Forever 21 Gets In On Cultural Insensitivity Trend With "Oriental Girl" Necklaces

This month Urban Outfitters got in trouble for branding dozens of items as “Navajo,” including the “Navajo Hipster Panty” and “Navajo Print Fabric Wrapped Flask,” when the Navajo Nation is a real (and trademarked!) nation that had nothing to do with the production of these cheap hipster goods. They’ve subsequently renamed the products, and now it seems we might have been a little too hard on them. At least when they reduced a culture to a seasonal trend they recognized that there are different groups of Native Americans. Thankfully Forever 21 has stepped up to remind us that we should keep the bar for cultural sensitivity in retail pretty low.

Considering that the folks at Foverever 21 already brought us the “Allergic to Algebra” shirt, we really shouldn’t be surprised that they’d be hawking trendy pieces that are “southwestern,” “printed,” or whatever we’re calling the pieces formerly mislabled “Navajo,” in the most offensive way possible. Yet, it’s still hard to believe that the company is selling jewelry depicting a generic Native American girl and an “Oriental Girl” necklace.