Queer Gnosis

By Troy Williams

A while back, The Onion did a parody of The Gap’s new clothing line, “for kids, by kids.”  The joke, of course, exposed the fact that many US clothing stores assemble their products in offshore sweatshops.  After years of legal battles with companies like Abercrombie and Fitch, Calvin Klein, Nike, The Gap (including Old Navy and Banana Republic) some progress had seemingly been made.  Last month however, The Gap acknowledged that a sub-contractor in India had exploited children in harsh and degrading environments.  Kids were working 16 hour days in unsanitary conditions and regularly beaten with rubber pipes.  According to the British Observer, A ten-year old child reported being sold to the factory by his parents.  Another teen reported being forced to hand-stitch holiday blouses until 1am.  The president of the The Gap was “deeply disturbed” when the incriminating video surfaced. 

It’s difficult to know what disturbed these people more, the abuse or the pending PR disaster. 

So how will this information impact the holiday shopping of the queer community? The increased awareness of sweatshops and import merchandise allow us to consider the intersection of queer rights and labor activism.  As a traditionally marginalized minority, queer people know what it’s like to be an undervalued and expendable segment of the population. This vantage point allows us to have greater empathy for those who have less than we do.  And though many big corporations actually covet gay employees and patrons, we must also recognize that for many of these same corporations, peasant workers are disposable. The Gap situation does not exist in isolation.  What we are witnessing is the dark under-belly of global capitalism run amok.  We face a systemic disease rooted in our desire to make profits at any cost.

Our standard of living in the US is remarkably high.  But we each need to consider the true cost of our lifestyle.  Are we comfortable with our wealth being purchased on the backs of the world’s poor? Pull any label from your closet (mine included) and take a world tour through China, Indonesia, Malaysia and other exotic locales.  Our clothes, electronics and junk toys are often built by laborers working in hellish factories. They are paid less than a dollar a day, and have no benefits or access to health-care.  Further, as recently reported in the Salt Lake Tribune, many of these workers are exposed to toxic chemicals and work with outdated machinery that can critically maim hands and limbs. 

Yes, slavery is alive and well in the 21st Century.  And the problems have a history. 

In Colonial days we solved our labor problems by kidnapping dark-skinned “savages” from Africa. But then those pesky abolitionists had the audacity to argue that black people shouldn’t be slaves, and we started a civil war. The 13th Amendment may have officially abolished slavery but it didn’t resolve our economic demand for cheap labor.  There were still “lower classes” of immigrants, including children, who could work the brutal hours in our factories and mines.  That is, until labor activists like Mother Jones, Joe Hill, and Cesar Chávez rose up and took a stand against worker exploitation.  Thanks to their activism (and so many more like them) we have the 8-hour workday, strict child labor laws, and various health and safety protections. 

But with increased wages and expenses, the bottom line began to suffer.  We simply couldn’t make our countless billions without cheap labor.  So we began to outsource our factories overseas.  And the race to the bottom began.  We closed our factories in American towns and devastated local economies. We setup shop in developing countries free from annoying obstacles like unions and child labor laws.  And we shouldn’t be so naïve to believe this will all end in China.  As soon as Chinese workers mobilize and human rights groups raise enough hell, all the big US based transnational corporations will close shop and seek out the next developing nation to exploit (good morning Vietnam!).  I suspect that when Iraq finally stabilizes, Abercrombie and friends will set up sweatshops in Baghdad.  With US corporations already controlling the Iraq economy (such as it is) this seems like a logical end. 

There are no easy answers to solving this global disparity. And being paralyzed by guilt is pointless.  Pragmatically speaking, it has become all but impossible to avoid sweatshop imports (I am well aware that I write this on a Mac Book made and assembled in China).  But we can become better educated, raise awareness and collectively make choices that will impact the global situation. 

And some corporations are making progress.  Starbucks now offers fair trade coffee.  Granted, you have to make a special request for it, but at least we can make a choice that will support small farms and cooperatives. As consumers we should shop consciously and reward responsible companies with our business.  We can also financially support organizations like Global Exchange, China Labor Watch, United Students for Fair Trade  and countless others who are working to improve worker conditions worldwide.

We can support businesses that don’t employ slave labor and refuse to purchase brands that do. And you gay boys who love the Abercrombie look?  It’s tired, generic and boring so get over it.  Support thrift stores, American Apparel or the recycled fashion of local designers at The Redemption Department. For the holidays let’s keep our money in Utah’s economy by shopping at local bookstores, boutiques and restaurants. If we desire something exotic, support Ten Thousand Villages, which sells fair trade items.  Visit Local First Utah
to check out other options.   Sometimes (but not always) shopping local may cost a bit more –
but consider it your special contribution to building a strong, vibrant, local economy. As a disenfranchised (yet wildly remarkable) queer community, we can make choices that contribute to a more equitable society for everyone. This holiday season let’s recognize that there can be no “peace on earth” until there is first economic justice and equality for the world’s poor.