A Case For Good Jeans

I started going to American Eagle at the mall in my area a couple of years ago. I have a small waist for a guy, and finding a pair of jeans that fit me has always been difficult. When I was little, I had to wear suspenders and a belt. By elementary school, I had a couple of pairs of jeans that had a little red waist adjuster strap.

By adulthood, I was looking for a pair of jeans 30 by 34. A size typically hard to find. Naturally, I was excited to come across a pair that looked good and was on clearance at American Eagle.

I've been a fan ever since, primarily because I can usually find jeans in my size.

The Sweeney Jeans Controversy

American Eagle has recently created a splash with their recent ad featuring actress Sydney Sweeney. In the ad, the word "jeans" is crossed out and replaced with "genes". In a later advertisement, she states the biological truth that genes are passed down from parents to children and determine things like eye color and hair color. Then, it adds a creative twist: "My jeans are blue."

According to some leftist critics, this is a modern nod to the eugenics that Hitler espoused in WW2.

When did saying someone had good genes become about eugenics?

What Are Good Genes?

When I was growing up, saying someone had "good genes" meant they were naturally beautiful, handsome, strong, or intelligent, traits that often ran in the family.

It was more of a personal observation rather than a known biological fact.

Skin color or ethnicity didn't matter much in this regard.

Eugenics is about painting a whole group of people with a broad brush and saying that, because this person is a particular ethnicity or background, they should be preserved or exterminated for the greater good of society.

I don't think that's what's going on here.

This Isn’t Eugenics, It’s Modeling.

I don't know much about the modeling world, but I do know that it's about talent as much as it is about looks. You need to be able to pose and express in a certain way. There are beauty standards based on what sells. There can undoubtedly be toxicity in that. But that's a whole other mess that I'm not going to try to take apart in this article.

I think attraction and beauty are subjective until you get into the marketing world.

I watched the ad, and it struck me as a regular ad, an attractive young woman showing off a pair of jeans. That's it. Is that the problem? That she's white, fit, and skinny? Or is that she's showing off a denim shirt and jeans, a uniquely American clothing staple? For a clothing brand called American Eagle?

If she were Black, Asian, or Hispanic, would there have been a different reaction?

Putting Racism Into Perspective

I get the backlash, but I think it's very reactionary. The ad is creative, provocative, and yes, sensual. But American Eagle has been known for that.

It seems to me that oftentimes, the political activists who call out "racism" or "white supremacy" focus on rhetoric rather than real-world solutions, especially when it comes to the media.

Is racism real? Absolutely. Is it anything today like it was during the Jim Crow Era and before? Absolutely, not.

The Jim Crow Era didn't just encourage disrespect; it socially mandated it. Let me give you a list of some of these unspoken "rules". Ask yourself if you see these in society today.

1. Blacks and whites could not shake hands. That implied social equality. A black man could not shake hands or touch a white woman at all; they risked an accusation of rape.

2. Blacks could be introduced to whites, but not whites to blacks.

3. No courtesy titles for blacks from whites (For example, Mr, Miss, Sir, Ma'am, etc.). Blacks were to be called by their first names. Blacks, however, were required to address all whites with courtesy titles.

4. If you're a black person walking on the sidewalk and a white person is walking towards you. Step off. Whites always have the right of way.

5. Blacks should never assert that a white person is lying.

6. Blacks should not claim to or even imply knowing more than a white person.

Freedom In A Pair Of Jeans

Last time I checked, I, as a black man, was able to walk in and out of American Eagle unrestricted and unmolested. And every other public facility, store, beach, etc. Why? Because it's very illegal under state and federal law to deny me access otherwise on account of my skin color. In 2025, few businesses would even dare.

And unlike Margaret Sanger, none of these businesses are saying I should be exterminated like a “human weed.”

Just because Sydney Sweeney displayed a pair of "good jeans" as a woman who happened to be white, blond-haired, and blue-eyed, doesn't mean that a brown-eyed, nappy-haired African American woman couldn't do the same.

Jeans don't care who gets them, and neither do biological genes!

America is at its best when everyone, regardless of race, can walk into a store, buy a pair of jeans, and walk out free. That's what real equality looks like.

Live Free!

Do you think media outrage over ads like this reflects real concerns, or have we lost perspective on what racism actually looks like?

Let me know in the comments section or reply to this email. I’d love to hear from you!

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