abercrombie pt. 2

i just came back from an interview at a law firm on 5th avenue, and i couldn't help hearing a beguiling "thumpa thumpa" noise when i walked to the bus stop. oh could it be the flagship abercrombie store? let us go inside and check out the venue, shall we...

the first thing you notice are the adonis-like male greeters and a strong whiff of male cologne, which, by the way is called "fierce." no, really. their men's cologne is called "fierce." i'm not kidding. click on this link. check out the packaging too. anyway, there are handpainted murals on the stairwells of muscular men in various stages of undress with nary a female in sight. one particular mural shows half naked men climbing up a wall wearing tighty whities. there is a large bronze statue of a man in a tighty whitie / loincloth hybrid carrying what looks like a basketball. who wears nothing but underwear to play pick up basketball? anyone?

(there are, however, a few female workers inside the store, and i am happy to report that there is a healthy number of extremely good looking minority salespeople. good job, abercrombie. it's about time people know that brown and yellow models can use as much hair gel and be as anorexic as white models. whoo hoo! eXtreme egalitarianism!)

club music is blasting so loudly that you can't hear the person next to you speak. (yeah donna summer and eurodance acts that i've never heard of!) the decor is dark, angular, modern, with some metallic accents and frost. not very "state college"-ish at all.

anyway, the women's section is relegated to a little cubbyhole in the back. oh no. not so eXtreme egalitarianism.

anyway, the next person who says that abercrombie markets equally to straight women as they do gay men (and i've heard many naive people claim this) is nuts.

(okay i'll admit i bought a scarf. the thumpa thumpa told me to. and i only paid a little over $20.)

anyway, it's just interesting how much queer culture permeates mainstream society, and unless you're queer, much of it might not really register, and if you point it out, you might be called insane. but it's definitely there, people. i wrote a post about america's next top model being one of the most genderqueer shows on television, but i never finished it. maybe i will. later.