A video from a U.S. fashion retailer has created controversy over its use of the words " jeans" (as in denim) and "genes" (as in genetics). Social media is alight with claims the video is racist. The company, American Eagle, produced the video for its new line of clothes. The video stars denim-clad actress Sydney Sweeney. She tells the camera: "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue." The video closes with the tagline: "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans." American Eagle said the play on words was part of its ad campaign's "provocative language". It said the words were definitely going to "push buttons".
美國時尚零售商發布的一支影片因其使用「jeans」（牛仔褲）與「genes」（基因）的雙關語引發爭議。社群媒體上湧現大量批評聲浪，指控該影片涉及種族主義。這支由美國品牌American Eagle為新服裝系列製作的廣告，由身穿牛仔裝的女演員席德妮·史威尼主演。她對著鏡頭說道：「基因由父母傳給後代，通常決定了頭髮顏色、性格甚至眼睛顏色等特徵。而我的牛仔褲是藍色的。」影片以標語作結：「席德妮·史威尼擁有絕佳基因/牛仔褲（雙關）。」American Eagle表示，這種文字遊戲是廣告活動中「具煽動性語言」的一部分，並坦言此設計必然會「觸動敏感神經」。
Many people have criticized the wordplay for having eugenic undertones. Eugenics is a debunked theory that posits that humanity can be improved by encouraging people with certain genes to reproduce, to increase the occurrence of "desirable" racial traits. Critics of the ad highlight the fact that Ms Sweeney is white, blue-eyed, and blonde. They suggest her looks are really "great genes". Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly called the criticism a "leftist meltdown". U.S. Vice President JD Vance called it an overreaction. Meanwhile, the White House communications director said attacking the ad was "cancel culture run amok". American Eagle says its ad "is and always was about the jeans."
許多人批評這則廣告的文字遊戲帶有「優生學」的隱含意味。優生學是一種已被推翻的理論，主張通過鼓勵具有特定基因者繁殖來增加「理想」種族特徵，從而「改良」人類。廣告批評者特別指出，主演女星席德妮·史威尼身為金髮碧眼的白人，其形象暗示的正是所謂「優良基因」。前福斯新聞主播梅根·凱莉抨擊這些批評是「左派崩潰」，美國副總統JD·萬斯也稱此為過度反應。白宮通訊主任則表示，對廣告的攻擊是「取消文化失控的表現」。對此，American Eagle堅稱其廣告「從頭到尾都只是在談牛仔褲」。
Vocabulary 單字
•Controversy (n): public disagreement
•Offspring (n): a child or children
•Traits (n): characteristics
•Tagline (n): short advertising phrase
•Provocative (adj): causing strong reaction
•Eugenic (adj): relating to controlled breeding to "improve" humans
•Undertones (n): hidden meanings
•Debunked (v): proven false
•Posits (v): suggests as fact
•Occurrence (n): something that happens
•Desirable (adj): worth having
•Cancel culture (n): withdrawing support from those deemed offensive
•Run amok (v): behave uncontrollably
