Sports giant Adidas has been accused of erasing women after using a male model to launch a women’s swimwear line.
The swimsuit range is part of Adidas’s ‘Pride 2023’ collection, and is for sale on the website in the women’s section.
According to The Mail Online:
Adidas has sparked calls for a boycott after launching a new range of women’s swimwear using what appears to be a man as the model.
The company was accused of ‘erasing women’ and is the latest target of conservative anger over ‘woke’ marketing, after Bud Light saw sales drop last month following outrage over its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The model showing off the swimwear has a hairy chest and a bulge in the crotch area. It’s not stated whether the model identifies as a man or as trans.
The swimsuit was created by South African designer Rich Mnisi and released to honour Pride Month. Adidas have said the swim suit is ‘a celebration of self-expression, imagination and the unwavering belief that love unites’.
The choice of the model for the swimwear caused outrage on social media.
A ‘BoycottAdidas’ hashtag has begun trending and high-profile athletes have hit out at the company.
‘Women’s swimsuits aren’t accessorized with a bulge,’ U.S. swim star turned women’s rights activist Riley Gaines tweeted.
‘I don’t understand why companies are voluntarily doing this to themselves. They could have at least said the suit is “unisex”, but they didn’t because it’s about erasing women.’
Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene also hit out at Adidas, asking: ‘Who is telling these major corporations to alienate women, half the population, in order to market to trans which are less than 1%?
‘Businesses are for profit, not for politics. It doesn’t make sense. Who is telling them to do this?’
South Carolina representative Nancy Mace said: ‘I’m old enough to remember when women actually modeled women’s bathing suits, not men.’
‘Adidas launches new women’s swimwear range, the “Pride Collection” — using MALES to model sports bras and WOMEN’S swimsuits, Oh f**k off. Honestly,’ another person said.
Oli London, a boy band member who is well-known for his multiple ethnic plastic surgery procedures, shared screenshots on Twitter from the Adidas site with the caption: ‘The new Adidas Women’s Swimwear Range modelled by…men’.
‘There doesn’t seem to be a single brand left that isn’t woke,’ he said.
The post had been seen by more than five million Twitter users, many also took aim at the brand.
‘Just check out that womanly bulge… Adidas infuriatingly uses biological male models to advertise women’s swimsuits, and bras,’ wrote another.
‘Nothing sells a swimsuit like a hairy chest and a crotch bulge,’ a third posted.
Many also joked that Adidas and Nike are battling it out for who can ‘go broke’ first after the competitors become ‘increasingly woke’.
In April, Nike used trans social media star Mulvaney to promote their activewear.
The transgender actress posted’ ‘Alert the media — I’m entering my workout era’ alongside pictures showing off Nike’s range.
Following its choice of Mulvaney as a brand ambassador to show off women’s apparel, a ‘Burn Bra Challenge’ began on TikTok and many slammed Nike’s choice on social media.
Adidas’ Pride line also features t-shirts, shorts and sportswear that say ‘Love Wins’ which are also worn by what appear to be male models.
