why white people suck and the MEC

Posted by: syncro

So by MEC working to improve the full representation of Canada's demographics into their literature or even boosting the profile of minorities it goes a long way to helping those people realize they have a place in outdoor rec. So I'd say good on them and good for making an announcement of it to bring attention to the issue even if it may seem to be a bit of a marketing play as well.

well yabut how is it going to filter down to the minorities when the only people reading the copy will be white males and even worse ... gingers

Posted by: tungsten

MEC needs to start selling basketballs. Ping-pong balls too. Golf balls...er, no...forget it.

they have already quit selling real mountain gear its just yer lifestyle products now

Posted by: XXX_er

the only people reading the copy will be white males

You have some sort of data to reflect this? 

It's seems this initiative is not just about the catalogue, but advertising as well. I tend to agree with you that it's a bit of a chicken/egg thing, but efforts to raise perspective or awareness shouldn't be discounted even if they seem like don't have a high chance of success.

Speaking to selling real mountain gear just look at an old MEC catalogue when their bread and butter was cutting edge gear, their 1st customers were UBC varsity outdoor club types, the folks with 2 or 3 digit member #'s who sport a lot of facial hair (male and female) and are now in their 60's and 70's, so in contrast now MEC is selling cutting edge (an oxymoron? ) yoga gear

No data but it makes logical sense that it will be a very slow progression to get the word out to non whites males if everybody in an org is white males and it kind of a hard sell, so try and convince ferinstance AZN's that instead of just going for dimsum they want to pay a lotta money to be sweaty/cold/wet/uncomfortable

Posted by: XXX_er

No data but it makes logical sense that it will be a very slow progression to get the word out to non whites males if everybody in an org is white males and it kind of a hard sell, so try and convince ferinstance AZN's that instead of just going for dimsum they want to pay a lotta money to be sweaty/cold/wet/uncomfortable

Yeah I agree, I just think it's a worthwhile exercise (HA!) to pursue.

Posted by: syncro

If you look at the demographics on poverty, people of colour and women tend to be over represented compared to the population as a whole. Another factor is cultural, as many of these activities tend to fall more into the cultural domain of whites.

As an aside and a particularly local one at that, next time your downtown on Granville and Hastings, look at the homeless demographic. Predominantly white and aboriginal males. I realize you said poverty.

Whats your thoughts on social justice or how much socialism is required to provide justice (and or "equality")?

Posted by: three-sheets

Well while were on the subject...it would be sweet if mec and other outdoor manufacturers could actually make clothes for normal sized people...we are not all 13 year old anorexic triathletes. I used to buy large or xl gear but cant even bend over in most xl pants nowadays...and no I haven't gotten fat....and 2xl t shirts....wtf.

And do people really make their buying decisions based on the race of the models in the catalogue?

That goes double for footwear. I have had to custom order footwear since the eighties. I was an 11.5 in a Nike bball shoe then. My local stores stocked up to a 10. What bball player over the age of 12 wears a 10? 13 or 14 now. At least I have been able to custom order footwear so far.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/near-whiteout-where-s-the-diversity-on-vancouver-s-new-council-1.4873892?fbclid=IwAR0MvK4oIweRcYF3Dnk43crlZLcefk7BB27CyJ6uoSTeTzlaVbWNmxjlTMw

Vancouver will be run by whitey and they were  elected by non whitey's ... so who is responsible ?

Posted by: CB-Spoolmak

Posted by: three-sheets

Well while were on the subject...it would be sweet if mec and other outdoor manufacturers could actually make clothes for normal sized people...we are not all 13 year old anorexic triathletes. I used to buy large or xl gear but cant even bend over in most xl pants nowadays...and no I haven't gotten fat....and 2xl t shirts....wtf.

And do people really make their buying decisions based on the race of the models in the catalogue?

That goes double for footwear. I have had to custom order footwear since the eighties. I was an 11.5 in a Nike bball shoe then. My local stores stocked up to a 10. What bball player over the age of 12 wears a 10? 13 or 14 now. At least I have been able to custom order footwear so far.

I have small feet ( many century's of foot binding in the AZN's ) so < half the foot wear comes in sizes small enough sizes  to fit me, so I end up in womens shoes/ski boots, a size 24 ski boot in a non-manly color that would fit a 130lb woman can be easily crushed by a 160lb advanced male skier .

MEC needs to stop fooling itself and start acting like the outdoors Wal-Mart that its become. If they want to be responsible they’d give up the co-op status they no longer deserve and start paying some damn corporate taxes.

Posted by: XXX_er

Posted by: syncro

So by MEC working to improve the full representation of Canada's demographics into their literature or even boosting the profile of minorities it goes a long way to helping those people realize they have a place in outdoor rec. So I'd say good on them and good for making an announcement of it to bring attention to the issue even if it may seem to be a bit of a marketing play as well.

well yabut how is it going to filter down to the minorities when the only people reading the copy will be white males and even worse ... gingers

Good one, laughed so hard I spit my quinoa and kale salad all over my keyboard.

Posted by: tashi

MEC needs to stop fooling itself and start acting like the outdoors Wal-Mart that its become. If they want to be responsible they’d give up the co-op status they no longer deserve and start paying some damn corporate taxes.

Ya but the funny thing is they don't sell anything cheaper. They used to be a bare bones operation but all of a sudden became like boutique outdoor gear shop. I have pretty much stopped shopping there, way rather support my LBS's.

Posted by: syncro

Yeah I agree, I just think it's a worthwhile exercise (HA!) to pursue.

It is worthwhile, but just do it and move on.  It should be as simple as "Hey, we sure have a lot of white dudes in our ads.  Maybe ask for more diverse models next time"  "You got it, boss"

The whole letter about it and how they want to encourage their competitors to do the same is just virtue signaling.  I hate that overused term, but it is appropriate.

This ^^ , buddy could just have walked thru the cube farm with his cup on the way to the caffeine station  and say " ya i'm gona need you to go ahead  and be more diverse, you know ... no more gingers "

Instead everybody is wasting cycles discussing the Ginger  over-representation