Moana Swimwear Stirs Debate With Male Model Advertising Women’s Bikinis

Moana Bikini, a swimsuit company in Australia owned by body positivity influencer Karina Irby, is under fire after they controversially hired a male model for a women’s bathing suit.

The Age of Brands Embracing ‘Body Positivity’

Model Jake Young can be seen posing in a $99 lacy one-piece bathing suit which was shared by Moana Bikini via their Instagram handles with the caption “Obsessed with his Looks”. A number of netizens have come forward criticizing the company for using a male model in advertising a female product.

One netizen pointed out the lack of logical sense in using a male model when the product itself is being advertised to the female audience which would have a greater interest in buying the product if the model were a woman.

Another comment slams Jake Young for stealing women’s jobs and opportunities by modeling for women’s products. A netizen also said that they would never buy anything again from the company as it favors men over women.

Owner Karina Irby Reveals Stance

Following intense backlash, the owner of Moana Bikini Karina Irby has come forward vindicating her choice in a comment characterizing Moana as a body-positive company since 2011 that keeps striving to reach greater heights.

She even went on to wholeheartedly praise Jake Young further saying she believes the extremely hateful comments come from people suffering from homophobia. 

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In further back and forth, model Jake Young responded calling himself a part of a minority and asserting that he is in no way standing against women’s opportunities as he never considered or proclaimed himself to be a woman. He added that he believes his winnings to be a small step ahead for his minority.

The comment section is still booming, and even though the company is under fire, it looks like the marketing tactic has worked out as the post and the model are garnering the attention of more and more people.

Commenters are still using every means to hack away at this post forcing the company to bend to its knees by even criticizing the Moana model’s age to his disposition on various topics. 

All the while, some comments are praising Moana Bikini for its inclusive nature and for utilizing a sexual minority like Jake to promote their product, thereby being inclusive of all sizing and models.

A few netizens even proclaimed their undying allegiance to Moana Bikini, to only buy from the company as it had never faltered in bringing out their body positivity motto to the fullest. 

Company’s Official Statement

In response to certain comments that questioned their true agenda, claiming that such promotions do not genuinely empower women, the company highlighted their rich history spanning over a decade. They emphasized their commitment to promoting women and individuals of all backgrounds regardless of class, color, size, or ethnicity.

Furthermore, they declared themselves to be holding on to their motto and pointed out how it is unreasonable to make an entire judgment of the company based on a single post in their decade-long run. They added that those who come to such stupid conclusions need to reevaluate themselves as it questions their sexual confidence as their thinking gets clouded the moment they see a man wearing a bikini.

They concluded, by kindly reminding the haters to understand it is a “you” problem instead of an “us” problem and suggested that those who feel repulsed by watching it can just unfollow instead of commenting and raging over simply wasting time.

Moana Bikini struck again showcasing its firm stance by posting a second post advertising another product.