Hollister Company [Opinion]
This past September, the pseudo-surf-clothing chain Hollister had a grand opening in Korea, and they imported young American male models for the event. The models were soon making fun of their new Asian clients by giving the middle finger during photo ops, poking fun at Asian pronunciations of English on Twitter, and mocking Koreans with slanted-eye poses at Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was a bewildering display of ignorance and cultural insensitivity.
Hollister quickly fired the models involved and issued a typical canned corporate response: “On behalf of our more than 80,000 associates around the world who cherish our core values and our culture of diversity and inclusion, we sincerely apologize for the offense caused by these unauthorized, ill-considered actions.” To some, this may ring a bit hollow since their parent company Ambercrombie and Fitch has been accused in the past of promoting racism; nevertheless, Hollister Co. took some responsibility and action.
But the incident initially did spark debate and raised important questions about racism. After the episode made the news, comments posted on the internet voiced a mix of outrage and disgust. Some Koreans advocated a boycott while others mocked Korean girls for being so blindly attracted to “moronic smelly Yankees.”
Foreigner comments ranged from the apologetic to the defensive. Some lamented the perpetuation of stereotypes and asked for a more balanced view of westerners while others tried to make counter claims citing so called “Korean racism.”
On the website www.koreabang.com, comments varied as well (I did not comment). One person stated, “Hollister is a clothing company. If you like their clothing, buy it … some Hollister models were stupid and insensitive, however, that ideal is not what Hollister is propagating. I highly doubt the company has a big racist scheme against Asians, in fact, they probably want to flatter Asians… so they can open more stores and make more money.”
And another commented, “The problem with this is that race is a factor, the models were representatives of that company and this is an American company on Korean soil. Koreans can be as offended as they like because Hollister is a guest in their country, and guests need to observe proper etiquette. You wouldn’t just roll out the welcome mat to someone who came to your home and treated you like crap…would you?”
In my opinion I think the Hollister models actions were a byproduct not only of youthful ignorance but of a segment of America that is not only affluent-centric but culturally and ethnically uniform.
I grew up in the American Midwest at the far southwest edge of Chicago land. My family and neighborhood were working-class but like so many American cities over the past fifty years a demographic shift occurred based not only on income but high rates of minority crime and Mexican immigration. This social dynamic has been labeled, sometimes unfairly, as “White Flight.”
In my experience I felt that, combined with the rise of the suburbs this division created a homogenous “white” culture where kids grew up isolated not only from minorities and newly immigrating ethnic groups but from the outside world as well. My impression was the only things “Asian” an average suburban kid might be exposed to were Honda Civics and Jackie Chan.
Personally I would be very, very surprised if the Hollister models grew up in a mixed-ethnicity, working-class neighborhood or went to public schools. And I would be further surprised if they knew anything at all about the Korean War and American lives sacrificed so that South Korea could be a democracy and a free-market nation.
Thankfully the incident was quickly buried by other news and people moved on with their lives. But it was a reminder that occasionally some Americans unfortunately do fit the stereotype of being culturally obnoxious abroad. Maybe in the end, the joke will be on the Hollister models. By behaving poorly they became the stereotype that many people have about fashion models – namely that they are narcissistic to the point of stupidity (e.g, Derek Zoolander). I’m not going to advocate a boycott or harass people who wear Hollister clothes. People should be free to choose, but I always preferred the less fashionable Carhartt or Dickies clothing lines anyway.