jane magazine doesn't have the article online, but aparrently during an interview with claudine ko for jane, american apparel founder dov charney just whipped it out and jerked off. repeatedly.

Ko writes that during her on and off month-long meetings with Charney, he whipped it out in front of her eight times. Charney rationalizes his behavior to Ko by stating, Masturbation in front of women is underratedIts much easier on the woman. She gets to watch, its a sensual experience that doesnt involve a man violating a woman, yet once the guy has his release, its over and you can talk to the guy. Charney suggests that men should be able to relieve themselves whenever they find it necessary, as if women shouldnt expect an intelligent conversation from a man until hes had the release, and he also implies that when a female is actually involved in the sexual act, she can not derive pleasure, that she is instead violated. He sounds a lot like Andrew Dworkin there, a feminist writer often despised for her idea that penetration equals violation. Perhaps he has heard of this idea, and perhaps this is why, as his assistant tells it, he rejects early-90s feminism, even though her book Intercourse was published in 1987, meaning it was written in the early-80s and it is unclear if either of them has a valid working knowledge of 90s-feminism, which centered primarily on political activism, diversity, and body image issues. This is the only place in the article where I can give kudos to Ko, because this quote nicely demonstrates Charneys ridiculous mindset.

the above commentary can be found here.

did anyone else read this jane article? a friend of mine and i did and found it disturbing... the guy seems like a total scumbag, and i am reconsidering my previous american apparel fandom.

it should also be noted that all the sg t shirts and such are printed on american apparel products.

LadyMaze

USA

July 2004

JUL 16, 2004 05:43 PM

Yeah, I read that one. I was just shocked. I kept thinking, "WHY didn't she just LEAVE?" I doubt Jane Pratt would have minded too much if one of her employees abruptly ended an interview with a man who found it to be appropriate to masturbate in front of a woman he just met. Not to sound prudish, or anything. I'm all for sexual behavior between strangers if they are both interested in it...both CONSENTING to it. But personally, I would have been, not just uncomfortable, but offended, in a situation like that. It is one thing to be open about your sexuality, but it is another thing altogether to force it upon people in that manner.

clara

MODERATOR

Baltimore, MD

JUL 16, 2004 06:16 PM

I really hope that's not true, not because I care about the company, but because I hope no human being is actually that fucked up in real life.

I don't really believe in god, but please god, let it be something snopes will debunk any minute now.

Shal

Los Angeles, CA

October 2002

JUL 16, 2004 06:24 PM

1. It's Andrea Dworkin, not "Andrew." The article's author either didn't know this or is unprofessional enough to not bother proofreading.

2. Read the comments underneath this "article." The third comment down is from someone who actually went out and bought the magazine and read the article.

I bought the magazine for this piece because I was really excited to have a story about a guy masturbating during an interview. I've reread it plenty and, uh...actually, he asked Ko if it was okay to masturbate ("Can I?"). Also, Ko doesn't write up her situations in blow-by-blow (ahem) accounts, so you don't even know what prompted the "show" Charney and co. put on for her. Maybe she was curious. Maybe they'd all been hanging out drinking. You just don't know. She was apparently fine with the masturbating, so what makes you think that her hands were tied in this situation?

This commentor went on to berate the article-writer for coming down on other people's deviations from the norm of "acceptable sexual behavior", when it was obviously okay with the interviewer.

RoseMarie

SUICIDEGIRL

French Polynesia

JUL 16, 2004 06:29 PM

She met with him 8 times and stayed there while he was doing that? Maybe she liked it.

To each his own. Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion, but I would've laughed in his face and then walked out.
Well, now that I think about it, if he was hot, I would've watched, then laughed in his face and walked out.

misstyrios

NEWSWIRE

Allston, MA

JUL 16, 2004 06:57 PM

I have that magazine with the article in it. It's strange...by the end, she had this sort of Stokholm Syndrome thing going on. The man basically has the status of a God among his employees and it seemed really easy to get caught up in that world, despite the utter bizareness of it. Since I'm not feeling well and thus home on a friday night, I might just dig out the article and type it up here (if that's kosher...since it's not online, perhaps I'm not allowed to do that...yeah, I'm a law student but know next to nothing about intellectual property issues).

Koleeta

Los Angeles, CA

May 2003

JUL 16, 2004 07:01 PM

I read an article about him and the company in the S.F. Chronicle. He also sleeps with his models if that makes a difference.

Should his scumbagness keep us from buying his clothes? This is a test of which values and ethics you find more important: Fair Wages or Sexual Harrassment.