‘Transphobic鈥� advert pulled
A tampon advertisement that sparked international outrage for being 鈥榯ransphobic鈥� is unlikely to be shown in Australia after being pulled from New Zealand television.
Tampon maker Libra pulled the advertisement this week following a massive social media backlash claiming the advertisement was transphobic.
TransGender Victoria spokesperson Sally Goldner agreed the advertisement was transphobic and called for more consultation with the sex and gender diverse community when advertisements are in production.
鈥淚f enough trans people say that鈥檚 not right, you鈥檝e saved a whole heap of wasted money and they can go on and do something that might be better,鈥� Goldner told the Star Observer.
Goldner said she believed the advertisement was portraying a trans woman rather than and drag queen and said it could be considered vilification.
鈥淭he assumption is that a drag queen is a male dressed up as an exaggerated form of femininity which is not necessarily the case. The character portrayed does not seem to fit that,鈥� Goldner said.
鈥淎nyone, any sex or gender identity can perform as a drag queen, so it still doesn鈥檛 change it because it comes back to this idea that females or femininity is about bitchiness and competitiveness and comparing people鈥檚 make-up, which is a negative stereotypical view of females and femininity.
鈥淸But] going on the assumption the character is portraying a trans woman, to say that a trans woman is not a real woman is in the practical, day-to-day use of the word vilification.
鈥淚t ridicules a group because denial of someone鈥檚 existence is the most basic form of prejudice and vilification there is, so I鈥檓 glad it鈥檚 not going ahead.鈥�
NSW Gender Centre spokeswoman Katherine Cummings stopped short of labelling the advertisment 鈥渢ransgender-phobic鈥� but said it was still offensive.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those stupid ads that tries to take advantage of people鈥檚 gee whiz attitude towards transgenders and gays and drag queens,鈥� she said.
鈥淩eally, it鈥檚 a schoolboy type of humour which is very hard to understand – adults putting it out and presumably spending thousands of dollars doing it.
鈥淲hat they鈥檝e demonstrated is they believe in a pecking order based on the ability to menstruate or not and that is plain stupid, it鈥檚 childish, it鈥檚 offensive. I don鈥檛 take it as a personal insult, but I take it as a general insult.鈥�
In a statement, Libra said it regretted any offence taken to advertisement and said it never intended to upset or offend anyone.
鈥淚ndependent research was undertaken and the advertisement was viewed positively during that testing,鈥� Libra said.
鈥淟ibra takes all feedback very seriously, and in response to this, we will immediately review our future position with this campaign based on the feedback received. There are no further advertisements scheduled in New Zealand.
鈥淭he advertisement has not aired in Australia and a video Libra placed on Facebook has also been removed.鈥�
Yes, it was terribly offensive. Where is its? I wanna see it!!! I used to menstruate but then I had a hysterectomy. Can I complain? Pls?
Yes the ad is offensive, but hey, all is not lost. At the end the caption says “Libra Gets Girls” whatever that really means, it’s obviously a slogan, but how about Libra put the ad back on air with the caption at the end saying that “Libra Gets Some Girls” or something similar.
Then it becomes an inclusive ad because it gives the message to the wider community that trans girls are girls too …
I have a friend who always carries tampons when they are in drag, she could have beat that plain little girl hands down!
Yep. Not offensive.
Not offensive, and it’s ridiculous that Australians are following the American example in becoming hyper-sensitive, rights obsessed and overly litigious. It’s ridiculous. Australians have longed prided themselves on not taking themselves too seriously – but when innocent adverts are attacked with baseless reasons it indicates how immature and insecure the trans community is. How many ads today can be classified as sexist? Many. However the merit of feminists is that they choose which fights to engage. It would be counter productive to the proponents of sexual and gender equality to be seen as overly sensitive to evidently light hearted innuendo. The trans community have only taken a few steps backward with their backlash and have eroded at the respect they may deserve.
Far out. Grow up and develop some sense. There’s a much more adverse effect of pulling this ad for the trans community than otherwise. It’ll now become a case study for academics, students of sociology, anthropology and social psychology. It’ll be flaunted on YouTube as “the ad that was banned due to trans community complaint.” A bit of foresight would go a long way.
Terrible if you’re trans* but thanks for reminding us just how transphobia feels.
Great advertisement. Not offensive at all.