American Apparel Ad Defacer Unmasked, Sort of

Remember when one of the many American Apparel ads on Allen and Houston was defaced with the words "Gee, I wonder why women get raped"? The ad was replaced with a new one soon after, and not much more was heard about the mystery messenger. Until now. Yesterday Jezebel received an email from someone purporting to be the one who held the spray can. He stated:

First off, i'm not a graf writer. Honestly, I was just reacting to the constantly degrading images of women that AA creates. That ad in particular - headless, bent over, composed so that the focus was irrefutable... I went home, grabbed some spraypaint, took the train back and waited until 4am to climb the scaffolding.

Now that i've read all of the comments and reactions posted on jezebel, i feel regret at having chosen the word "get". The people who mentioned "are" as a better choice of wording were right. I struggled with the thought of leaving such an open-to-interpretation message, but eventually just decided to go with my gut-reaction and get the hell down from there.

He adds that the act of civil disobedience probably cost American Apparel up to $10,000 and that his form of protest was effective. No word on who's responsible for the green splash though.

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By Jen Carlson in News on December 29, 2007 1:51 PM

Comments [rss]

M.

I think the vandalism did what it was supposed to: it's making people think.

Amanda Harletsch

the funniest part is that discussion between "get" and "are" is soooo high brow, that the empty brained men that attack women would never even think about connotations in language...the penis acts first.

westernqueensland

The exploitation of desire and anxiety to sell things is an everyday evil and fact of life. Postmodernism stings as I wrote on my feeble blog here.

Spirit of 76

The defacer is a moron. Most acts of rape aren't because women are objectified. It's an issue of control and power. In that sense, this guy is not very different from a rapist. He feels powerless, so he takes pleasure from his anonymous, illegal act instead of writing a letter to the editor or starting a campaign against American Apparel.

mocanlagunas

green splash... hmmm... Hulk maybe?

Actually I agree that women are degraded constantly, not only on men's magazines or aa ads, but society in general... Makeup, plastic surgery, fashion... I'm soooo glad I'm not a woman (or metrosexual) and don't have to think about all this sh*t to be satisfied with myself.