Recently, I was in my local megamall and as I ascended the second floor was met with the gaze of what appeared to be a poster of naked teenage girl in the store windows of Aerie. It was a side view, covered in discreet places, but the viewer was left to interpret the model was not wearing any clothes. I immediately entered the store and asked the gal at the register to take down the poster since I considered it child pornography. She nervously explained she was only the manager on duty but would inform the store manager immediately the next day. I assured her if action was not taken swiftly I would lodge a complaint with the mall management company, explaining since it was available for all mall inhabitants to see, Aerie, and its parent company, Abercrombie and Fitch, were trafficking in child pornography- clearly I’ve seen too many Law & Order episodes.
As it was a Friday evening and the mall property’s management staff had left for the day, security staff provided me a complaint form and instructed me to return on Monday am. Upon my return Monday, the Aerie window display had been removed, I did not need to lodge a formal complaint after all, I needed only to voice my objection to a retailer dictating to me, and my children, what passes for normal.
Our daughters are constantly bombarded with messages from the media that they aren’t sexy enough, and for Jr high! since that’s Aerie’s targeted audience, ages 10 and up. If you complain about things you see or hear, but rarely voice your objection, it doesn’t take much to start a change- that you made a difference is all the reward you need to take on the bigger challenges.