Netizens call out adidas for using man to promote women's swimsuit

Netizens are calling for a boycott of sportwear brand adidas after it launched a new range of women's swimsuits using a man to model the suits. 

The swimsuit range, which is part of adidas's 'Pride 2023' collection, can be found for sale on adidas' website. However, netizens took offense of the fact that the swimsuit was being modeled by an individual with chest hair and a bulge in the crotch area. 

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Netizens took to social media to share their distaste with women's rights activist Riley Gaines tweeting out that the use of a male model "erased women". 

"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. Ever wondered why we hardly see this go the other way?" she asked. 

The former US swim star continued by saying: 

Women's swimsuits aren't accessorised with a bulge.

Other users said that they would be boycotting the brand with the hashtag #BoycottAdidasgarnering significant usage following the outcry.

The new suit is part of a new collaboration with adidas and South African, queer designer Rich Mnisi for Pride 2023; Let Love Be Your Legacy as it celebrates allyship and freedom of expression without bias in sports and culture. 

The collection, which features a range of lifestyle and performance apparel as well as footwear, was inspired by a love letter Mnisi wrote to his younger self, in which he declares Let Love Be Your Legacy - serving as his mission statement, but also a rallying cry for active allyship to empower and champion the LGBTQIA+ community.

To bring that forward, the collection's vibrant colour palette and bold print was paired with slogans such as "Love Unites" and "Let Love Be Your Legacy" printed onto the fabric. The apparel and footwear also features Mnisi's retro graphic print and a monochrome circular check design layered with hand drawn flowers as well as abstract shapes in bright and punchy colours with the adidas three-stripe boldly accentuated in pink and red. The adidas x RICH MNISI collection also includes garments made in part with recycled materials and in collaboration with Better Cotton.

Speaking on the collection, Rich Mnisi said that he aims to achieve a union of the themes of LGBTQIA+ and love which will be expressed through his own visual language and adidas’ iconic performance and lifestyle pieces. He hopes that the collection can serve as a symbol for self-acceptance and LGBTQIA+ advocacy.

As part of the collaboration, adidas has also partnered with EA SPORTS to offer pieces from the range to wear in-game and to use in two separate game modes in FIFA 23. Electronic Arts (EA) specialises in digital interactive entertainment and develops and delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, mobile devices and personal computers. 

The news comes just shortly after Caitlyn Jenner slammed Nike for its partnership with trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney after the star posted that she was the company's newest paid brand ambassador for its women's line of leggings and sports bras, according to a tweet by Jenner. This comes just seven years after Jenner herself landed a H&M sportswear endorsement. 

Jenner, who was recently named a Fox News contributor, took to Twitter to call the partnership between Nike and Mulvaney "an outrage".

“As someone that grew up in awe of what Phil Knight did, it is a shame to see such an iconic American company go so woke!” she tweeted. “We can be inclusive but not at the expense of the mass majority of people and have some decency while being inclusive. This is an outrage.”

The New York Post (NYP) then posted an article in which it noted that it was unclear why the partnership was harmful according to Jenner.

Jenner responded directly to NYP on Twitter by saying that that there was a double standard on the difference in the treatment of Allyson Felix by Nike and Mulvaney now. Felix is a retired American track and field athlete who split from the brand reportedly because she was disrespected by the brand and discriminated against because she was pregnant. Nike allegedly asked Felix in 2018 to take a 70% pay cut recently when the star announced she was pregnant.

Jenner noted that the New York Post "entirely misrepresented" her tweet and the "context" of her outrage. Jenner added that there is "nothing hypocritical" about her H&M collaboration though she did not elaborate besides adding that she has a long history of athletic endorsements. 

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