Whilst flipping through the Sunday circulars, reader Thomas B. was surprised to see JC Penney’s new clothing line called, “a.n.a. : A New Approach.”
A worker in the mental health field for several years, he was reminded of another meaning for “ana,” that it’s a slang term for anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by not eating to the point of extreme weight loss and malnutrition, amongst some anorexia or “pro-ana” communities. As a proper name, “Ana” serves as a sort of anorexic avatar or imaginary anthropomorphization amongst anorexia groups.
Gives the “It’s all inside” tagline a certain macabre irony then, n’est-ce pas?
“This seems to be an interesting choice name for a new clothing campaign, especially since the term is still widely unknown except for those directly involved with anorexia & other eating disorders. Is JC Penney trying to gain a new “target” market?” writes Thomas.
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As much as I hate to be the obnoxious one . . .
It’s n’est-ce pas, not n’cest-pas. Thank you, high school French.
Thank you. Language, she is how you say, a delicate slut. Wait wait, I think I use a faux-amie there… how you say un mélangeur?
The 12-year-old who lives inside my brain understands and chortles at the accidental anorexia connection, but is tantalized more by the opportunity to scrawl a letter “L” in Sharpie beside all of the incidences of “a.n.a.” that will appear on the store signage.
I’m not proud.
FYI, JC Penney has had a temporary store in Times Square for a while now, to drum up publicity for their brand, to no avail. No one even seems to care that it is there.
Meanwhile, a few years ago, Target did it, and it was a sell-out success. Penney’s will have to re-think their business model. Of course, selling clothing to those with eating disorders is an angle not many other retailers have tried.
/Anorexia>Bulima because at least the dinner you pay for won’t end up in the toilet.
Ooh, there’s a bunch of possibilities of snarkiness with Stain Guard materia jokes here.
…..Oh, I don’t know. I’ll stop the fast-forward and watch a commmercial with a pretty girl in it, usually! JC Penny does have to get some kudos for putting out a slick ad campaign. I used to think of them as the frumpy mom-wear store with the most potent, sneeze inducing perfume counter in the mall.
…..Pity the poor middle aged bowl-cut milf, though. She’ll be banished to Macy’s, Belk and Sears for her blandwear!