Last week I received via James Gross an article about the scandal surrounding the Urban Outfitters t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "New Mexico: Cleaner than Regular Mexico". Latino groups are up in arms about the t-shirts, and apparently this isn't the first time UO has been in hot water for its ironic humor. According to AP:
Two years ago, it stopped selling a game called "Ghettopoly" after protests by black civil rights leaders. Last year, it halted sales of a T-shirt that read "Everyone Loves A Jewish Girl," surrounded by dollar signs, after the Anti-Defamation League objected.
A "Voting is for Old People" T-shirt angered pro-voting groups.
With all this outrage, one wonders why the theme of race or ethnicity keeps coming up in their t-shirt designs.
One reason could be that certain groups seem to be interested in seeing their cultural identity reflected in fashion. Why is the "CH" Chapulin Colorado (a Mexican television show for children) t-shirt such a big seller both in Mexico and worldwide? Because people of Latino heritage around my age grew up with it. Wearing a "CH" on your chest means you belong to this particular group.
A popular t-shirt among Filipino Americans happens to be one that boasts the phrase "Got adobo?", referencing both the popular "Got Milk?" campaign, and a popular filipino dish. Again, an example of cultural identification via something everyone can relate to, featured on a t-shirt.
But this doesn't explain the UO "New Mexico" t-shirt. While these two previous examples don't conjure up anything negative, the Mexico t-shirt does. But is this always bad?
Take an example sent to me by my friend, retail marketing expert Linda Schumacher. The Washington Post reports that some savvy Mexican marketers are profiting from using the term "naco" on apparel. For the uninitiated, naco is a derogatory term used in Mexico to describe a person lacking class, social grace, etc. It's Mexico's equivalent of "white trash", and having lived in Mexico for many years, I've heard it whispered from the heights of Mexican society by people who believe that their lighter skin color makes them more European (and therefore less naco or "indio") to those of lower social classes who re-purpose a word that is generally used for them to criticize others in even less fortunate circumstances. It's also a common thing to shout out at another driver who has angered you on the highway. Much worse than other insults that would reference only how much of a jerk one is, naco evokes some raw emotion because it conjures up a classic theme in Mexican society: social class.
Some examples of the "naco" stereotype in Mexico: "pesero" (bus) drivers, policemen, taco vendors, taxi drivers. See a theme? The working poor.
Yes, I am giving naco a lot of weight, and yes, I realize that most people don't. But it's a word that, along with indio, cuts deep in Mexico, a country overwrought with racism.
Why then, is this naco fashion business taking off? Because by re-claiming racial stereotypes and slurs, these concepts and words lose some of their power. I'm guessing they were trying to strike that same nerve with the Jewish Girl t-shirt. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I'm still not sure, however, what the target market was for the "New Mexico" t-shirt.
The lesson to be learned here is that to fool around with racial or social stereotypes in marketing is to play with fire. If you know the culture and are somewhat connected to it, like the naco t-shirt guys, it can be a windfall. If you don't, don't even go there.
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