me because one of the main reasons I stopped shopping there was because of a previous discrimination case. When I was about 16, there was a lawsuit against Abercrombie and Fitch because their advertisements and posters in the stores were almost always of white people. I'm not sure if the reason for this is because Abercrombie and Fitch was created by two white men and also during the time when segregation was at its peak, but today the times have changed and so must the companies. For companies to discriminate against race, religion, and culture is only bad for them in the long run because they are loosing potential profits, and in today's economy no one can afford that. When lawsuits and cases like this pop up in any market it has a negative impact on the company, so what is the benefit of discriminating against different races? Over the years, those stores have lost a lot of business because trends have changed, so this is not helping them at all. The fact that this young girl got fired for doing what she was told to do is stupid. Corporate should have spoken to the local retailer so figure out the situation. Throughout the video, the young woman was scared to even show her face because she has been receiving death threats and other threats that she believes to cause her harm. The fact that she is receiving these threats alone is horrific! What scares me the most is that if you were to look and listen to just those two women in the video you would probably think (or at least hope) that they did not reside in the United States. If this is suppose to be "The land of the free, and the home of the brave" why is this an issue in America let alone a retail store?
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In today’s society, many people think that discrimination is an old fact and that it doesn’t exist anymore. Unfortunately, they are wrong. Discrimination exists in place where you think it wouldn’t be found. For example, Hollister, a well know clothing company, deliberately discriminated against a woman because of religious beliefs. The company has a policy with their workers stating that a worker, when on duty, cannot wear anytime of clothing on their head. Of course, the woman who is applying for the job knows this policy but explains to Hollister that the head garment is for religious purposes. Apparently, Hollister doesn’t care about racial diversity in their working environment. If this story gets on local stations around the country, Hollister will have a significant amount of sales reduction. Every business needs diversity if they want to grow.
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Maybe Hollister doesn’t want to grow? The answer is no, Hollister does want to grow but they don’t care about Muslim women. Why doesn’t Hollister care about Muslim women? It is simple, not many Muslim women wear Hollister clothing. It is an economic trade off, because Hollister feels if they have Muslim women as employees it might have a negative response to business. Right now, in the Unites States, there is much negativity that surrounds Muslims. The reason for this is because of the war in Iraq. The media generalizes all Muslims as extremists and therefore portrays them to the public as enemies. This is unfortunate because many Muslims are not extremists and they feel the same way everyone else does about the war on terror. Or maybe Hollister just discriminates for different reasons? This can be true but we have to ask the reason why.
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Maybe Hollister sets these codes of dress in place for employees who want to wear unnecessary clothing n their heads. If Hollister allowed for their employees to wear hats, the whole atmosphere of the store might change. Hollister might just be afraid of change because they do not know if that change will be a good one. Many employees, they feel, might take advantage of no policy on head wear. In some Hollister stores, it might be a competition among employees to wear the most outrageous head wear because that is the only part of the body that does not have a dress code. In any scenario, if you do not have a dress code, people will dress the way they want to. It is their given right, hence the no dress code. It all boils down to Hollister fearing change in the working environment that will lead to a decline in sales. If they abolish the rule of head wear, it will cause a change that is unanticipated for Hollister.
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Employers reserve the right to terminate employment at any time. A woman wearing a head scarf represents Abercrombie just about as well as John McCain represents the NAACP. Is no one willing to look at this from the other side? A clothing company's image is its lifeblood. Is it discriminatory to demand this woman preserve the image of the company to fullest extent physically possible? I'm going to start a religion which requires me to wear a stuffed duck as a hat. Then I'm going to demand employment and protection of my religious freedom.
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Npeffer Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
I think you and I are the only ones so far. Check out my response below, it's fairly similar.
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fmh109 Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 3:55 am
I think that because Hani followed the look protocol as far as the colors of her headscarf are concerned then her termination was uncalled for and unnecessary. If you really think that Abercrombie had a right to terminate her due to its “image as its lifeblood” then I think you are completely disregarding an entire facet of their market that would appreciate the fact that someone in headscarf works there. Reaching out to all customers and potential customers is what good marketing does and by firing this young woman they not only ignore a huge demographic of consumers but they’ve now also completely pissed them off.
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towhead Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Not all brand name clothing reaches out to everybody. Especially not this one. They target niches. My grandmother does not shop at Hot Topic.
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gcj Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
There is no problem with a company creating an image but when it begins to exclude potential employees because of their religion, it is too extreme. I appreciate you being open about your opinions but in this case Abercrombie and Fitch is just wrong. I am pretty familiar with their “look policy” having friends work for the company and through out high school I respected the “look policy” saying it taught discipline and unity however, in this case it is going to far. Her religion is her way of life and her headscarf is a mandatory religious garment, why is it such a problem to wear? It is not as if she just made some religion up out of the blue it is known that a head scarf is associated with the Islamic faith. Her headscarf should not be a problem as long as she follows the color codes. Abercrombie and Fitch has to step up as an American company and realized that head scarves and Muslims are a very huge part of America too.
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towhead Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Christianity, Islam, and all other religious fallacies were made up out of the blue. Perpetuation out of fear for centuries and millenia does not add credibility to an idea proven through faith because faith is not proof. My stuffed duck hat religion requires an equal amount of faith as Christianity and Islam in order to adhere to it, and therefore is equal in credibility. If a company has to employ me out of fear of lawsuit something is wrong. This country provides the freedom to exercise any religion you wish, as long as it does not impose negatively on anyone. Abercrombie decided they didn't approve and now they're going to burn because their own freedoms have been put second to a disgruntled third party. If you are too old, too dumb, too dark, too religious, too short, too blind, too deaf, you now have permission to sue anyone who doesn't wish to bow to you. Welcome to America.
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axg5068 Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 12:03 am
Towhead,
As sound as you think your logic may be, you are unfortunately viewing the situation only from the rights of the employer and not the employee/citizen. And since you brought up the issue of a “right to terminate” any employee, I got some news for you, it is also considered unconstitutional and illegal to discriminate in any way, shape, or form against a person due to their race, creed, age, color, national origin, or gender. But, you probably already know this fact but have overlooked its significance if the EEOC does indeed file a lawsuit against Abercrombie & Fitch. From a legal perspective, A&F signed a contract, just as Hani Khan did, and both parties are legally bound to that contract. A&F employed Hani Khan on the basis that she would follow the A&F “look policy” regardless of whether or not she was wearing a headscarf. So, they are legally bound to this obligation and should get sued until next century for agreeing to hire her on these conditions, then blatantly discriminating against her in her termination. With regards to your “me-first” idea, you are exaggerating. Over 95% of people who are discriminated against in some manner do not report those incidents and most of the people that committed these ignorant acts are not held accountable/responsible for their actions. The Framers of the Constitution intended to protect the people and give power to the people, the essence of democracy. Just like big powerful governments, I do not believe the Framers would have intended for large Corporations to take advantage of and discriminate against the citizens of our country. Thus, A&F is really at fault here and there is no doubt that they will be sued.
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Ada5043 Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
I understand what you're saying, but at the same time, if that was a problem to begin with, they shouldn't have hired her. It's a slap in the face to go into a position thinking you have all of the qualifications, only to find out a few months later that you are terminated for something your employer has known about you since day one. IT's almost a feeling of betrayal. There is a moment of relief when you feel that you are accepted, only to find out that that was a false comfort because you are NOT accepted. Personally, I feel that what Abercrombie did was wrong. And to make light of the situation saying that you will begin a religion and demand employment protection, is a little disrespectful. The Muslim religion is one of the oldest and respected religions. They have their guidelines, and as such followers adhere to those guidelines. However, equal employment laws do not exclude individuals because of religious gear.
In what way is she going against the image of the company? What makes her any less Abercrombie material then the next person? She has a right to her upset because she was discriminated against. Abercrombie has had a history of discriminatory acts. This is not the first time so justifications of such actions are to me, unacceptable. They’ve shown their true colors over and over again and to make light of another such discriminatory action is despicable in my opinion.
I think it’s important that we all put ourselves in this girl’s shoes. How would we feel in a situation where we were denied a position because of our religion? Granted, Abercrombie is not attacking the Muslim religion as a whole; however, the reason for which she can no longer work there is a direct result of her religious practices. It’s offensive to feel that you cannot be who you are because you won’t fit in, or you won’t get a job. If she adhered to Abercrombie’s strictures by sticking to the colors, I don’t understand why she should be fired. I can understand that Abercrombie is trying to maintain a certain “look”, but that look is not one of diversity. In a nation where we are struggling to get past discrimination every day, it is to be expected that a blow such as this would cause a commotion. I personally feel that it sets us back quite a bit, and elucidates just how far we have not come. Over the years, we have made strides, but clearly not enough when one is fired from a position for adhering to the mandates of his or her religious beliefs.
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Romulus66 Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
When I first read your response, I thought of those waitresses in Vegas that can be fired for gaining weight or having any physical disfigurement. Their main function is waitressing, but because the old adage “sex sells” is so powerful in places like Vegas they specifically categorize these waitresses as models so they can hire and fire with discrimination. And this does go beyond weight; it also includes sex, religion, disabilities, etc. My guess is that you would agree to Hollister, Abercrombie, and other store like them changing the title of sales associate to model. After all they are required to wear store merchandise (that of course they must purchase first with whatever discount the company feels like giving). As for this specific situation, I do not agree with their actions. It was a blatant infringement on her rights and action needs to be taken swiftly and harshly in all cases were discrimination of this kind is found. That is until they change the job description and title of their sales associates.
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towhead Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
I do agree. An industry that sells "sex" should be permitted to sell "sex". It is unfortunate Hani was fired in hindsight. Abercrombie needs to get their house in order either permitting or prohibiting the head scarf. However, as they are hiring "models", as they are selling "sex" they should be able to reserve the right to declaring precisely what that image is.
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ezf5009 Reply:
March 19th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
Although I find fault in your initial comment, I agree with this particular one. The main issue with this incident is the fact that the store hired the worker under the condition that it would be O.K. to wear her headscarf as long as it was white, grey, or navy. The store needs to get everyone on the same page regarding hiring and the “look: policy.” This all seems like common sense, and after the clothing company’s internal miscommunication I can’t believe they were stupid enough to fire her. This whole situation just screams a lawsuit, but from their history they don’t care about discrimination.
I have known some people who have worked at Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch. I have even heard stories about how the workers are weighed to see if they are fit to work in the front. I do not know how true that really is. Little things have a way of escalating into completely ridiculous things. Anyway, I do know that they have two types of employees- the models and the people who work in the back. The models get to work in the front where everyone in the store can see them. They also work the cash registers. I have never actually bought anything for myself in either store, but I have gone inside with my friends. I also noticed how the models were very attractive, physically fit, and white. I also saw how their bodies were the perfect fit for the type of clothing that those stores sell. The people that might be considered not attractive enough or with the wrong body type are usually the ones that get to work in the back where no customers can see them. My one friend, who worked at Abercrombie as the person in the back, had to come out onto the floor to find her manager and ask him a question. She told me how her manager yelled at her for coming out onto the floor where everyone could see her. He told her she was supposed to always stay in the back and never come onto the floor. I was disgusted and appalled at this. This story mixed with the story I heard about the employees getting weighed, and my disgust just grew for the store. However, I let it go thinking that things are not always what they sound like. Word travels similarly to the game telephone where it starts out as one thing, and with travel, ends up being something completely different. However, the situation of this girl shows me that these stories that I have heard may not be so false afterall. Nobody should be told to take off a religious head scarf to protect the image of the store. I have to agree with some of the things that Mullabhai said in his or her post. The store may as well just put up a sign saying they are only hiring white people and even put it in the application that they prefer white people. They should also say they prefer people with their particular body types while they are at it. Many people of color shop at these stores, and I wish word could get out more about the discrimination that goes on here so they could stop supporting such a store with such high prices.
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Stores like Hollister are notorious for hiring on the basis of looks. In this case I think it’s more about presenting the image of good looking white people to customers than being uncomfortable with her race or religion. I’m actually surprised they hired her in the first place. The saddest part of this is that she’s getting death threats for speaking up against her injustices. This just proves how superficial these stores are. They fear anything that is out of the norm and that includes people from different backgrounds. Instead denying it, Hollister should own up to their employee requirements, apologize, and start changing things.
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I can’t believe that she was fired by Abercrombie and Fitch after being told that she could wear a head scarf. If Abercrombie and Fitch thought that this went against their look policy they should not have hired her in the first place. I used to shop at Abercrombie and Fitch when I was younger and I always noticed that the store employees seemed to be mostly white and not very diverse. Back then I didn’t think much about it but now it makes more sense that they were discriminating against other races and just hiring white people to work there.
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Jesus Christ, every week I sit down to write these blogs, and every week there's a new story that pisses me off. This story has a lot of things that suck, like religion, bigotry, and worst of all abercrombie & fitch. Just kidding, religion and bigotry are worse than abercrombie and fitch, but its close! Now I'm sure that not everyone who works for Hollister and abercrombie & fitch(hollister is owned by abercrombie & fitch…right? I'm not real familiar with these stores.) any way I'm sure that not everyone who works there is a racist or has to be part of the Arian race, but it's pretty obvious that these stores are going for a certain look. You know the look I'm talking about, "the I'm a white teenager who watches the Hills and Jersey Shore and my mom and dad pay my credit card bills look". Ok, that might have been a stretch but it's not that far from the truth. I'm sure whoever hired the girl didn't care if she was a muslim or that she was wearing the head scarf, but when I heard the part about the corporate suit who made the decision to fire her thats when the company showed what kind of business they want to run. I'm not a real big fan of religion, any religion. It's just never made any sense to me. it's just another way to segregate people, it puts people into another system of classes, this story is another example of that. Religion, to me is the worst kind of arrogance. And not just Christianity, but really all of them, when people tell me that if I don't obey the bible that I'm going to hell, that is the definition of arrogance! "Guess what…you don't know what happens when you die, you want to know how I know that? Because you don't have any special powers that I don't have." (Bill Maher) I really feel sorry for the girl, I'm sure working at abercrombie & fitch really sucks and then you get fired on top of it! The reason the girl was fired "in my opinion" was that the corporate suit probably assumed that if there was a muslim girl wearing a head scarf she would make the white costumers uncomfortable. That to me is really stupid, I don't think young costumers would care or even notice. And another thing, what is the deal with the smell coming from those stores? Its like a punch in the face, I don't know if it's perfume or cologne or what but man it stinks, and they want it to smell like that…why?! It could have been worse for the girl, she could have been hired at Hot Topics and not have been fired, that place is really lame.
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I have heard Abercrombie and Fitch being sued for discrimination in the past, and my cousin actually quit the company not that long ago because she felt their "look policy" was wrong. She reported frequently having to give the store her weight and fit into certain sizes. These things combined make me think that Abercrombie and Fitch is really a terrible company at the most basic level. The company really needs to get their act together and stop trying to get away with discriminatory hiring practices. As stated in the above article, they have already had one law suit for this same issue and other law suits by people of African American and Asian descent, and I've heard numerous reports from people I know who have worked there who have felt constantly judged and having to fit a certain look. When i think about it, whenever I have gone to an Abercrombie and Fitch store it has been almost exclusively operated by white people. Watching this article made me take a second look at shopping at Abercrombie. I will definitely not be shopping there any longer after seeing this pattern of discrimination that the company has shown over and over again I already tried not to shop their because of this, but watching this video really put me over the top.
I suppose that I understand wanting a company to "have an image," but not allowing people wear something that is part of their religion is absurd. She was in full compliance with the company wearing scarves that she was told go along with the store's image, and to get fired directly because of that is one of the most obvious acts of religious discrimination I have ever heard of. How can a company like this continue to grow and prosper ever year?
Something else that I found disturbing in this video was that this woman had actually received death threats as a result of her speaking out against Abercrombie. That, to me, is absolutely horrifying. How could anyone possibly not see the obvious discrimination going on here, and continue to back this company. If a woman speaking out for religious freedom in a country based on religious freedom is receiving death threats, something is seriously wrong.
In my naïve mind, I like to believe we are beyond seeing issues like this in our country. But each time I see something like this, I can see we still have a long way to go until people are fully equal in The United States. I wish this woman the best of luck in her lawsuit against Abercrombie. What a disgusting company. I hope she wins a lot of money and takes them down.
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This is just crazy, how did Abercrombie and Fitch come of doing this? Why does the fact that she is wearing a headscarf even matter? Clothes are clothes. I am also surprised about the fact that Hollister and Abercrombie have been sued already by African Americans, Asian Americans and people of Latino descent because these stores were known for only putting Caucasians on the sales floor and keeping the other employees in the stockroom. This is uncalled for, and I cannot believe they are using their “look policy” as a means of defending themselves. To me, I would think that it would only be good marketing to shoe your clothes on a diverse group of people, in hopes to increase sales.
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I feel really bad for this women. If she was told she could wear the scarf then what all of a sudden made them change their mind. That is totally hypocritical, if they don't discriminate in their workforce than why did they fire her. I understand Abercrombie is trying to maintain their "image" but what really is the big deal. Its a scarf and she wears it because of her religion. I think she should be allowed to wear it. She did everything she was told to do. This is a prime example of discrimination in the workforce
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I, honestly, do not know where to begin with this. I am shaking my head because this is so wrong. I really upsets me to see and hear stories like the one in this video. As much as I want to close my eyes and forget that discrimination does not exist, the truth is it does in so many ways. For example, in Hani’s story, she got fired for a head scarf she wears for a religious reason. I am shocked by the ignorance of Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch. I can understand a company wanting to have a certain image for their clothing, almost all clothing companies. However, I never heard other companies firing people based on discrimination or being sued as much as I have with Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch. What even more sad about this company, not only do they discriminate based on race, but also by disability. In 2009, the company was sued for refusing a girl with autism try on their clothes in the fitting rooms. Even though the company was fine over $100, 000, but not allowing someone try their clothes because of a disability – I am speechless.
This “look policy” that of Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch has gone too far. I remember one of my friends who worked at Hollister telling me she was only hired because they needed more colored people. Furthermore, she said they taken a picture of her and other minorities to show corporate how many colored people were working for them at a local store. This was just after they were sued in 2005 for discriminating minorities. After their lawsuit, it was interesting to hear what the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch had to say. I remember him saying something that was very rude about how their clothes are only meant to worn by a certain look. By a certain look, he meant mostly white people. Way to set an example to the rest of the workers! Whatever happened to hiring someone based on qualifications, not color? I guess that does not exist in this company.
Getting back to Hani’s story, really upset the most was she was being threatened. My question is why? She has done nothing wrong, at least in my eyes. The poor woman is fired because for a religious practice that she follows, yet she being threatened. Is it because she is Muslim and does not dress completely the “American” way? This is similar to the video of the Muslim girl who was not served by the cashier simply because she had a head scarf. I can not believe how rude and close-minded people really are today. To think that we moved on and have gotten over discrimination and racism is still a dream. Yes, people of color and whites can live together, tend same schools together, but the whole dream hasn’t been achieved. What is even more saddening, I do not think there will be a time when there is no discrimination or racism. When I say this, I am not only referring to America, but all the countries. There is so much conflict between races and religious groups that conquering word peace is far from close.
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Wow I think that it is completely ridiculous that this woman was fired for wearing her headscarf. The clothing company should be completely embarrassed and ashamed of themselves for acting so discriminating. Such a popular company should be open to having all sorts of races and cultures work for them. The fact that the woman was told beforehand that she was allowed to wear her scarf because of religious reasons and then fired because of wearing the scarf, is so horrible. I really hope that something is done to improve the standards of the company, because discrimination needs to stop now.
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I don’t think that it is right that they fired her just because she was wearing a head scarf due to her religious beliefs. I think it is wrong that stores could discriminate against religion, and I think that it is wrong they were able to fire her. I don’t think it is right that you could only be white to work for Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister. I think that they should stop discriminating against race and religious beliefs. I personally don’t like either of those two stores and the fact they only ,make clothing for small people is also a way they discriminate, like if you’re on the heavier side you can’t shop there.
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Why is she receiving death threats? She's not making any unwarranted assumptions, not demanding the closure of all Hollister stores, so why is she being threatened? They told her point blank that she was going to be fired because of her scarf, even after she explained that it was for religious purposes. CLEARLY, Hollister is in the wrong. That is blatant discrimination. Essentially, they are baring anyone who wears anything on their head for religious purposes from being hired. But why? I've been in Hollister and I have to admit that the pungent odor of recently showered perfume throughout the store and the 'fresh off the beach' look of the employees doesn't appeal to my taste. And I can see how her hijab wouldn't fit that style, but what's she supposed to do? She has to wear it (or chooses to, whichever you prefer). They know from day one that she would be wearing it to work so why was she even hired then? Not hiring her probably would have had the same negative result for the company, but they brought it on themselves. What's the point of making such a big deal about seeking diversity and trying to better understand the customers if you're not going to hire certain people that match part of your demographic? It's all just ridiculous and I can't say I'm surprised.
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Just a note for everyone responding to this particular blog entry: the corporation that owns Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister is notorious for this kind of discrimination. Ironically, this company also owns Hot Topic, so it’s just kind of funny that this kind of conformity is shown in the employees of all their stores.
The employees of these stores have to sell the clothes in the store. In order to do that, the employees are selected to best portray the kind of people who will wear these clothes. It’s not the right thing, but it is what happens. I think the greater root of the problem is not religious or cultural discrimination, but that corporations can tell employees how to look. That is something that I’m concerned about already, because I’m an elementary education major, and I have visible piercings and want more tattoos. (But this a completely other story – I just don’t like being told what is acceptable and unacceptable to look like.)
My friend Sam is ethnically Jewish. He does not adhere to the religion of Judaism, but he is Jewish. He applied to work at Hollister and he did get the job. But (as he put it) he’s not “man pretty” enough to work on the floor. He was employed to be a stock room worker instead. He took it in stride, because he didn’t really need to be out on the floor. His self esteem wasn’t crushed by their decision. He just needed a job to make money. He’s more apathetic than this young woman in the video, but her discrimination suit is more compelling and evident in elements of discrimination than his was.
Fellow SOC 119 students, can you verify something for me? When you work for Abercrombie or Hollister, isn’t your title (if you work on the floor) that of a “model”? I think I heard that somewhere before, but I don’t remember where, so the validity of that notion is compromised. Can anyone who has worked there clarify that for me? Because if that’s true, than it just strengthens the idea that this corporation hires the people that it does in an elitist way. I have a real problem with a person’s validation solely coming from the clothing brands that they wear. It’s just extremely shallow, and that’s why I legitimately try to not associate with those people. Call that discrimination if you want to, but I don’t care. I’m going to generalize that anyone decked out in head to toe labels from one store has some problems with their image and self perception that can’t actually be fixed by the clothing that they wear.
However, in this country, we are (for now) allowed to dress in a manner that we see fit, and we are allowed to apply for any job that we want. The situation of this young woman is really appalling on Abercrombie/Hollister’s end, but I’m glad that there is a lawsuit being pushed on them. The fact of the matter is that they were wrong because they went back on an agreement, plain and simple.
But I have to ask readers of this blog – will you continue to shop at a store that treats their employees this way? I don’t and haven’t for years because I’ve heard about all this crap before, and it sickens me to support someone profiting from being a dick. Will you all continue to support people and corporations like this for clothes that you don’t really need? Tell me – I want to know.
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First I want to say that what has happened to her is terrible, and why anyone would send death threats is beyond me. If she was hired and was informed of a certain dress code, and conducted herself in accordance with that dress code, then it seems that their decision to arbitrarily change that dress code is a racist and discriminatory measure. However, I think that this is only terrible because they hired her under these pretenses and then removed them. The fact is, it is no secret that Abercrombie and Fitch is marketed toward white people, just like how FUBU is marketed toward black people. Because this is the fashion industry, and appearance matters more than in other markets, it makes sense to me that these companies care about who is selling their clothes. Furthermore, I know that models' looks can be overseen because of the nature of the industry. So I guess what I'm saying is that if they want to hire white people exclusively for their retail stores, then they should be able to because of the nature of their business, but if they are going to hire all people, then they should treat all of them fairly and create stringent rules that are not arbitrarily changed for racist purposes.
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Although I have never bought anything from and only been into one of their stores once, I have heard of this company’s practice of intolerance and discrimination several times before. The fact that this is a large company is no excuse that they can get away with these actions over and over again. Yes, they may loose lawsuits and have to pay fines, but that is not a real punishment for any large company. Something more needs to be done to show them that they can not get away with these types of behavior. The fact that this was done by a district or regional manager seems worse to me than if it were just someone in just one store. Because if it were only one store, I think it would be easier to blame it on just one or two individual managers. But with it being managers on a district or regional level it makes a problem for many more employees, not that I’m saying that it’s good on any level. But the fact that these keep happening shows that the punishment isn’t enough, because if it were the main corporate would put down a more strict policy in regards to discrimination rather than just putting out press statements and make general policies. However these practices are not just because of people’s religious attire or even their skin color, body type has just as much to do with it. I have a friend that works for their store in the mall here in state college and after I showed her this video she wasn’t surprised at all. She said that anyone who is hired to work in the front of the store have “Model” in their contract so that if you don’t fit the look that they expect (tall and thin) they can fire you without any other reason than, “your just not good looking enough.” The fact that they can use something like this around some of the basic rules of morality is ridicules. But then I guess that’s the difference between the ethical and moral people. Ethical people do it and know that it’s wrong, while moral people don’t do it because it is wrong.
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This is not the first time I have heard this being a problem with these big named companies acting racist towards a certain type of people or religion. It is incredibly sad that Hollister has to "uphold" their "white" look. Obviously, they are being blatant that a "white" look is the only thing that is acceptable. Not only does it infuriate the people who hear about it, but it makes them look shallow and ridiculous to just about everyone. It is clear that they are not very accepting and they should really start rethinking the way they treat their employees.
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fmh109 Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 3:59 am
I completely agree with you. As a marketing major this kind of situation is not only utterly ridiculous, its really stupid business practices. I am sure if Abercrombie knew that this termination would result in such terrible press they never would have fired this young women. But the fact alone that they cannot tolerate someone other than Caucasian representing their company as a sales person is terrible for their image and for their outreach. I do not know if Abercrombie will recover from this incident like they have others, I know personally it gives me great pause to continue business there when I know situations like this are deemed acceptable by corporate.
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YOU SEE!!! IT’S STUFF LIKE THIS, THAT PISSES ME THE HELL OFFFFFF….I mean what kind of Nonsense is this???? This society and the people within it REALLY IRK MY SOUL right about now. I mean if they had a problem with it they could have told her from the get go that she could not work there to save her the time wasted and the humiliation. They should all be sued for Unfairness, Discrimination, Racism, Injustice… You name it, but Assapppp!!! And how DARE them?!?! They have the Audacity to threaten her life for trying to speak up!?!? I am so fed up its not even funny. How can people be so Cruel and so Heartless?? Why can’t people accept others just the way they are?? Is it a crime to want to follow your religion Or to just be different from others?? Companies should remain neutral when it comes to be associated with cultures and practices.
I am so glad that these ladies were courageous enough to come out and talk about this type of discrimination so people who think that racial discrimination only happens when it’s about black and white people understand that there are all types of discriminations. This is so PATHETIC!!! OMG! I am so mad right now I need to calm down…What’s up with this world?? What’s going on through people’s mind?? What do they get out of it?? I can not wait to see what Abercrombie’s and Hollister’s spokespeople have to say about this, because I really don’t think they have a way around this. What happened to the girl was deliberate discrimination. She obeyed the color rule for her headscarf and seemed to be a good worker, yet corporate wanted to get rid of her just because she dressed differently than other people.
People should take a stand and let companies like Abercrombie and Hollister know that they are not going to support companies like them who discriminate against different races and cultures. It is very unfair to tell this woman when she applied for the job that she would be able to wear her scarf and then tell her out of no where that she no longer will be able too. I believe Abercrombie and Hollister are racist companies. The majority of there employees are white and they hire very few minority employees. They should be PUNISHED EXTREMELLY HARD for their actions, because it’s not like it’s the first, second or third times that they committed an act like this…It has come to my attention that these two companies have been know for Horrible acts like this for many years, so they definitely have NO EXCUSES What So Ever. This is supposed to be a FREE country and they should RESPECT it whether they like it or not Damn It!!!!
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This story is completely absurd. These employees need to take a look at the world around them and make better decisions than the ones they are making in their workforce. If they were to compare themselves to other companies, they would find that they are very unique. Not unique in a good way but in a way that is utterly disturbing and wrong. The world we live in today is a much diversified culture filled with all different types of races. This increase in numbers pertaining to the minority increase has given people a new outlook on life and has given them reasons why they should be open to learning new cultures and become well rounded when dealing with different type of people. Hollister needs to realize that our country is not just white. Other races are going into their store and are shopping there. They are not just appealing to white people but to other cultures as well. By having such ridiculous rules such as these, they are pushing away a large amount of customers and in the end they will be losing business. They have no excuse or do not have any right for pity if they were to go under because their idea of ethics is completely twisted. The fact that this story hit big news also shows that other people are finding this absurd enough to put on the news. This story is going to hit big and make people double check how they feel about the store Hollister. After hearing this story, personally I am very troubled and do not find these actions excusable. This company deserves to be exploited and called out because they should not be able to get away with actions such as these.
I have shopped at Abercrombie and Hollister for some of my high school years. However, I never felt like I was discriminated against as a customer. I have noticed that the employees that are on the floor are predominantly white though. I have seen a Black girl and a brown guy in their stores though and thought nothing of it. I thought this store was welcoming all kinds of people being that this is the world we live in today. Nobody should feel as if they can walk into a store and get discriminated against. That is not the world I thought I was being raised in nor would like it to be the world for future generations to be raised in. If stores like these have policies such as not being able to wear a head scarf, then they need to change their ethics so that they become more appealing to the outside world. In the future I hope that this store makes better decisions and that other stores take this as an example of what not to do.
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This is absurd. Abercrombie and Fitch handled this poorly. I see two problems at hand: 1. They lied, telling the girl the headscarf was acceptable which allowed her to belief that there would be no issue and then fired her on account of wearing the hijab. 2. They are clearly violating the first amendment to the Constitution which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” The hijab is worn for reasons based on religious doctrine. In the book Hadith of Sahih Bukhari it says, “My Lord agreed with me ('Umar) in three things… (2) And as regards the veiling of women, I said 'O Allah's Apostle! I wish you ordered your wives to cover themselves from the men because good and bad ones talk to them.' So the verse of the veiling of the women was revealled" Obviously this is a religious teaching.
On the U.S. Department of State website, it talks about how the United States is a country dedicated to aiding religious NGOs, assisting new democratic countries in promoting freedom of religion, “Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries;” and most importantly “Identify and denounce regimes that are severe persecutors of their citizens or others on the basis of religious belief.” As distinctly stated, the United States has a strong stance on the issue of religious freedom and we even encourage it in other countries. How is it possible then that these standards are not enforced to the companies within the country that is so open and tolerant to all religious beliefs?
The young woman complied with the requests of Abercrombie and Fitch, wearing only blue, gray, or white headscarfs, yet she was fired for no apparent reason other than her hijab. I fail to see how wearing the hijab is a threat to the sales of their company or in any way offensive to customers. The actions that Abercrombie and Fitch took were blatantly incongruous with the aforementioned statements found on the US Department of State website. I think the best course of action from Abercrombie and Fitch would be an apology, obviously the re-hiring of the young Muslim woman and a raise. Unfortunately the company can’t undo what they did but they can make efforts to fix the current situation.
Sadly, I think the actions of this company reflect the thoughts of many people are an example of issues to come.
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The sad thing is, this isn't the first time I’ve heard about Abercrombie & Fitches policy. I just find it unbelievably ridiculous that there would be a policy that tells you what you can and cannot wear even when your clothing is religiously mandated. This shows how far society has actually come. We haven’t gone that far if we still are telling people that they cannot do something because they look differently. I have read that A & F discriminate and only put the white, blond hair, blue eyed people to walk around the store floor, while making the people of color work the stock rooms in the back. As much as some people hate to see this happening, you can’t deny the fact that it is everywhere. Companies will always try and twist or bend the truth so that they seem justified in their actions. When you promote an image as a company- the seemingly preppy one that A & F seems to try and create- it is unfair to be told that you are unable to work in an establishment due to your attire, and evern worse your religious articles. How could you even hire this woman in the first place if you knew that you would fire her because of her head scarf? Another question that I have is why hasn’t anyone else spoken out? It’s like that experiment that Sam showed in class in which the lady was denied service because she "looked like a terrorist." Then the people were recorded on what they did. That’s most likely what has happened here, our society has made the image of a head scarf synonymous with the idea of terrorism. If more people took a stand for this injustice instead of saying "it's not my space" or "it's not my problem" we would have a completely different society. However, the way that things are going I don’t think we can ever ask for that much. Although we are different in appearance here we are Americans. This is why we should be obligated to help another American against injustice. I think that more needs to be done. How many episodes of injustice will it take before people realize that there is a problem? What if a person of color or a company that portrays an image of color denied a white person working right because of their religion? I'm sure that there would be a substantially larger reaction to the act than that of the denial of colored people. This act of racism and religious intolerance is reminiscent of the civil rights movement. "WHITES ONLY" signs are just as hurting as being fired for your religious attire and this needs to be stopped.
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It is too sad that she lost job and it was believed to be due to headscarf expressing one's religion in the United States of America that protects for the freedom of religion.
Even though the company tried to explain the firing was not because of her religion but that of her poor performance in work.
Well, I don't think it is much compelling because she was kind of "new" in the area and the first step the company should take was not to fire her but to try to work it out.
Furthermore, the limitations on color choices of headscarf (gray, navy blue, and white) were imposed but the manager prohibited that. Paradoxx. Illegitimate rationale.
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Honestly, it is not focussed around ethnic background in regards to Abercrombie and Fitch and whom it's managers choose to hire. Any sort of deviation from the normal, that is, anyone who is not thin, anyone who is not attractive, and anyone who has any other type of feature which may make him or her look different from Abercrombie and Fitch's "image," I assure you, will not be hired or will only be hired under desperate measures to distract critics like us from condemning the company. It's ridiculous, especially because this company choosing not to hire prospective employees for reasons based on appearance, instead of how WELL this person could perform the daunting task of greeting customers, folding clothes, and making transactions. Abercrombie and Fitch discriminates during it's hiring process, as well as with every pair of jeans or tops it sells, as the company only carries smaller sizes in its apparrel so people larger than Abercrombie's "image" cannot sport its merchandise.
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What I do not understand is why she is getting death threats. What are people saying? I wish that the news anchor and Hani could have elaborated on that topic. She was the one who was discriminated against, and for something as insignificant as Abercrombie and Fitch. Furthermore, Abercrombie and Fitch really needs to increase the size their target populations. Their clothing is pretty limited to pre-teens, high school kids, and adults trying to appear young. If they do not show more diversity in their own workforce, how can they expect to attract more customers and fans? After all the accusations of racism, discrimination, and use of child labor they really cannot afford to continue their ridiculous “look policy
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chooses to hire prospective employeed for reasons based on appearance*
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I hate these stores. I hate these people who run these stores and some of the people who work there as superiors. I have had friends that work at these stores and the stories I hear are so disgusting. How can you be fired from anywhere because of how you look. That type of discrimination is so terrible, I can not even fathom how a person could do such a thing. This news story should have been publicized so much more nationally because Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister and all of those types of stores would be criticized so greatly for it, it would be amazing.
Here is a story from a friend of mine who used to be an employee at Abercrombie and Fitch…. My friend was working one day and a girl walked into the store looking to apply for a position as a sales associate. My friend was the person to meet with the girl, and he went back to the managers office to grab her an application because they were in need of employees and "hiring" at the time. When my friend got to the managers office and told him that there was a girl looking for a job, he expected the manager to be just as pleased as he was because they had been working a lot due to the understaffed store. The manager looked at him and instead of saying "great" and handing him an application for the girl, the manager said "Is she good looking, like would you hook up with her." My friend was so caught off guard because he had no clue what this question was geared towards. I guess he was just assuming that the manager was engaging in some typical "guy talk" (which is offensive like this sometimes), and he said that she was "cute but a little chubby." The manager immediately said, "Chubby? We have a reputation to uphold. Tell her we are not hiring." My friend was shocked, and even though they were understaffed he had to tell the girl that the were not looking for people at the moment, and turned her away.
This kind of thing is so ridiculous to hear about. It is so shocking to hear a story like this and wonder if something like this has or could ever happen to you. Many of us will be put in a situation where we hope to be judged by the quality of our resume or interview capabilities. But the fact that there are other determining factors out there like religion, race, LOOKS, ethnicity, traditions, etc. is so disheartening. How can you ever have confidence in yourself if you do not know what you are being judged upon or what is acceptable. We live in a cruel cruel world my friends.
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At first when I saw this video I was disgusted, but I wasn’t really shocked at all. I have also perceived Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch to be stores which targeted a certain group or type of people and if you did not fit into this category you just wouldn’t go in. That certain group or type of people is extra skinny, usually attractive and really built. I know this because I used to shop at these stores. That is, until I reached high school and the clothes didn’t fit as they used to. When I was younger I was super skinny and didn’t have much of a body so I loved shopping at Hollister because the clothes were very slimming and nice. As I entered high school and my body started to fill out I couldn’t shop at this store anymore because even though I was growing, the clothes weren’t and they just didn’t fit the same. I still sometimes go into the store to look around or with my friend who fits that ultra slim figure, but I never have the intentions of buying anything. Just recently I decided to stop going into the store altogether because it just wasn’t for me and I didn’t want to waste my time. It wasn’t because the employers of the store were discriminating against me, but that was just the style of the store and my style had changed. I do admit that I wouldn’t mind them making the sleeve arms a little bigger because I doubt babies will be able to fit their arms through there or even jeans. Looking at America today, who really fits into a size double 0 anyway? It is kind of ridiculous, but that is the store. Truth is some stores are meant to target some people depending on style, built or for financial reasons and this is one of those stores. It didn’t surprise me that the employers would have to look up to these standards as well. This is why I wasn’t really surprised by the video because I know people who have tried to work there and if they did not fit the look they weren’t getting hired. These stores have an image and their employers are supposed to fit these images despite how discriminating it may be. Honestly, if you don’t fit the image why would you bother trying to apply anyway? I definitely don’t fit the image of the long haired blond, blue eyed, super slim girl, so I wouldn’t waste my time working there. What did bother me from this video was that she was hired and she was hired allowed to wear her head scarf. If they weren’t going to let her wear it then they should of said no to her from the beginning and save her the trouble. That is what makes this video wrong to me.
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What Abercrombie did to that poor girl was most definitely racist. She should sue the hell out of them because they HIRED her knowing that she was going to wear that scarf.
What Abercrombie should have done is NOT having hired her in the first place. Some jobs should be able to hire specific people to their specific niche. (Flight attendants have height requirements; Personal Trainers should have to be in good shape etc) Abercrombie has very specific, rice, preppy, yacht club kind of look and the scarf doesn’t fit it. In fact, if they had told her in the first place that she couldn’t be hired if she was going to wear that scarf I might have been okay with that.
But that is what happened. They DID hire her, knowing she would be wearing that scarf. They then later FIRED that girl for wearing that scarf. That’s flat out inexcusable. Its serious racism and should be dealt with accordingly.
I am going to back track to the statement I made about how some jobs need to hire people of a certain look. Within reason, I think that sort of discrimination is ok. For example if a pizza shop only wants to hire Italians that’s fine because personally, (and I think most people would agree) I would prefer my pizza made by Italians as opposed to Irish, Russian, or Asian people. Similarly, I do not have a problem with Abercrombie telling people what they can and can’t wear even if it’s their “religious beliefs”. Religious beliefs are chosen. If you choose to wear religious articles of clothing in an Abercrombie, a Hot Topic (goth store) or something like that they should be allowed to NOT hire you. But once you’re hired, if they knew about your religious requirements, they should be able to change their minds and fire you for it.
Furthermore, I think we need to be weary of “over equalizing” everything. Certainly discrimination is most often wrong and a bad thing in general, but political correctness and over sensitivity towards peoples differences. I don’t want to live in a world where anyone who is different can blame the fact that you didn’t hire them on some superficial fact about how they look. Because lets be real here: LOOKS MATTER. They do. They just do and it’s a fact. You shouldn’t sue a modeling agency if they don’t hire you because you’re fat and have poor facial symmetry. The fact of the matter is that some peoples looks CAN and WILL cause you to have fewer customers and/or lose revenue. I don’t think we should necessarily force jobs to hire everyone. That said, I know modeling agencies don’t hire fat people, and although that was probably a poor comparison it made my point that if we let political correctness and diversity apply to too much of our daily lives, it will cripple us and have a negative impact on society.
In conclusion, Abercrombie was wrong, give the girl some money, but be careful in the future.
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Somehow I’m not surprised that something like this has happened with Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch. Every time I would go into their store they had posters of deathly skinny girls and very masculine men. The store only catered to a certain type of person. I mean come on how many girls do you know that are actually a size zero? We’re all different. We have unique traits, body types, and skin color. A lot of us also have different religious views. I’m glad that the company has come under fire because this situation is a real problem. I feel really sorry for the girl that was working here. The fact that she had already discussed with the boss that she would be able to wear the scarf. She also agreed to wear the exact colors of the company. She did everything that she agreed to. Corporate should not have fired her for breaking the look policy.
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From what the girl said in the video, the person from HR gave examples such as hats for breaking the look policy. She wasn’t wearing a hat! It is part of her religion and culture. I sounds to me that the company was just coming up with something to come up with to have a reason to fire her. I mean come to think of it, they’d probably think that she was making a bad name for the company since she did not look like the fake person they wanted her to look like. What other reason is there for someone from corporate to randomly come to the store she was working at and fire her? I think that maybe they were receiving multiple complaints and had to do something about it.
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dal5110 Reply:
March 8th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
I agree that there may have been complaints that worked their way up to the district manager, which caused her firing. Clearly this is wrong, hypocritical and unscrupulous, but I do believe the lawsuit (if pursued) will do both parties justice. It should hopefully penalize Hollister/Abercrombie and reward the fired employee Hani. And I laughed at the statement by Abercrombie. It sounds so superficial and a means to cover up their discrimination. Once the Equal Employment Opportunity Complaint company investigates, I believe they will agree that this is a form of a discriminatory firing, which should lead to sanctions for the company as on a corporate level. If the complaint isn't filed or a lawsuit isn't pursued, i'm sure the controversy will impact the company in one way or another.
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The fact that a law suit is being filed is a step in the right direction. Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch should or any company should be able to discriminate against employees. The companies should be responsible for making adjustments to their picture of an ideal employee. There should be an equal opportunity for everyone to be able to work at whatever place they want to. People shouldn’t be discriminated based or fired based on their skin color or religious beliefs.
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Trindle21 Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 12:40 am
Yeah a lawsuit is a step in the right direction, but it is no guarantee that their policy will get changed. But I guess when enough awareness is made something has to get changed in order to keep customers from boycotting them.
I do believe too that everyone deserves equal opportunity, but is some form of discrimination needed for a business to achieve their ascribed look? Should that be allowed? Maybe religion shouldn’t be a factor in hiring or firing someone, but if an employer does not want to hire someone for whatever reason they need to just not higher then in the first place to save themselves a headache later on. That isn’t saying it is right for them to do it, but it is a less harmful way.
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