Abercrombie and Fitch's "Ideal Body"

In every stereotypical school, there are the supposed "cool" kids and the supposed "uncool" kids. As silly as it seems, one thing I remember from my time in middle school and junior high was that the "cooler" kids stereotypically wore clothes from the store Abercrombie and Fitch. In fact, this is exactly the vision Mike Jeffries, the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch, hoped for. In a recent interview with salon.com (linked HERE), Jeffries exclaimed:

We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.

What's more, Jeffries has actually gone so far as to define what he considers to be uncool, pegging anybody who is overweight by today's standards as the ones who "don't belong." What the company does is make their clothing run so small that even the largest sizes will not fit some people. I personally don't own any clothes from this store, but I have definitely heard other girls say how they're clothes from A&F were about two sizes bigger than what they normally wear.

Sadly, this is just one example of how the media plays a huge role in shaping the way we think. By being completely discriminatory against people who aren't thin, this company is in a way trying to teach people that the only way to move up the social ladder of youth is to be skinny. Abercrombie is showing that there is a set mold for being "cool", and things that make people different like different body types makes them uncool, instead of a unique individual.

Mike Jeffries, CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch (Ironically sporting A&F clothing even though he is not  a "..kid with a great attitude.."