Embracing the fact that gender for some people is something fluid, that is to say that there are people who do not identify with a single identity, but flow between them, is a step that in the fashion industry they have made rather few signatures. While it is true that the sector is undoubtedly moving towards genderless and label-free fashion, the inclusion of non-binary clothing – for the gender fluid – is its pending subject. Also for the general consumer.
The latest debate generated on the networks regarding this issue of identity and gender has been the protagonist of the Bonds brand. This Australian firm, which has been promoting inclusive fashion in all its collections for years, this time wanted to go a step further and include a non-binary model in its latest swimwear campaign. This is Mikey, who is 1.99m tall, has a beard and long dark hair, and defines himself as gender fluid. He is the protagonist of the campaign, wearing a sports bikini next to a woman wearing the same piece.
This two-piece is part of a line dubbed Pride, a movement known worldwide to vindicate the LGTBIQ group, and tries to adapt to everyone. And although the initiative has been applauded by a group of internet users, many others started their own boycott campaign against the brand yesterday. Enraged and scandalized by the image of this model in a bikini, thousands of users on Twitter and Instagram take a stand against Bonds and ensure that they will never shop there again.
“I used to shop at Bonds but I won’t anymore; seeing a man dressed in women’s clothes is very unpleasant”, one of them wrote on Twitter. Another commented that all their purchases before Bonds would end up, after seeing this campaign, in the trash, and a third added that “it was an insult to women” to put the model in a bikini next to the non-binary model with the same pieces.
But among the incendiary comments, there are a few who praise the action of the firm, which has not yet been pronounced, and defend that the campaign is an act that celebrates diversity. “This is why Australia is divided. People like to live in black or white… open your eyes for once and realize that color also exists”, one user ventured to write. The debate is served.
