An Australian swimwear company that advertised male models posing in women's swimwear has hit back at detractors, saying it is “allowing men to invade women's space”.
Moana Bikini, owned by body positive influencer Karina Irby; shared an Instagram video on Saturday. Photo of male model Jake Young showing off a lace one-piece swimsuit worth $99.
The company captioned the video, “Loving this look,” along with a heart-eyes emoji, noting that Young is wearing a size small.
Many in the comment section said they would unfollow the company after seeing the video, while others criticized the brand for exploiting men to sell women's swimwear.
“Is that a guy? I thought you were thinking about female empowerment?” one Instagram user commented.
Male model Jake Young shows off a $99 lace dress. Instagram/Jaquito
“Men seem to be trying to take over everything women hold sacred: our safe spaces, our identities, and now our fashion.”
“Sorry Moana, this is no way to empower women,” another wrote. “This is giving men power over us again and saying men will do better.”
A third said the video was “bad advertising if the target audience is women.”
“If a man wears clothes designed for women, most women won't want to buy them.”
But others defended the company's “commitment to inclusivity.”
“Thank you for always considering sizing and models,” one user wrote. “The number one reason I always support your brand!”
Young also defended her modeling work, writing: Women with different anatomy than what you would consider “normal.”
“I am not a woman and have never claimed to be one. This post is simply empowering a minority, and I am forever grateful for that.
“Your hatred reflects your own insecurities, not mine.”
The company itself responded to critics by saying, “If Jake in a bikini upsets you so much, I feel like this is 'your' problem.”
The company then explained: “I think it's completely ridiculous that people would pick this one post out of our 13 years of business and make wild statements about how we don't empower women.
“Moana Bikini is, and always will be, one of the most inclusive and empowering brands in existence. It's not only about the range of women's sizes and styles, but most importantly, about the range of women's sizes and styles. It's about loving and accepting people of all species, ethnicities, shapes and sizes, genders and sexual orientations,” a company spokesperson said. he told the Daily Mail.
“This hasn’t changed and will never change.
“Many commenters said it was a 'women's joke' when in fact it's clear they're homophobic and have a problem with someone proudly and confidently expressing their sexuality. The spokesperson continued:
“We're happy to receive feedback from people, both negative and positive. But we're not here to please everyone. That's an impossible task. .
“If you're not happy with this individual post of a proud gay man wearing his clothes with confidence, just keep scrolling or unfollow, right?”
“Imagine choosing to be angry about something and living your life by staying there, commenting, and engaging, only to make yourself more and more angry,” the spokesperson said. concluded.
“Honestly, this seems like a ‘them’ issue, not an ‘us’ issue. ”
The newspaper also reached out to Moana Bikini for comment.
