View the Table of Contents.
Read the Preface.
"Possibly the best title of the season."--"Books to Watch out
For"
"A thrilling, imaginative, and brilliant reading of contemporary
cultural politics from one of the freshest voices in the field
today. Dwight McBride's graceful prose, sharp wit, and sound
judgments leap from every page. His essays sparkle with abundant
intelligence--and a striking personal investment--as they lead the
reader through a complex array of ideas, practices, and situations
without losing sight of the ultimate intellectual and political
liberation at which they aim. Bravo!"
--Michael Eric Dyson, author of The Michael Eric Dyson Reader
aA fair warning from an intelligent, well-informed writera
--Alter Magazine
"McBride has emerged as one of the most eloquent public voices
in both queer studies and black studies. In this wide-ranging
book--written with intelligence, passion, and humor--he brings the
insights of each field to the blind spots of the other. We all have
something to learn from him."
--Michael Warner, Rutgers University
"McBride's heady collection is an accessible think piece,
starting with its agreeable title and its pointed essay of the same
name."
--"Time Out New York"
"This collection breaks new ground for contemporary cultural
criticism. McBride's look at homophobia in traditional
African-American studies is an emphatic but penetrating critique of
the discipline, and his explication of the ghettoization of black
men in gay male porn is truly original work with ramifications well
outside of queer studies."
--"Publishers Weekly"
"McBride's prose is smart, on-target, and very readable. These
essays are notsimply illuminating, but some of the most eye-opening
commentaries on gay culture to be published in years."
--"Between the Lines"
"This is one thought-provoking book."
--" HX/HOMO XTRA"
"Dwight A. McBride writes eloquently about the issues of race
and homosexuality."
--"Philadelphia Gay News"
"McBridge expends more intellectual energy justifying his
dislike of the popular clothing chain than perhaps any other person
on the planet."
--"Evenings Out Chronicle"
"Eloquent collection...engagingly- and, for an academic,
unorthodoxly- autobiographical."
--"San Francisco Bay Time"
"McBride's volume is a provacative and wide ranging exploration
of a range of issues relating to race and sexuality."--"Bay Area
Reporter"
"The book's namesake essay- a scathingly detailed and systematic
study of the history, advertising practices, and hiring policies
that comprise the "cult of Abercrombie"- makes the collection a
mindblowing must-read...timely, disconcerting, and riveting in a
way that academic writing should be, but rarely
is."--"Girlfriends"
"Working across cultural studies, gay and lesbian studies, and
race, ethnicity, and feminist studies, McBride attempts to ponder,
address, and, where possible, rescue both African American studies
and queer theory from the pitfalls of ignoring each other. This
project is admirable to the extent that, not unlike black feminists
a decade or more ago, scholars and intellectuals of McBride's
generation refuse to make choices between race and sexuality-
especially when that sexuality is considered deviant."
--"GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies"
Why hate Abercrombie? In a world rife with human cruelty
andoppression, why waste your scorn on a popular clothing retailer?
The rationale, Dwight A. McBride argues, lies in "the banality of
evil," or the quiet way discriminatory hiring practices and racist
ad campaigns seep into and reflect malevolent undertones in
American culture.
McBride maintains that issues of race and sexuality are often
subtle and always messy, and his compelling new book does not offer
simple answers. Instead, in a collection of essays about such
diverse topics as biased marketing strategies, black gay media
representations, the role of African American studies in higher
education, gay personal ads, and pornography, he offers the
evolving insights of one black gay male scholar.
As adept at analyzing affirmative action as dissecting "Queer
Eye for the Straight Guy," McBride employs a range of academic,
journalistic, and autobiographical writing styles. Each chapter
speaks a version of the truth about black gay male life, African
American studies, and the black community. Original and astute, Why
I Hate Abercrombie & Fitch is a powerful vision of a rapidly
changing social landscape.
Praise for "Impossible Witnesses":
"A necessary and compelling work.
--Toni Morrison
"McBride teases out complexity and depth heretofore overlooked.
Don't miss this important text!"
--Cornel West
"Ambitious and thought-provoking."
--The Journal of American History
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