dre poetic: words by adrien salazar

In case you haven’t heard, American Apparel has launched a new clothing line marked by “tribal” prints, called Afrika.

From Feministing:

While I would not use the word racist to describe what American Apparel has done wrong, I would use exotification, “othering,” cultural commodification and, well, stupidity.

…

What other continent is viewed this way? When was the last time you saw a fashion collection of brown bear fur and Celtic prints labeled “Europe!”

…

[N]o one can be bothered to know the difference between Zambia and Mauritania. Africa becomes just a mush of dark tribal folk and wild animals, and suffers the indignity of insensitive marketing all the time.

In honor of this new line:

american apparel
thank you for afrika
for zebra print and bangles
thank you
for reminding us
of darkness and wet
exotic
and feral
thank you for
an entire continent
thousands of cultures
hundreds of years
slavery colony Christianity
blood and spirit
boiled into
a cute form-fitted
tribal print tube top
because i too am tribal
and cannot wait for your
asia line
or filipino line
mexico line
because appropriation
is just so sexy
and i am ready for you
to sell me back
my own skin