Adidas under fire as biological male models female-style swimming costume
Catherine Lough
Thu, 18 May 2023 at 1:43 pm GMT-7·5-min read
Adidas has come under fire for advertising a female-style swimming costume using a model with a penis
Adidas has come under fire for advertising a female-style swimming costume using a model with a penis.
The swimsuit, launched as part of the brand’s Pride Rich Mnisi collection in collaboration with South African designer Rich Mnisi, is on sale in the UK for £50. The model, who appears to be male, is 6ft 2in.
The move has prompted criticism from campaigners for women’s equality in sport, who argue that the use of a biologically male model for a women’s swimsuit creates unrealistic body expectations for women.
Sharron Davies, former Olympian swimmer and the author of Unfair Play, a book critiquing the inclusion of biological males in women’s sport, wrote on social media: “Yet again a male gets paid to advertise a product that’s vastly aimed at women who are physically a different shape.
“Adidas if you want to design a swimsuit for trans women, right on. They have different needs. But stop gaslighting women?”
She added that women were “having all their descriptive words and rights eroded”.
The swimsuit was launched as part of the brand’s Pride Rich Mnisi collection - ADIDAS
Mara Yamauchi, a British long-distance track and road-running athlete, said: “If men want to wear gender non-conforming clothing, sure, go ahead.”
“But if this is aimed at female swimmers, there are thousands of wonderful, athletic females [Adidas] could have paid to model this. Instead they chose a man. Brands erasing women.”
Adidas is not the first global brand to be criticised for using biologically male trans models in advertising campaigns.
Budweiser recently faced a backlash for using trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney on its cans of Bud Light.
And when Mulvaney featured in a Nike bra advert, this also prompted calls from consumers for a boycott of the Nike brand.
The UK Adidas website says that the swimsuit is sold under its UniteFit gender-neutral sizing system - ADIDAS
At the time, Davies described using Mulvaney to promote the bra as a “kick in the teeth” for women.
This week, beer brand Miller Lite defended its “pro-women” advert following a conservative backlash.
The beer brand released an advert celebrating Women’s History Month with comedian Ilana Glazer condemning Miller and other beer brands' past use of scantily-clad women to sell their products.
Clay Travis, conservative commentator, described both Budweiser and Miller Lite as “broken” in response to the adverts, stating that they had “no idea who actually consumes their products”.
The swimming costume is sold in the women’s section of the Adidas US website with women’s clothing sizes.
The UK Adidas website advises that the swimsuit is sold under its UniteFit gender-neutral sizing system, “created according to different body types, shapes and sizes, instead of gender norms and standards”.
The company advises what size to buy for customers who usually buy men’s or women’s sizes.
Rich Mnisi, the designer, said: “In creating this collection, I had a strong impulse to speak to my inner child and express to the world how LGBTQ+ allyship can create a legacy of love.
“Unifying these themes together through my own visual language and Adidas’ iconic performance and lifestyle pieces is a powerful combination, making the collection a symbol for self-acceptance and LGBTQ+ advocacy.
“My hope is this range inspires LGBTQ+ allies to speak up more for the queer people they love and not let them fight for acceptance alone.”
Gender politics aside, isn't it time men's swimwear got an upgrade?
by Stephen Doig, Men's Style EditorLet’s park the gender politics for some light fashion relief.
The new adidas advert featuring an individual wearing what would traditionally be a women’s swimsuit aside, the world of swimwear for men has seen some choppy waters over the last century and beyond.
Perhaps the rise of a fully genderless range of swim outfits is no bad thing.
Curious though a swimsuit on someone who does identify as a man might look, is a pair of neon budgie smugglers around the all-inclusive pool actually any better? I know which one I’d rather get an eyeful of over the breakfast buffet.
In a way, it’s no surprise that a genderless swim cossie has come along, because societal shifts have always governed how men hit the beach. No gentleman worth his stovepipe hat would have ever graced the seafronts of Brighton or Eastbourne in anything other than a knitted onesie swimsuit in the Victorian era, modestly cutting off at the thighs lest those milky white hams get the ladies fainting, and buttoned up to the collar. In the US, actual laws in some states dictate that it couldn’t be more than 4 inches above the knee. It was a men’s swimsuit; the only difference with the Adidas version is the scooped nature of the neckline and crotch (I believe we can still use that term today).
Trunks as we know them didn’t swing into existence until 1937 when Olympic Weissmuller - known more widely as Tarzan - was hired to model NY brand BVD’s new range of teeny tiny trunks. Even with the invention, smaller shorts for men didn’t become ubiquitous until the 1950s, shrinking dramatically further in the 1970s - see the cliches about German tourists in itsy-bitsy banana hammocks.
Thankfully, men’s trunks have mellowed somewhat and there’s a booming market of well-made, well-fitting swimshorts with real design nous behind them, courtesy of brands such as Orlebar Brown, Vilebrequin and Frescobol Carioca. A swimsuit for men is obviously unconventional, but not every man is happy with showing his chest. Bar underwear, it’s the most intimate item a person can wear, so by dint of its body revealing nature swimsuits and variants of for both genders have always shocked.
Perhaps in 100 years we won’t bat an eyelid at genderless dressing over pina coladas at the beach club? And no matter how the individuals in the campaign identify, I happen to think they look pretty damn good.
