KINSEY LEGACY
One of an astronomical number of legacies that the late Dr. Alfred Kinsey left us through his fraudulent and criminal research is that you cannot walk into an Abercrombie and Fitch store without being assaulted by semi-nude life-size posters all over the walls. One of our members asked a store manager about these posters recently and was told that they “get a lot of complaints.” When our member gently reminded this female manager that pornography exploits women and children and asked whether the policy-makers and A&F are men, she left the young woman with food for thought.
We recently (July 17, 2003) published a Family Concerns about Abercrombie’s latest catalogue that poses semi-nude and strategically concealed nude young men and women in seductive poses. Now Abercrombie and Fitch has gone one step further in the slippery slope that using sex to sell places our culture. Some Abercrombie and Fitch customers in a Midland Texas store were secretly photographed in various stages of undress in a dressing room. Jan LaRue, Concerned Women for America’s chief counsel states about this “civil matter that does not involve the company” according to spokeswoman for the store: “Reaching into A&F’s deep pocket in this will be a huge challenge for these attorneys (Brian Carney and Kent Buckingham who represent the 29-year-old woman who filed the suit). They are going to have to prove that the manager and cameraman acted within the scope and course of their employment, which is dubious at best. If what these guys did is also criminal, that will shield corporate headquarters even more.” But LaRue also added that Abercrombie & Fitch should consider such lawsuits as part of the cost for their business tactics. “A&F has received hundreds of complaints from consumers and decency organizations for years because of its ‘porny’ catalogues featuring nude and semi-nude modes,” she added. “A company that does that shouldn’t be too surprised when employees take offensiveness up a notch.”
What it does demonstrate is that pornography acts in some people as a stimulant to act on what they see. A&F and parents need to understand that pornography is dangerous; that the consequences of viewing pornography are severe no matter where it is.