Responds to backlash with PR spin, gaslights customers objecting to Playboy merch
City Beach accused of promoting pornography to teenagers but retailer hits back at ‘bullying’ on social media
May 4
Surf store City Beach has been accused of promoting pornography to teenagers by selling Playboy clothing, but the retailer has hit back at anyone “bullying or shaming” people who wish to wear the brand.
Photographs have been posted on social media showcasing the fashion available, including a jumper and T-shirt with the Playboy bunny logo and typography.
But the post immediately attracted outrage, with some describing promotion of the clothing brand as “abhorrent and revolting”, while others even called for City Beach to be boycotted.
City Beach Playboy merch
Social media user Leigh Nicholls wrote: “You should be ashamed of yourselves (for) promoting this brand to our young daughters. City Beach is a staple for them and now you’re openly bringing in a porn brand? Super disappointed to see this, especially in the current ‘conscious’ climate.”
Heidi Luxton commented: “Disgusted to see City Beach promoting porn culture and the objectification of girls and women. Absolutely repulsive considering our society’s huge problem with violence and rape culture.”
Activist Caitlin Roper from the group Collective Shout, which opposes the objectification of women and sexualisation of girls, said the store was introducing young people to pornography by normalising and embedding it in clothing targeted at them.
Ms Roper said it also treated young women as porn industry props, using them to advertise a brand with a history of mistreating women and children.
Read the full article here. (Republished at The Australian, Daily Telegraph and Perth Now.)
Australian retailer City Beach accused of promoting the objectification of young girls with Playboy range
May 4
An Australian fashion retailer has come under fire, accused of promoting pornography and the objectification of women to impressionable young girls, after unveiling a new range of Playboy-branded clothing.
Playboy, which was founded by Hugh Hefner in the 1950s, has long been criticised for objectifying and exploiting women.
Collective Shout, a not-for-profit organisation that opposes the objectification of women and the sexualisation of girls, said the store was introducing young people to pornography by “normalising” and “embedding” it in clothing targeted at them.
Collective Shout Campaigns Manager Caitlin Roper said the partnership demonstrated a “lack of corporate social responsibility”.
Read the full article here.
City Beach's (pathetic) response
City Beach responded to criticisms over its promotion of global porn industry brand Playboy to teens, but their attempt at PR spin has not been well received.
The youth retailer claimed it “[does] not endorse male or female objectification”.
Apparently City Beach thinks we are stupid. Does City Beach genuinely believe it can promote and profit from the objectification of women, and once held to account it can just claim not to? Does the company think we have forgotten its long history of selling porn-wear emblazoned with images of naked and objectified women, sometimes bound and gagged?
“So @CityBeach, when you say you’re ‘playing a part in the day to day life of Australia’s youth culture and lifestyle’ is this what you mean? Promoting the objectification of girls and women?" https://t.co/HfBNwG8y1B #binthebunnycitybeach
— Caitlin Roper (@caitlin_roper) May 4, 2021
At the same time City Beach has partnered with a global sexual exploiter of women for profit, it gaslights individuals who object. In a complete reversal, City Beach painted those who objected to their grooming children to be consumers of pornography as the aggressors, accusing them of “bullying” and “shaming”.
City Beach can throw around buzzwords like “diversity” and “equality” all it wants, but we’re not falling for it. It’s been ten years, and City Beach is still objectifying women for profit.
Read City Beach's full response below.
Video: 'Stop selling Playboy porn products to kids': City Beach campaign update
See also
Media Release: Australian retailer City Beach slammed for selling major porn brand to teens
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