Our persistence has paid off!

After 7-weeks of calling out e.commerce platform TeePublic for selling baby clothes covered in p*rn themed and violent slogans, we can at last report progress.

On Monday we met with parent company Articore (formerly Redbubble). We received a verbal and written apology and an official undertaking to remove these products which should take about a week (many of those we have exposed before have already gone). Articore will also work on improving its tech and moderating systems to stop it happening again.

Special thanks to all supporters who took action!

The power of one complaint: Speaking out leads to change

Collective Shout supporter, Isla, alerted us to a Wheels & Dollbaby ad promoting their 'St. Trinians collection - inspired by private schoolgirls who make their own rules'.

Wheels and Dollbaby is an Australian ‘rock n’ roll luxury clothing brand with an international market and status attracting big name clients. Clearly the label is popular. But why employ sexy private school girl tropes to push out its products?

School girls everywhere are routinely sexually harassed on a daily basis (and not just the private ones). On their way to school, on their way home.

Our fifth victory for 2024!

NSW supporter Pat sent our Movement Director MTR this image late Sunday afternoon, posted to the Insta account of Boveda, which describes itself as a ‘Modern Mexican Tequila Bar’ in Thirroul, NSW.

Canberra Thai restaurant CocoNine has removed a sign depicting a man looking through a peephole of a woman’s restroom after being called out.

Earlier this week a supporter sent us a screenshot of a sponsored post on Facebook where giant e-commerce platform SHEIN was pushing thigh-high fishnet stockings for infants. "This is a massive red flag for me" she said. 

We discussed it as a team and our Movement Director, Melinda Tankard Reist said "This major online e-commerce platform thinks it’s ok to sexualise even babies by flogging thigh-high black fishnet stockings. Shein has linked babies with an item of clothing commonly associated with the sex trade. We have documented other examples of Shien’s exploitation and adultification of children including padded bras and see-through costumes. The company must be called out for pedo whistling."

So we decided to share the image on Facebook, Instagram, X(Twitter) and LinkedIn calling on all our supporters to contact SHEIN and demand they remove the item from their site. 

Clearly this campaign struck a chord with many as we had hundreds of comments on our social media platforms. 

"I have grave concerns about the mind of the person who thought these a good idea - I think they need help of some sort."

"What the actual! That’s disgusting"

"Appalling"

"Yuck!! 🤮 This is all kinds of wrong. Actually makes me feel physically sick."

"Words fail at this sickness"

"SHEIN this is not a good look….."

"Shame on you SHEIN"

"SHEIN this is disgusting. I will be spreading this info to everyone I know so that your company is boycotted."

"I wrote a book about pornification of reality and this is the worst thing I've ever seen."

"This is not the first time. SHEIN have a history of sexualising girls. We must call this out!"

*Update: The ads have been removed thanks to your rapid action. Scroll to bottom for details*

This week a teacher forwarded us a sponsored post by H&M where pre-teen girls were styled and posed in school fashion outfits and the headline ‘Make those heads turn in H&M’s Back to School fashion.'

After decades of working against the sexualisation of girls we were immediately concerned and took to social media to call them out.

Our Movement Director, Melinda Tankard Reist, first posted on X (formally twitter) and the response was overwhelming. 

"The little girls parents generally prefer heads don’t ‘turn’ when others see their daughters walking to school, on a bus or in class. Why would you want to fuel the idea that little girls should draw attention to their looks, bodies and ‘style’? Perhaps have a word to your marketing team and come up with something that doesn’t draw attention to pre pubescent girls already struggling to thrive in a culture that values ‘lookism’ as an aspirational goal?" Tankard Reist said on Twitter.

People all around the world began to call H&M out for their harmful and irresponsible ad. 

Sexist caps removed, sexualised toys and kids clothing gone, sex industry shares dumped, paedophilic Twitter accounts shut down, child sex abuse doll accounts pulled, outdoor ad rules tightened, UltraTune ads dropped, ‘Penis Pacifier’ disappeared - all because our supporters took action!

*Content warning

Six investment firms have (quietly) sold off their Playboy shares after our calls to divest from the global porn empire. They are:

Yesterday we took to social media to ask CEO Jane Hastings to exercise corporate social responsibility and remove the p*rny image in the Rydges Gold Coast location mens toilets.

Jane responded shortly after "Hi - thanks for bringing this to my attention. I have the team investigating this immediately. Whilst this is not a managed hotel property, it does carry the Rydges brand. We do respect that art is subjective, however, this is not aligned to the Rydges brand. This art will be taken down when it is identified."

This morning we received a confirmation email from a staff member from the parent company EVT that the image had been removed. 

We are glad that Rydges has acted promptly since we launched our campaign but why was the image put up in the first place? And why wasn't this matter taken seriously when Holly (Collective Shout supporter and hotel customer) lodged her formal complaint in writing to the hotel?

"I’m relieved to hear that Rydges Gold Coast have removed this offensive large scale image from the male bathroom thanks to the collective voice of women (and men) who will push back against this type of content. This is powerful.

These types of situations and wins give me hope and encouragement that together we can take a stand and say no to the sexualisation, objectification and discrimination of wahine. We can work together towards a better future for our kids. Thanks Collective Shout" - Holly

If you'd like to stay informed about how you can be a part of future campaigns like this sign up for free here. 

Ad Standards fail prompts local council to act