mannequins with ginormous patches of pubic hair

[Liberal_in_LA]

American Apparel has stirred up quite the controversy for decking out its mannequins with very visible patches of untamed pubic hair.

As of this morning, the storefront at the retailer's East Houston location in New York features three mannequins clad in transparent white underwear, exposing their unkempt bikini lines and stopping window shoppers dead in their tracks.

But while some Twitter users have labeled the exhibition 'kinda pervy', the retailer has defended it by saying it is intended to start a conversation about society's concept of feminine beauty.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2540819/American-Apparel-stirs-controversy-giving-mannequins-VERY-unkempt-bikini-lines-New-York-storefront.html

36 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	inappropriate. I dont want to see that
	1 (3%)
	pervy
	0 (0%)
	i am ok with it
	23 (64%)
	wonderful
	10 (28%)
	other
	2 (6%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[JaneyVee]

1. I buy 90% of my clothes there. I'm ok with it.

[Egalitarian Thug]

2. Where are the male mannequins? n/t

[yurbud]

83. if you did that to male mannequins, they would be arrested for indecent exposure

[VanillaRhapsody]

3. I'm okay with it...but gotta wonder if the person who designed this is hung up on

1970's era porn....

[Agschmid]

44. Yes...

Somehow I feel like he looks like he is...



Get's a bit... graphic I guess?

[VanillaRhapsody]

47. I guess this is one I can say "Called IT!" to!

that's pretty much "undisputed" evidence right there!

[El_Johns]

48. ewww.

[NightWatcher]

4. 1970 called and they'd like their shrubbery returned

[Le Taz Hot]

63. ROFL!!!

I just spewed coffee all over myself.

[loli phabay]

68. im thinking they are smuggling tribbles, but yuck

[Blue_Tires]

72. I'm sad to have come of age long after the 'big hair' era ended

If only someone could invent a time machine

[rocktivity]

5. Other

I think it's "intended to start" a controversy-sells publicity campaign they either don't want to or can't afford to pay for.


rocktivity

[MineralMan]

6. Interesting.

Normal hair distribution. Who knew?

[enlightenment]

21. I'm sure it was a shock

to a certain age group of young men who believe women are hairless.

[MineralMan]

58. Indeed.

[OnionPatch]

81. Lol!

[B2G]

7. Ths made me lol

[JI7]

8. looks like they want attention

[1000words]

9. That's pretty much what adult female genitalia looks like

Never did get the shaving. Bring back bush!

[MADem]

46. .....!!!!!! Who KNEW anyone would say THAT on a Democratic message board!!!!!

[Eleanors38]

62. You just can't see the forrest for the trees. My, my.

[Egnever]

74. well

shaving helps keep the hairs out of my teeth.

[Th1onein]

122. What are you doing Saturday night, Egnever?

I'm free.

[Vashta Nerada]

76. Yes!

[AsahinaKimi]

123. "Bring back bush!" lets...

Leave George in Texas where he belongs.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

10. Forget the pubes, the nipples remind me of the weirdest day yet of my working life

Where I found myself chiselling the nipples off of half a dozen mannequins because a designer rep complained about a window display.

[1000words]

11. That is disturbing.

Wonder what Freud would say, if you dreamed it.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

17. I tried to tell them it was because they were wearing sundresses in March but they didn't go for it.

The nipples had to go.

[Hekate]

34. >snrk< That was exactly the fate of the prototype Barbie dolls made in Japan...

The Japanese manufacturer sent them to Mattel with nipples, which would not have gone over too well with American mothers buying Barbies for their little girls. So a crew in the US had to spend time sanding them off.

[CincyDem]

35. "Nipple Chiseller" sounds like something you probably leave off your resume ? n/t

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

40. It was a means to an end,

My title was "Internal Audit Manager - Supply Chain", which following a number of years of severe under-employment put something respectable on my resume and got my career back on track.

If you want to hear something really icky, ask me about what happened to disgustingly soiled name brand returns.

[nomorenomore08]

104. Were they washed and then resold?

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

133. relatively speaking that would have been less disgusting

To get credits from the distributors for the unsaleable returns we had to obviously document why something was unsaleable. Which meant I as supply chain auditor had to sift through all this putrid laundry before we shredded the stuff. Occasionally a vendor rep would come out to audit themselves and I would have to lay all this garbage out with the corresponding documentation. In one instance after less than a minute one such rep turned to me and said "Your customers are fucking pigs" he then left me with about half a dozen signed blank audit sheets, said he was never coming back to our location and to write whatever the fuck I like and just fax them in.

I would have thought that women would be too embarrassed to return a garment with a semen or shit stain on it. but it turns out large numbers are not.

[redqueen]

138. The store you worked for accepted filthy returns? That's really odd. So much as a scuff on a shoe

will prevent you from being able to return it.

I wonder why the store you worked for is so vastly different from the norm.

[bettyellen]

143. corporate policy! Nordstroms and BBB are two that have very high customer satisfaction because they

will always take it back, no questions asked. But yeah, customers are gross sometimes. People shit in changing rooms more frequently than you'd ever guess.

[redqueen]

145. I've never seen such a thing.

I've also heard women's rooms are widely known to be the nastiest things ever, but I've never seen that either.

[bettyellen]

147. I think things can go downhill very quickly in heavily trafficked stores. there is so little

staffing these days, it's like mob rule!

[redqueen]

148. I've seen messes, don't get me wrong. At the end of the day of a Macy's one-day sale,

the end of the day during Black Friday... I've seen piles and piles of clothes and I think that's bad enough.

But actual human shit? Never in my life. Not dirty diapers in restrooms. No used sanitary napkins or tampons strewn about the place. I only hear about those from people on the net. It's just ... odd.

[bettyellen]

150. I think when you are talking about such a hugely trafficked area like NYC, there are

going to be a few crazy / rude people every now and again. Back in the day, there were more associates and security to deal with stuff, and the simply gross/ rude people knew they could be busted. Now everyone knows they are largely going to be left alone. No one deals with anything unless it's a sensor tag going off/ $$$ lost. Retailers have cut back to the bare bones because everything is about cost cost cost. And stock price. Quality and service are things very few want to consider any more.

[Laffy Kat]

159. My one stint in retail was in 2000 at a Kolh's...

I was a stay-at-home-mom at the time and had two little boys but I really wanted to get out of the house a little, so I took a part-time job at one of the first Kohl's to open in Colorado. Anyway, I will never do that again and what did me in was bathing suit season. I would walk into the women's dressing rooms to recover and sometimes there were dozen's of swimsuits and swimsuit separates all over the floor. They had to be re-hung on their hangers by correct size and it was a nightmare. I have never left anything on the dressing room floor but a lot people do as it turns out. I quit before six months.

[Kali]

152. OMG

two of my kids did maintenance at a rest stop

women can be fucking disgusting

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

154. We accepted disgusting returns because we were assholes to the distributors

With high cost clothing we offloaded most of the risk to the distributor wherein we either didn't own the merchandise and didn't pay for it until some time after the retail sale had occurred. If it were stolen or destroyed, it wasn't our problem. This is basically how Home Depot operates.

Alternatively we would pay Net 60 for the merchandise but the distributor would have to credit us back for markdowns or spoilage.

The manufactures margins on this type of merchandise are huge. They didn't like it, they complained about it. But they weren't going to end our relationship over it.

[JI7]

12. they are all wearing glasses also

[texanwitch]

13. Also standing in a strange way

Maybe it is just me.

[muriel_volestrangler]

67. That's to hide the underarm hair

That's the next battle.

[loli phabay]

71. ack, underarm hair, the stuff of nightmares.

[redqueen]

80. Do you ever get flack from other guys for shaving your armpits? nt

[loli phabay]

92. no, and if i did what do i care. more likely get flack for my legs

plus most people nowadays seem to be shaving both nether and armpits. ymmv

[raven mad]

113. I don't bother even shaving my legs -

in winter, which is pretty much September through May or anywhere else, for that matter. Of course, at my age, everything south has gradually worked its way north.....

[spin]

14. If God thought that pubic hair was unnecessary or obnoxious he would have created women ...

without it. He obviously disliked long beards on most women.

(Please note that there is an amount of in this post.)

[loli phabay]

93. i figure evolution is moving us from being covered in hair to clean shaven

i am all for helping that evolution along.

[spin]

95. If that is true the only hair I will miss is the hair on a woman's head. ...

I feel a woman's hair can add to her beauty.

[loli phabay]

96. hopefully its the last hair that females lose through evolution.

everything else can go.

[heaven05]

102. we're born with an ability to grow hair sooner or later

and when we do grow hair, the groom meisters say shave it off. That's not evolution, that .........

[loli phabay]

105. we grow less hair than we did when we were living in caves, we no longer need the hair as we

evolved and use clothes etc. if you want to grow or like it then fine. me i prefer cleanshaven. ymmv

[heaven05]

106. okay

fine. your bag.

[NoGOPZone]

121. when's evolution going to address the male nipple issue? nt

[Starry Messenger]

15. If AA really wanted to start that conversation, their sizes wouldn't be skewed to small women.

I've tried buying large t-shirts from them, and they are like little kid shirts.

[Ilsa]

31. Or the size of their mannequins.

How about some mannequins that are built like various women: short-waisted or androgynous hips or short legs, anything not in perfect proportion.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

16. I kind of appreciate it --

A woman's natural body has somehow been made to seem gross and unappealing in our current culture -- I don't find that healthy.

[heaven05]

18. actually, hair is normal and beautiful

shaving is kind of pervy, I think. Adults have hair and children don't. So this shaved look thing is pervy to me. Just my opinion on hair(pube) or not.

[joeglow3]

75. Should men shave their faces?

[heaven05]

87. i don't think we should

I've worn a beard for 40+ years. I groom it, keep it clean. No, men should not scrape their faces with a sharp instrument of bloodletting. It's an exercise in masochism. I do not care what the groom meisters say, the ideas of beauty in this country are SICK.

[vaberella]

142. I hated male facial hair, but got over it when my PCOS gave me facial hair (female here). n/t

[shanti]

90. yup

[surrealAmerican]

19. ... but no leg hair?

I think it's hilarious.

[lumpy]

30. Also sometimes ladies annoying nose and mustache hair ?

That is a lot of pubic hair those dummies are exposing !

[heaven05]

88. I love leg hair on women and hair under their arms doesn't bother me either.

It just has to be kept clean and groomed if that's your want

[NCarolinawoman]

20. I wish that chest hair on men would be popular again.

I always liked it.

[OnionPatch]

136. God, me too!! When did that go away?

Married for twenty years, I haven't been paying much attention, but I did notice there isn't a chest hair to be had on any males in the media these days. I'm glad this trend evolved after I left the dating scene....I'd feel like I was sleeping with another woman. (Not a bad thing, but not my cup of tea.)

[struggle4progress]

22. meh

[ZombieHorde]

23. Hilarious. nt

[flamingdem]

24. Everyone uses shock to market these days

and this hits that mark!

[pipi_k]

25. My first thought

Was that it resembled either a dead animal or a big patch of deadly black mold

[loli phabay]

70. tribbles.

[msanthrope]

26. Are they selling merkins? nt

[Enrique]

78. that's why they call it

Merkin Apparrel.

[Orrex]

89. ^^That.

[Aerows]

115. ^^Yep n/t

[geek tragedy]

27. american apparel is just nasty anyways, regardless of the mannequins nt

[RC]

28. Now, if they would make people proportioned manikins, instead of these long skinny things.

[vt_native]

29. Nobody likes a wookie on that cookie

Just sayin'

[Katashi_itto]

42. Agree!

[1000words]

45. Actually, this poll at least, says otherwise.

[Hekate]

32. Aren't they the ones who feature barely-pubescent girls in sexy poses in ads?

They've gotten some flack for that -- because those images are indeed kinda pervy.

So maybe this is their next attention-getting-device: "You want grown women? We'll show you grown women."

That said: Ewwww.

[840high]

33. Ewww is right.

[Liberal_in_LA]

37. yes, same company, owner is a creep

[NuclearDem]

36. How'd you get into my Google history?

[nadinbrzezinski]

38. We do need that conversation folks

bravo!!!!

[Jamaal510]

39. Was the person who thought of this idea high or something? nt

[Munificence]

41. Sascrotch!

[Warren DeMontague]

51. *

[Fearless]

54. +1

Touche'.

[AsahinaKimi]

124. DUZY!

[Kali]

153. !

[MADem]

43. Every fault's a fashion, as they say. Though that's the "norm" for anyone of a certain age.

People are getting sick of all this ripping and waxing and so forth--they want to return to the delightful days of the free-wheeling "hippie" era, when everyone let it--all of it--hang out!

It's one way to economize, certainly...of course, the male of the species has not suddenly, naturally lost all that back hair and chest hair--they're into this self-torture too ... some of those fellows allow themselves to be ripped to shreds at the "waxing parlor" as well, because some jerk in "The Fashion Industry" decided that this was "cool" and anyone who doesn't go along is "out of fashion."

It's why hemlines go up and down, hair gets long, then short, why heels get thin and tall, or wide and chunky, why lapels get big and then small, why ties go from narrow and lean to Steve Harvey Massive, why shoulder pads get big or disappear, why pleats arrive and leave, why waistbands roam from hip to rib cage....

It's because people who manufacture clothes wanna make money. Same deal with hairstyles--the more complicated, the better, because that means a bigger payday!

The waxing parlors will be losing a bundle on this new-old "style," though! They'll have to perhaps indulge in something new--maybe indulging in the art of topiary? What's your pleasure? A heart? A shamrock? Perhaps a diamond? Braiding? Beading? Who knows what they will come up with?

Hell, I thought I'd seen it all back when people were wearing see-through jeans!!!! People actually had a big piece of clear plastic on the ass of their jeans, so one could see their behinds...and yes, that was a "fashion" for a brief moment...

They made a movie about it, too-- but over a decade after it actually happened the first time round!!

What people will do to look "cool!"

[WorseBeforeBetter]

49. Considering the current obsession with being hairless wonders (women AND men)...

I almost want to applaud this.

[JimDandy]

57. +1

[Codeine]

108. I enjoy my clean and smooth junkal area.

I shave everywhere except my pits, and that's just because the hair there is so fine and blond it doesn't really matter. It's weird, because the rest of my body hair is red and wiry.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

137. That sounds like A LOT of maintenance...

but if it works for you and your partner(s), great!

There's nothing "unclean" about hair ... humanity has managed to have hairy good times throughout the ages. Seems to me that shaving/waxing started becoming an obsession around when, the late '80s? I guess my preferences fall somewhere between Sasquatch and Chinese Crested, but to each his/her own, eh?

And a guy getting rid of a good treasure trail? Nooooooo!

[MisterP]

50. Autons with merkins? wasn't that one of the middling Monty Python sketches?

[librechik]

59. Does the merkin come with the panties?

Maybe it's for shaved pubes that want a different look now and then.

[jmowreader]

52. Dark nipples and no stretch marks?

[Fearless]

53. It's not inappropriate, though I'd rather not see it.

Not unless they make the male mannequins anatomically correct and so forth. That I could get behind, so to speak.



I am glad they're getting away from the "little girl" style model and into something slightly more adult looking.

[ohheckyeah]

55. Why the hell do we need a discussion

about pubic hair? Some things are personal, IMO, and pubic hair or lack thereof is one of those things.

[Skittles]

56. need a weedwacker here

I am flashing back to 70's porn; yes INDEED

[bemildred]

60. Seems unlikely to sell a lot of clothes.

Kind of a hippie look, with the glasses and the hair.

[lumberjack_jeff]

65. All pub(e)licity is good publicity. n/t

[bemildred]

66. There is that. That was my first thought here. Any attention is good. nt

[Coyotl]

61. If they were sincere, the women would have real proportions too!

[In_The_Wind]

64. Evidently they feel their products can't sell without this display.

[img][/img]

[JoePhilly]

69. Small sign in the window: "Made ya look!"

[hrmjustin]

73. Never seen this before.

[Vashta Nerada]

77. Our society has too many hang-ups about sex and human anatomy if this is causing

a "controversy".

[uppityperson]

91. In total agreement with you here

[nomorenomore08]

107. +2

Gotta agree with you there.

[aikoaiko]

79. And yet they still ignore armpit hair.

What's up with that?

[yurbud]

82. Not my cup of tea, but not offensive. Why don't they go whole hog & add leg and armpit hair?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

97. yes... this is my thought as well...

why shave some and not the other? but all in all... meh.

sP

[NM_Birder]

84. LOL....

if the idea was to show how sexy a woman could be in the clothing....swing and a miss.

[cbdo2007]

85. I'm ok with this....but crack hair is over the line.

[Warren DeMontague]

86. A'Merkin Apparel?

[riderinthestorm]

94. Reality check! For many folks that isn't "ginormous". Its natural

I can't help but shake my head that so many people have lost their perspective about what is actually the normal state of affairs. ..

[Kaleva]

101. "Natural" would be missing some of their teeth by that age.

"Natural" would be not wearing contacts or glasses and they'd be squinting. Plus they'd have hairy legs and armpits. At least one should not be there because it died from childhood diseases or an accident.

[riderinthestorm]

132. Uhm what "age" do you think these mannequins represent?

Furthermore as a European I have no problem with hairy armpits and legs.

Sexy and natural.

The shaved look is pervy here.

[Kaleva]

155. Sorry but I don't understand my own reply to you.

[nomorenomore08]

98. "Could not give less of a shit" wasn't an option. So I chose "Other." n/t

[Contrary1]

99. Is there a government agency that determines what constitutes

"unkempt bikini lines" or "untamed pubic hair"?

Also, either of the above would make for a great rock band name.

[Blaukraut]

100. A little gratuitous, imo. And they're still rail thin

I'd much prefer to see mannequins that have a normal figure and trimmed pubes. Seems more the norm these days than the look in the picture.

[liberal N proud]

103. Mow the lawn

[Aerows]

112. Taste the foliage. n/t

[Madam Mossfern]

109. It's the new sexy

...the pendulum swings...

[socialist_n_TN]

110. I think all of this has to do with what's currently in style......

In sexual attraction matters, anything different than what's currently in style will have a certain cachet. When I was a young man, this was normal which gradually led to the current style of shaving or trimming pubic hair catching on BECAUSE IT WAS DIFFERENT THAN THE BIG BUSH. Now that most of the female population shaves and/or trims, I would expect the full bush to make a comeback because it's different than the shaved/trimmed look.

From my perspective, the one big advantage to trimmed and/or shaved is that it makes cunnilingus more enjoyable. And I would think that would apply from both perspectives.

BTW, I've also heard this called a "power muff".

[Iris]

129. How do you know most of the female population shaves or trims? nt

[socialist_n_TN]

140. True. I should have said it SEEMS like most of the ..........

female population shaves or trims. I do know that it seems VERY popular with the younger set.

Hell, if it's not TMI, I'm male and I shave and trim the pubes. When a 62 year old guy does it, I would think that it was a pretty popular phenomena.

[Aerows]

111. Are we going to go here again?

Debate about pubic hair on females? Lord it looks like we will.

I'll state this - some foliage is tasty when you are in the lawn.

[PasadenaTrudy]

114. WTF?

DU just gets dumber by the minute.

[Aerows]

117. Indeed n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

116. Given the circumstances

Wouldn't gynormous be a more appropriate spelling?

[Liberal_in_LA]

126. lol. u are probably right

[NaturalHigh]

118. It's a big turn off to me personally...

but to each his own. No big deal one way or the other.

[kwassa]

120. Give me a crotch with hair, long beautiful hair

Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen
Give me down to there, hair, knee length or longer
Here baby, there, momma, everywhere, daddy, daddy

Hair, flow it, show it
Long as God can grow, my hair

Let it fly in the breeze and get caught in the trees
Give a home to the fleas, in my hair
A home for fleas, a hive for the buzzing bees
A nest for birds, there ain't no words
For the beauty, splendor, the wonder of my hair

Flow it, show it
Long as God can grow, my hair

I want long, straight, curly, fuzzy, snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty
Oily, greasy, fleecy, shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen
Knotted, polka dotted, twisted, beaded, braided
Powered, flowered and confettied
Bangled, tangled, spangled and spahettied

[BlancheSplanchnik]

128. I'm aware some stare at my hair...

In fact,to be fair,
Some really despair at my hair.

But i don't care
Because they're not aware.
Nor are they debonair.

In fact, they're just square.
They see hair down to there, say, "Beware! ",
And run off on a tear.

I say, "No fair! ".
A crotch (apologies, George Carlin) that's bare is really nowhere.

So, be like a bear:
Be fair with your hair.
Show it you care.

Wear it to there--or to *there*--
Or to THERE if you dare!

Now that I've shared this affair of my hair,
I think I'll repair to my lair and use Nair.

Do you care??

[kwassa]

135. nice poem!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

149. thank George Carlin :)

I think I forgot a stanza somewhere...

[Nye Bevan]

125. At least their underarms and legs look nice.

Two out of three isn't bad.

[loli phabay]

127. one is bad enough, yuck. for me body hair is a deal breaker, others mileage may vary

worst is bikinis at the beach where you see fur poking out everywhere or the nice dress with fur trim poking out from under the arms. skeeves me out.

[Iris]

130. I find it cute that you think we care what breaks a deal for you. n/t

[loli phabay]

134. i find it cute that you find it cute, ymmv

[Major Nikon]

131. They should have at least braided it

[Kaleva]

158. I agree. It would be neater looking.

[pintobean]

139. It's sexist

They should be called womannequins.

[vaberella]

141. I have pubic here and I have no problems seeing it. Maybe they can full figured mannequins too. n/t

[Tom Ripley]

144. Dov is a master of publicity

[Arugula Latte]

146. Someone has to post a link to the epic "Pube Wars" thread, and I shall:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021122339

[arely staircase]

151. other

funny

[Solly Mack]

157. To hair is human to air divine.

Or maybe

to air is human to hair divine?