When implicit biases are left unchecked, and when there’s no one available to catch glaring errors and provide necessary perspectives and nuance, we end up with gaffes like these. That lack of diversity creates an enormous blind spot in imagery and messaging. I only need one hand to count the number of non-white crew and executives I’ve worked with on photo shoots over the years. In H&M’s case, this particular hoodie was chosen for this particular child, and that says so much about bias and the empty lip service behind many corporate diversity and inclusion initiatives. A model’s outfit is chosen conscientiously- and even when a stylist decides to get creative and try something out of the box, every look is vetted by a number of key shot callers. Everything from the colour of a model’s shirt to the angle the sunlight falls on set is mulled over and considered in terms of branding and the emotion the ad is meant to evoke. When corporate money and reputation are on the line, choices aren’t made at random. In my own dabbling in the modelling industry, I’ve seen both how critical decisions are made, and how homogenous most crews and marketing teams are. (Not-so-fun fact: H&M has an all-white board of directors) The photo reveals problems behind the scenes If anything, they were perhaps oblivious to their own biases, or to the glaring lack of diversity in their executive ranks. With all of this background, it’s unfathomable that H&M’s decision-makers were completely oblivious to the impact of putting a Black child in a “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” hoodie. “This was actually some of the most depressing work I have done,” said Jennifer Eberhardt, a psychology professor at Stanford University who co-authored the study. A 2008 study showed that many Americans-even those born after the Jim Crow era-still subconsciously associated Black people with apes. From grotesque depictions of Black people as apes, to bananas being thrown at everyone from Black athletes to Black government officials (and me, as a kid when I walked home from school), monkeys have been utilized by racists around the world to dehumanize Black people for generations. In the history of anti-Black racism, monkeys (and other primates) have played a prominent role. Ad campaigns based in willful ignorance are the laziest form of marketing strategy, and as a Black woman, a mom and a part-time model myself, I’m not buying what they’re selling.
![h and m sweater ad h and m sweater ad](https://cdn.onebauer.media/one/media/5a53/af6d/aabe/6a0b/fd8b/9029/h&m-slammed-racist-children-hoody-jumper-monkey.jpg)
![h and m sweater ad h and m sweater ad](https://lp2.hm.com/hmgoepprod?set=quality[79]%2Csource[%2F10%2F65%2F1065a0d7881e6de51871828ca85ca70862bfc4cc.jpg)
The international clothing retailer responded by pulling the sweatshirt from their stores and sites and issuing a lukewarm apology-but H&M isn’t fooling me. i’m deeply offended and will not be working with anymore… /P3023iYzAbĬriticism of the racist imagery was swift as were calls for H&M boycotts, including a tweet from The Weeknd stating that he was ending his partnership with the retailer. Woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo. Over the weekend, social media was on fire when an image from an H&M UK campaign showed a young Black boy wearing a sweatshirt that read “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle.” Thanks to H&M, it looks like we’re caught in yet another rinse-and-repeat cycle of racist brand blunders.