Yes, we are still making the rookie-parent mistake of shopping at the GAP but we may have been cured of this “issue”/habit by what happened the other day.. Before I go any further, let me say – I promise that this blog will not a place for me to rant and rave about all of the wrongs I encounter on a daily/weekly basis – I want it to be a positive thing BUT.. I’ve got to make an exception here.
So… me and my family went to the GAP at the Grove the other day to pick up some socks and “winter clothes” for our trip back east next week. We have been to this GAP a million times over the past 18 months (we got a ton of maternity clothes there too) so the changes jumped out at us relatively quickly. We walked up to the counter to pay adult prices for baby clothes and that is when I really “saw” the picture behind the counter. The picture behind the counter was probably 10’ x 5’ and had four babies smiling at us - all four of the babies were white baby boys. This was curious but I thought that maybe they were supposed to be brothers or something so I looked around at the other pictures in the room – there were probably a total of 12 baby pictures hanging in this department and only one was a child of color. Then, I looked at the customers and the department was packed with people of all colors.. And, the three women working behind the counter were Latinas.
Of course, I said something to the woman ringing us up! Here is how the conversation went:
Me: What up with the pictures?
Saleswoman: (laughing a knowing laugh): Don’t say anything…
Me: Seriously, I feel like I am in a Spike Lee movie - Yo… how come there ain’t no brothas up on the wall? On ANY of the walls
SW –(Laughing and looking around ) I did notice the picture behind us… We (nodding at the other women behind the counter with her) talked about that but I hadn’t really noticed the other pictures – it does look crazy doesn’t it?
Me; Crazy? It looks Hitler does your marketing!
SW – WOW. Actually, these people entered their babies in a competition
Me (holding my stunningly beautiful son) so did I – I guess he doesn’t fit the GAP ideal..
SW: NO? your son is beautiful!
Me; Yeah, we entered him. Then, (pointing to a sweet little Asian girl in a carriage next to us) – what about her ? She is perfect.SW: she is perfect isn’t she?!
Me; Yes, Marketing folks are just like casting directors in Hollywood. Maybe we should boycott GAP.
SW – (smiling and being surprisingly patient with my rant) don’t boycott us!
Me: Jeez, this is JUST like watching television –
Of course, I talked all of that trash and STILL bought all of my son’s clothes. However, I did get the address for the corporate offices and I will write a letter.
I know that no one from GAP will ever read this blog and they probably won’t even read my letter so I will share the highlights from this letter with you:
I will describe what happened during my recent visit. Then I will stress the following.
I am really distressed by the message you are sending to your customers. I believe that your in-store photos should reflect the wide array of people who shop at your store (like your ads that attract people to the store). AMERICA shops at GAP and America is diverse. Your in-store marketing tells me that you only value your white customers and don’t care about all of the money that the rest of America spends in your stores. What it also tells me is that your executive team is not very diverse.. SERIOUSLY, GAP, it is 2008!
I will go on and on in this letter then I will ask them to explain themselves. You know this brings up a much larger point for me – I am really sick and tired of having this thrown in my face --- The most recent example of this was the freaking Writer’s strike (I was calling it the “Whiter’s strike”) - I would have been embarrassed to strike if I was them – it looked like a damn Boston Fireman’s labor strike from the 1930s.
So… me and my family went to the GAP at the Grove the other day to pick up some socks and “winter clothes” for our trip back east next week. We have been to this GAP a million times over the past 18 months (we got a ton of maternity clothes there too) so the changes jumped out at us relatively quickly. We walked up to the counter to pay adult prices for baby clothes and that is when I really “saw” the picture behind the counter. The picture behind the counter was probably 10’ x 5’ and had four babies smiling at us - all four of the babies were white baby boys. This was curious but I thought that maybe they were supposed to be brothers or something so I looked around at the other pictures in the room – there were probably a total of 12 baby pictures hanging in this department and only one was a child of color. Then, I looked at the customers and the department was packed with people of all colors.. And, the three women working behind the counter were Latinas.
Of course, I said something to the woman ringing us up! Here is how the conversation went:
Me: What up with the pictures?
Saleswoman: (laughing a knowing laugh): Don’t say anything…
Me: Seriously, I feel like I am in a Spike Lee movie - Yo… how come there ain’t no brothas up on the wall? On ANY of the walls
SW –(Laughing and looking around ) I did notice the picture behind us… We (nodding at the other women behind the counter with her) talked about that but I hadn’t really noticed the other pictures – it does look crazy doesn’t it?
Me; Crazy? It looks Hitler does your marketing!
SW – WOW. Actually, these people entered their babies in a competition
Me (holding my stunningly beautiful son) so did I – I guess he doesn’t fit the GAP ideal..
SW: NO? your son is beautiful!
Me; Yeah, we entered him. Then, (pointing to a sweet little Asian girl in a carriage next to us) – what about her ? She is perfect.SW: she is perfect isn’t she?!
Me; Yes, Marketing folks are just like casting directors in Hollywood. Maybe we should boycott GAP.
SW – (smiling and being surprisingly patient with my rant) don’t boycott us!
Me: Jeez, this is JUST like watching television –
Of course, I talked all of that trash and STILL bought all of my son’s clothes. However, I did get the address for the corporate offices and I will write a letter.
I know that no one from GAP will ever read this blog and they probably won’t even read my letter so I will share the highlights from this letter with you:
I will describe what happened during my recent visit. Then I will stress the following.
I am really distressed by the message you are sending to your customers. I believe that your in-store photos should reflect the wide array of people who shop at your store (like your ads that attract people to the store). AMERICA shops at GAP and America is diverse. Your in-store marketing tells me that you only value your white customers and don’t care about all of the money that the rest of America spends in your stores. What it also tells me is that your executive team is not very diverse.. SERIOUSLY, GAP, it is 2008!
I will go on and on in this letter then I will ask them to explain themselves. You know this brings up a much larger point for me – I am really sick and tired of having this thrown in my face --- The most recent example of this was the freaking Writer’s strike (I was calling it the “Whiter’s strike”) - I would have been embarrassed to strike if I was them – it looked like a damn Boston Fireman’s labor strike from the 1930s.
Look, I am going to stop here because I don’t want to waste any more time on the freaking GAP.. There are much bigger social issues that I should address and the pictures on the walls of the baby section of the GAP in Los Angeles is not the appropriate place to start! So, I am going to leave this for now but I am going to begin to engage all two of my readers in a much longer and deeper discussion about the many “isms” that are constantly at play in our society.
In the meantime, GAP - WAAAAAKKKKKEEEE UPPPPPPPPPP!!! (for all of your Spike Lee fans).
