We can't act like ambiguity is somehow neutral or harmless here, especially when the aesthetics lean so heavily into this idealized whiteness, and then ends on a phrase talking about "good genes." It stops being just clever wordplay. And it starts echoing long-standing narratives about genetic superiority. In that context, it's not hard to see how this lands as more than just a cheeky pun.I get what you’re saying. I think American Eagle went with the ad because the ambiguity would cause publicity since they knew there would be outrage online.
If their true intention was to racebait then it would best to reframe the ad to be inclusive (by saying all races can have good genes and then ignore it) which would defeat the point of their outrage seeking strategy.
Hunter Schafer is seen as an attractive white woman by a lot of people. It’s a fair point to ask would the ad trigger the online left if she was used instead of Sydney?
You make good points, if I were to be generous with their intentions I think the marketing executives wanted to inflame the online left/liberals for free publicity to play into anti woke tropes.We can't act like ambiguity is somehow neutral or harmless here, especially when the aesthetics lean so heavily into this idealized whiteness, and then ends on a phrase talking about "good genes." It stops being just clever wordplay. And it starts echoing long-standing narratives about genetic superiority. In that context, it's not hard to see how this lands as more than just a cheeky pun.
As far as Hunter Schafer -- context matters. Who's delivering the message? What do they represent? All of that matters in shaping how it is received. You can't just swap one white person in for another and pretend the message carries the same cultural weight or implications. It doesn't.
Even before people started pointing this all out, there were already folks online using the ad as a symbolic "win" against so-called "wokeness" and rallying around her like some kind of savior. That's only become more obvious with the wider right-wing embrace of the ad, not because the message was misunderstood, but because it was understood perfectly by the target audience.
Maybe in another time this kind of ad wouldn't feel like a big deal. But right now, when so many parts of society are capitulating to Trump and his "fight anti-white racism" crusade, I can't just shrug this off. I'm not going to pretend there's no subtext here or that it's all just clever marketing. We're living in a moment where racial signaling -- even when it's subtle -- carries real weight. So yeah, I'm staying skeptical.
I think it's important to recognize that corporations never actually cared about social issues -- they only pretended to when it was good for PR. The "woke branding" moment was about selling allyship as a product. But what we're seeing now, with companies pandering to Trump-aligned audiences or embracing anti-woke culture war narratives, is more revealing. It shows where their loyalties really lie. That's why people shouldn't stay silent. We can't afford to cede the discourse to the people cheering this on.You make good points, if I were to be generous with their intentions I think the marketing executives wanted to inflame the online left/liberals for free publicity to play into anti woke tropes.
If this was 4 years earlier I could see American Eagle using Hunter Schafer and the online right being equally triggered. They would say she doesn’t have good genes, ain’t a woman went woke etc but AE would double down and love the free publicity like they are now with Sweeney.
I think the best path forward is to ignore and boycott because being outraged is giving them what they want
I see it as them not being ideologically anti woke either, they’re just pandering to whichever side is “popular”. To your point though, ensuring that their brand takes a hit for pandering to the anti-woke crowd is beneficialI think it's important to recognize that corporations never actually cared about social issues -- they only pretended to when it was good for PR. The "woke branding" moment was about selling allyship as a product. But what we're seeing now, with companies pandering to Trump-aligned audiences or embracing anti-woke culture war narratives, is more revealing. It shows where their loyalties really lie. That's why people shouldn't stay silent. We can't afford to cede the discourse to the people cheering this on.


Thank God there's another party that has regularly demonstrated how much they value women and not used them as props to score political points.but god forbid democrats stand up for women, when it comes to calling out muslims' repressive sharia practices. or trannies in sports. because that would be "intolerant"![]()
the hijab is a savage concept
I must've been tired this morning thats a wildly racist post @FAH1223 @Houston911![]()
@Mods? Are we really gonna let this bigoted dreck just stand without at least a post warning?
It's like shytting on a tichel lol. Dude probably confusing hijabs with burqas cause that's what Fox News was showing white people nonstop.![]()
@Mods? Are we really gonna let this bigoted dreck just stand without at least a post warning?
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@Mods? Are we really gonna let this bigoted dreck just stand without at least a post warning?
He’s banned from the threadI must've been tired this morning thats a wildly racist post @FAH1223 @Houston911