In January of this year, West Vancouver mother Trina Campbell went to the media with what she described as the discovery of a porn magazine at a local American Apparel store. She had been shopping with her 13 year old daughter and pulled the magazine out of the backpack of a mannequin on display. She then chastised the company for having it so easy to find by children in the store, and boycotted the company.
”I pulled it out and I went to open it and it flipped open to a double-page spread of two men having full-on sexual activity, not just suggestive,” Campbell told CBC news. “I don’t think this is something that the average person wants to see unless they’re ready or going out of the way to see it.”
Why she went out of her way to see it by taking something from a display mannequin is unclear. However after an initial media buzz surrounding the store carrying the magazine in the first place, on February 26th the company released a statement confirming it will continue to sell the quarterly magazine.
“BUTT Magazine is a wonderful fashion, culture, art magazine and a popular seller,” stated company creative director Iris Alonzo in the release. “American Apparel has always supported gay rights and will continue to support its gay and gay-friendly customers by carrying publications and products they appreciate.”
American Apparel stores first carried the magazine in 2005, and in 2007 it was CEO Deov Charney’s mother who expressed concern over its content. Charney wrote his mother regarding her concern.
”BUTT is an important art magazine that I support. No question, that it is going to offend people and it is my feeling that that is the nature of provocative art. At times, to make progress, you end up offending people. And people were offended by many things I have done over the years. But I did what I felt was right, especially from an art and creative point of view. We are going somewhere with what we are doing, and no one is required to buy it. Many people have told me how much they appreciate our carrying the magazine. It has sold out in some stores,” he wrote. “Also, because some moralistic anti-gay forces opposed our carrying it within our company, I am committed to having it. I wanted our company to be open enough to accommodate this kind of magazine, and if I don’t set the precedent now, it could become too late to get that done later. Sexual freedom, art, and photography are important to me and I am standing firm on my support for BUTT.”
GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine spoke to company spokesperson Ryan Holiday about the controversy. One of the statements made by the mother was concern about it’s accessibility to children.
”The magazine is normally kept behind the counter or high up in a display. We always try to shrink wrap them and they have an 18+ sticker on the front. What a lot of reporters missed in their rush to condemn this magazine is that the cover of BUTT is not adult. What the woman saw was the photography inside the magazine, after she removed it from the display and after she opened and looked through the magazine.”
Surprisingly, American Apparel has received a lot more support than condemnation. Reading through the comments sections of some of the articles, people have been very vocal in hoping the stores continue to carry the magazine.
“The comments sections of the articles was something we took a lot of pride in, for the most part. I think it shows the disconnect between the open-minded, rational public who were skeptical about it all and the media who tarnished the reputation of a great magazine without stopping to consider its merits. BUTT isn’t pornography; it’s sold at museums all over the world. The reason we wanted to come out and reaffirm our support for this is that we didn’t want anyone to think that we would abandon a publication we think is important just because the media got caught up in a juicy story and tried to shame American Apparel for its artistic choice.”
American Apparel has come under fire for some of it’s advertising, which is often sexual in nature, but less focus is given to the positives of the company. American Apparel does not use sweatshops and has above standard workers rights within the company. They have also been a major supporter of gay rights, including battling Prop 8 in California through their “Legalize Gay” campaign.
“American Apparel believes that sexuality should be celebrated, not condemned. But Proposition 8 is just that, a condemnation of the basic right of marriage of an entire group of people based on their sexuality. We’re proud to stand against Prop 8 and what it represents. In November of 2008 our Legalize Gay shirt was originally printed to give to protesters at rallies and marches. The response was so overwhelming that we had more made and distributed them to our stores and put them up online.”
Their website says, “Sometimes what we do is controversial and not everyone agrees with our opinion. We hope that you can understand that we’re sincere about this and that we think it’s important, just like we are about Legalize LA.”
“In advertising, American Apparel makes decisions that other companies are afraid to make. The models aren’t airbrushed or Photoshopped into being something they are not. American Apparel models are real girls and the company does all the photography, so we stand behind it rather than contract it out to some ad agency,” said Holiday. “I think the best way to put it is that American Apparel does what it thinks is right and that’s how the company is run from top to bottom.”
