It’s over.
For more than twenty years, I boycotted a designer. I passed on purchasing coats,
pants, shoes, and all kinds of cool apparel. Here’s the back story:
For years,
I’ve enjoyed art and advertisements. I worked at an ad agency, and usually pay
close attention to magazine ad campaigns. One day, while browsing through a
fashion magazine, I noticed one designer’s ad for apparel or perfume. Over time,
I forgot the particular product, but the use of nude models stuck with me.
Nudity in magazine ads, in films, and on TV feels like an artistic cop-out. If a product or project is fantastical and compelling,
does nudity need to be part of the picture? It feels like a cop-out for a lack
of creativity. And so, without circulating a petition or making a scene, I started
my personal boycott of a fashion designer.
The designer
has suffered long enough. It’s time to end the boycott. Let bygones be bygones.
These days established designers manufacture apparel for all price levels, and so
I finally bought a dress by the designer whose products I had avoided for so
many years.
Boycotts
have a place whether public or personal, short or long-term, silly or serious. You
never know what people will want to boycott:
Every
morning people flock there for a morning fix. When we’re on vacation, we’ll
visit that establishment about five times a week for breakfasts, beverages, snacks,
or restroom breaks. I’m against genetically-modified products, too. I sympathize
with Mr. Young’s position, but another boycott? It’s too soon! I’m not ready to
make that sacrifice.
That’s the
problem with protests. Despite your best intentions, there will be non-supporters.
Regardless of how other people feel, what position would you defend for twenty
years or more?
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