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A swimsuit company is under fire for using a male model to promote a women’s bathing suit — with one outraged woman accusing the company of “giving men the power over us and saying they do it better.”
Moana Bikini, owned by Australian body-positivity influencer Karina Irby, shared an Instagram video Saturday of male model Jake Young posing in a lacy one-piece bathing suit worth $99.
“OBSESSED WITH THIS LOOK,” the company captioned the video, with a heart-eyes emoji, noting that Young was wearing a size small.
Many in the comments section said they would unfollow the company for the video, while others hit out at the brand for using a male to sell women’s swimwear.
“Is that a man? I thought you were about empowering women?” one Instagram user commented.
“Men seem to be trying to take over everything women hold sacred. Our safe spaces, our identity and now our fashion.”
“Sorry but Moana, this is not how you empower women,” another wrote. “This is once again giving men the power over us and saying they do it better.”
male model Jake Young showing off a lacy $99 one-piece. Instagram/jakeytho
A third said the video was “bad advertising if the target audience is women.
“A man wearing a piece designed for women… not going to make most women want to buy it.”
But others have defended the company for its “dedication to inclusivity.”
“Thank you for always being inclusive in your sizing and models!” one user wrote. “Number one reason I will always support your brand!”
Young also defended his modeling gig, writing: “There are many different types of women. Women with different anatomy to what you consider ‘normal.’
“I am not a woman nor have I ever claimed to be. This post is simply empowering a minority and I’m forever grateful for that.
“Your hate is a reflection of your own insecurities, not mine.”
The company itself told critics: “If Jake in our bikini upsets you that much we feel as though this may be a ‘you’ problem.”
It later explained, “We find it quite absurd that people would cherry-pick this one individual post from our 13 years of business to make a wild statement about us not being empowering to women.
“Moana Bikini are — and have always been — one of the most inclusive and empowering brands in existence. This is not only in terms of our size and style range for women, but — most importantly — in our love and acceptance of all races, ethnicities, body shapes and sizes, genders and sexual orientations,” a spokesperson for the company told the Daily Mail.
“This hasn’t changed and never will change.
“Many commenters are using the excuse that they believe it is ‘insulting to women’ when in reality, it’s quite clear they are homophobic and have an issue with someone expressing their sexuality proudly and confidently,” the spokesperson continued.
“We’re happy to receive and hear people’s feedback — both negative and positive. But we’re not here to please everyone. That’s an impossible task.
“If people aren’t happy with this individual post of a proud gay man wearing a piece of clothing he feels confident in, they can just keep scrolling or unfollow, can’t they?”
“Imagine living a life where you choose to be offended by something and stick around, comment and engage only to make yourself more and more angry,” the spokesperson concluded.
“This sounds like a ‘them’ problem, not an ‘us’ problem to be honest.”
The Post has also reached out to Moana Bikini for comment.
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