A leading women’s swimwear company has sparked a heated debate after naming a non-binary model as their new brand ambassador.
Seafolly, an Australian swimwear company founded in 1975, recently faced a backlash after announcing a partnership with 34-year-old Deni Todorovič who was born male but now identifies as non-binary.
The controversial decision was quickly met with lots of positive comments from customers as well as a number of celebrities including Jesinta Franklin, the brand’s former ambassador.
“So amazing to see this, Seafolly. I love to see brands pioneering the celebration of pride and inclusion,” one shopper said.
“As someone who hasn’t shopped at Seafolly for years I’ll be back now! Love seeing brands be inclusive and that is where I want my money to go,” another satisfied viewer wrote.
Not everyone, however, found it appropriate for a model who was born male to represent a women’s swimwear brand.
“As a woman, this is not what I want to look like in a bikini. I won’t be buying this product. People need to get back to reality. Stop making our world into a circus,” one disgruntled shopper said.
“There are other ways to support pride and individuals’ choices, but not this way. Sincerely, one of your long-time loyal customers,” another argued.
A third raged: “This is a joke. We support diversity and individuals’ decisions, but we don’t want to see women’s clothing that we want to purchase on a male body.”
After a wave of criticism and calls for a boycott, the company released a statement in which they defended their choice and hit back at the haters.
“We are here to celebrate the Australian beach lifestyle and inspire one another to feel confident at the beach,” the company said.
“In this community, we do not tolerate abusive, offensive, hateful language, trolling, deliberate disruption of discussion, or spam. Please be respectful of each other’s differences and remember to always be kind.”
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