Aussie Brand “Bonds” Features Non-Binary Model In New Bikini Campaign, Is Rocked By Criticism
After an attempt at providing more visibility to marginalized communities, Aussie backlash ensued as a brand featured a bearded, non-binary model in a bikini, sparking boycott calls and a heated debate over inclusion and representation. The targeted model has since responded. Bonds, recognized as an iconic Australian underwear brand, used non-binary model Mikey Sakinofsky to promote their new Pride 2024 collection.
- Australian brand Bonds faced backlash for featuring a non-binary model in its Pride 2024 collection.
- The UnGENderwear Project by Bonds aims to strip back gender stereotypes.
- Model Mikey Sakinofsky responded to the negative reactions, emphasizing gender diversity.
LGBTQIA2S (abbreviated LGBTQ+) Pride Month is a month, typically June, dedicated to the celebration and commemoration of people who identify in the community. Brands often do launches themed for the commemoration, often with rainbow products to represent the LGBTQ+ flag.
As a result, Bonds launched its UnGENderwear Project, dedicated to “stripping back the gender stereotypes.” The company’s official website states: “[We] left only the freedom for you to wear our pieces however feels right.”
“We’ve consulted with the community, our partners at Minus18, and our UnGENderwear advocates to carefully curate an assortment of products to inspire the way you shop & think about clothes.”
Aussie backlash ensued as Bonds featured a non-binary model in a bikini, sparking backlash, and the targeted model has since responded
Image credits: Bonds
“There’s room for everyone here, so go on and make yourself comfy.”
Amongst other products, Mikey was photographed advertising Bonds’ “Retro Rib™ Seamless Tonal Hi” bikini set in a lovely fuchsia pink color.
Nevertheless, the collection featuring the non-binary model wasn’t up to everybody’s taste, as discriminatory remarks started to emerge on X (formerly known as Twitter).
A person wrote: “Just another company to never buy from again.”
Another X user commented: “Go woke, go broke, come on people!” According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, woke is a US slang word for a person who is aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).
“I used to buy Bonds, [but] I will no longer do so, seeing a man wearing women’s garments is seriously off-putting,” another angered individual penned.
Bonds used non-binary model Mikey Sakinofsky to promote their new Pride 2024 collection
Image credits: Bonds
Bonds also took to its Instagram page last month to launch its new Pride campaign with a multitude of posts dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community, even encouraging customers to donate to charities helping the community.
Unfortunately, negative comments started to once again flood the social media page, as a person wrote: “I will never buy ‘bonds’ again! Bye bye!”
“Just another step in the wrong direction. Will never support again,” a separate individual chimed in.
But other people saw Bonds’ initiative as a great move, as someone commented: “Thank you Bonds for showing your support and the diversity of those of us who wear Bonds.”
Another commentator penned: “Thanks for celebrating diversity, Bonds.”
Bonds launched its UnGENderwear Project, dedicated to “stripping back the gender stereotypes”
Image credits: Bonds
Model Mikey, who has identified as a proud non-binary Jew on their Instagram page, has since responded to the adverse reactions in a video.
“Gender diversity doesn’t look the same. I like to say we [are] like shades of green […], they are infinite,” the model explained, arguing that previous media coverage of their bonds campaign “championed voices of ignorance and hate” instead of celebrating “love, kindness, and acceptance.”
In an analogy, Mikey referred to gender diversity as shades of green because they are “infinite.” “I’m a shade often left out of mainstream media,” they explained. “And I’m a shade definitely not tolerated by the conservative lens,” they added.
A study suggests that people who identify within the LGBTQ+ community are still overwhelmingly underrepresented in mainstream media.
According to Nielsen’s “Being Seen on Screen: Diverse Representation & Inclusion on TV” report, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people make up an estimated 4.5 percent of the U.S. population, yet they were 6.7 percent of the top 10 recurring cast members in the top 300 programs on broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms in 2019.
The report also found that 26 percent of the top 300 programs included at least one cast member who identifies as LGBTQ+.
“Our UnGENderwear advocates to carefully curate an assortment of products to inspire the way you shop & think about clothes,” Bonds wrote
Image credits: Bonds
“I’m valid,” Mikey went on to exclaim in their video before explaining that they weren’t wearing “women’s clothes” but simply their clothes. As a non-binary person, the model uses they/them pronouns.
The National Center for Transgender Equality explains that some societies, like ours, tend to recognize just two genders, male and female. The idea that there are only two genders is sometimes called a “gender binary” because binary means “having two parts” (male and female).
Therefore, “nonbinary” is one term people use to describe genders that don’t fall into one of these two categories, male or female.
The center further explains that nonbinary people are nothing new and that non-binary people aren’t confused about their gender identity or following a new fad – nonbinary identities have been recognized for millennia by cultures and societies around the world.
The rise of discriminatory critics against Bonds’ new Pride campaign follows the backlash Australian bikini brand Moana Bikini faced after featuring a gay man as their model.
“Gender diversity doesn’t look the same,” Mickey said in a video replying to the backlash
View this post on Instagram
The brand shared a video on its official Instagram page of model Jake Young posing in a white one-piece swimsuit worth $130.
Moana Bikini, which is owned by body-positive influencer Karina Irby, captioned the video: “Obsessed with this look,” adding that “Moana babe” Jake was modeling a size small.
Despite looking fabulous, some people have taken offense to Jake posing in the swimsuit, with some accusing the brand of “allowing men to encroach on women’s spaces.”
Moreover, last week, Rip Curl featured transgender woman Sasha Lowerson on its Rip Curl Women Instagram page as part of the company’s Meet The Local Heroes of Western Australia campaign.
“I’m valid,” Mikey exclaimed in their video
View this post on Instagram
According to WebMD, transgender is a general term that describes people whose gender identity, or their internal sense of being male, female, or something else, does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. By contrast, the term cisgender describes people whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.
As a result of too many adverse reactions, Rip Curl took a different route than its inclusive competitors and deleted the post before apologizing.
It noted: “Our recent post has landed us in the divisive space around transgender participation in competitive sport
“We want to promote surfing for everyone in a respectful way but recognize we upset a lot of people with our post and, for that, we are sorry.”
A new study conducted by the Center for American Progress found that many LGBTQ+ people continue to face discrimination in their personal lives, employment, housing, and health care, as well as in the public sphere.
More than 1 in 3 LGBTQ+ adults reported facing some kind of discrimination. Half of LGBTQ+ adults reported experiencing some form of workplace discrimination or harassment in the past year because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or intersex status, including being fired, being denied a promotion, having their work hours cut, or experiencing verbal, physical, or sexual harassment.
Despite all the negative comments, many people also praised Bonds for its new campaign
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The only thing that Bonds should be harassed for is shutting down their Australian manufacturing business, putting hundreds of people out of work, then getting all their stuff made in a chinese sweatshop from low-quality materials.
See... thats a subject worth discussing. The impression their products make on the earth... from the labour, to the fabric... From "birth to grave" effect!!
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All I see is happy people, which makes me interested in the product. That's it.
If it was a woman modeling swimshorts I bet no one would object. So why here?
To be fair, him modelling the shorts makes sense. Whats the point of the top? That’s literally there just to cover breasts. Doesnt bother me, just doesnt make much sense
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I’m just curious if nonbinary sizing makes sense. Because women’s sure as heck doesn’t.
Oh! Maybe if everything is non-gendered, we can get pockets that actually work!
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It is frelling underwear. Who has so little to worry about in their lives that they have the time and energy to get outraged about underwear?
Amazing the things people get worked up about. I shopped at Bonds when I visited Australia a few months ago and this makes me even happier that I did. As a (cis) woman, I feel in no way threatened by this. Who would? I understand the gray areas with with competitive sport, but with clothes and especially underwear? Mind your own business, everyone. Wear what suits you.
If you don't like a product or seller then simply don't buy it. Stop being snowflakes and crying about woke people being inclusive or diverse. Grow the f up.
YES to being able to buy underwear without it having to be gendered! Fellow nonbinary bean here who always feels dysphoric when having to buy gender-specific undies.
well , bvddy, no-one forces you to buy gender specific underwear, you can buy any you feel comfortable in
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I really, really cannot see what the problem is here, they are just clothes FFS! To be honest, I would say that the swimsuit itself is a fairly gender neutral design anyway. Without the top, it is just a pair of fairly normal European style of swimming trunks. A guy here could wear those to the beach or swimming pool and nobody would take any notice.
Nobody is stopping the bigots from shutting up and not looking. Instead they're choosing to look and whine about something that doesn't affect themselves. Typical rightwing bigotry, typical TERFdom.
Daniel is an anagram of denial, a perpetual state that he lives in.
Load More Replies...
Oh for fvcks sake! Everyone just needs to grow up and mind their own business. Let people wear whatever they want to wear - it's not hurting you!
So some people are mad because a product wasn't specifically marketed to how they identify? Sounds pretty fragile to me, maybe base your identity on something other than an advertisement. No wonder they are so mad all the time; us other humans aren't supposed to ever do anything different. Pathetic!
Onya Bonds. Haven't been great with like the manufacturing stuff, but like, this is cool. And to all the bigots out there - why do people living their lives and being happy make you so angry? And I know a lot of you are Christians, so hey: Matthew 7:3, Psalm 139:13-14 and 1 Corinthians 12:12-13
Other people's underwear isn't for me to worry about. And I am guilty of having worn non-female underwear... shocking, I know. If one can hate about that, I really don't know.
As I straight man I really couldn't care less who wears bikinis and who is advertising for them.
Load More Replies...
You literally wrote the nonbirnary model uses they/them pronouns, yet refer to them as 'he' and 'him' throughout the text. Can you please adjust this?
I appreciate you pointing out my lack of attention when failing to write the proper pronouns. The story has been corrected. Thank you.
Load More Replies...
People like us exist whether u like it or not. Y should we be pretty much banned from the public eye for existing as ourselves?
The ONLY thing that bothers me about this ad is that this person looks so much better in a bikini than I do..
Assigning gender to most clothing is arbitrary and unnecessary. Anybody offended by this ad is too easily offended.
Right? If I like a piece of clothing and it fits me, I wear it. I bought a really comfortable fleece flannel a few months back and it's my favourite thing to wear on cold days, turns out it's a "women's" shirt. I don't care in the slightest!
Load More Replies...
Why are people so triggered by ths? No one is forcing you to wear it, but it wonderful there are options for those that would like to.
Without the beard I don't even notice because I'm just looking at the bikini which I guess is the point of advertising
Their quality has been s**t for a long time. Maybe they should work on that first?
No matter what your views are, what is the point of getting angered over one model in a fashion campaign? I feel like there is no point in making a big deal
The mere fact that people took time to comment and criticize the ads prove that the ad is a good idea. When I see something I don't like in an ad, I just pass. If people are triggered by those pics, they have a problem. Why do you care? I've seen people with jeans' waist at knee level. Somehow a male body with a bikini on doesn't phase me. Might be unusual, but not ridiculous at least.
I don’t really give a s**t about inclusivity or whatever but that guy looks 🔥. Like he really makes those bikinis look good. And his body is more realistic and relatable to me, as a woman, than the AI generated bubble hipped BBL booty s**t they show on Fashion Nova and I still shop there. Also that gray-ish bikini is cute AF
This wouldn't be a thing if Bonds didn't profited from it. As l couldn't care less about gender, now let's talk about how that underwear is produced. If your employees don't have fair conditions and decent salaries and you try to pay even a cent less taxes, you can f**k the right off.
Trans and NB people are murdered at a higher rate than any other group. Talking about trans acceptance and working towards it is still incredibly important. Trying to hijack a conversation because "you don't care" is at best annoying, and at worst just a complete dismissal of trans people. Can you imagine walking into a room where a bunch of people are chatting and saying "Shut up! I'm here and we're gonna talk about what I want to talk about!" Get over yourself.
Load More Replies...
Irregardless whether he’s a he, she, them, or ze… damn, he has amazingly healthy hair! What is he using. And some men need chest support too. What do I care what he is wearing. 30 years ago I had mixed feelings about that. Now… people are people, so why should it be.
*regardless, *they, *they have, *they, *they,...looks like you have some progress to make in terms of not having a problem with it.
Load More Replies...
Sure why not. But I am guessing that particular bikini would fit differently on a woman.
I imagine it would fit differently on a lot of different people, since people of all genders come in a vast array of shapes and sizes. Not all clothing has to be made to fit YOU (or any one specific person).
Load More Replies...
There's literally a woman in the advert alongside the NB person. You must have a very easy life if you think this is a problem.
Load More Replies...
What's the point of using a man to advertise a product intended for women? Only thing it does is showing that it would never fit a woman with big breasts, just like it was said in one of the featured comments.
Not a man. Not womans clothes. Thats the point
Load More Replies...
Maybe the problem isn't "non-binary models". Maybe the problem is "models". Maybe we don't need models at all to sell a product. Or in the case of attire, would a generic mannequin not serve the purpose? Then there is no more he/she, too old, too young, too skinny, too fat, exploitation going on to argue about.
The problem with mannequins is that people aren't generic.
Load More Replies... The only thing that Bonds should be harassed for is shutting down their Australian manufacturing business, putting hundreds of people out of work, then getting all their stuff made in a chinese sweatshop from low-quality materials.
See... thats a subject worth discussing. The impression their products make on the earth... from the labour, to the fabric... From "birth to grave" effect!!
Load More Replies... All I see is happy people, which makes me interested in the product. That's it.
If it was a woman modeling swimshorts I bet no one would object. So why here?
To be fair, him modelling the shorts makes sense. Whats the point of the top? That’s literally there just to cover breasts. Doesnt bother me, just doesnt make much sense
Load More Replies... I’m just curious if nonbinary sizing makes sense. Because women’s sure as heck doesn’t.
Oh! Maybe if everything is non-gendered, we can get pockets that actually work!
Load More Replies... It is frelling underwear. Who has so little to worry about in their lives that they have the time and energy to get outraged about underwear?
Amazing the things people get worked up about. I shopped at Bonds when I visited Australia a few months ago and this makes me even happier that I did. As a (cis) woman, I feel in no way threatened by this. Who would? I understand the gray areas with with competitive sport, but with clothes and especially underwear? Mind your own business, everyone. Wear what suits you.
If you don't like a product or seller then simply don't buy it. Stop being snowflakes and crying about woke people being inclusive or diverse. Grow the f up.
YES to being able to buy underwear without it having to be gendered! Fellow nonbinary bean here who always feels dysphoric when having to buy gender-specific undies.
well , bvddy, no-one forces you to buy gender specific underwear, you can buy any you feel comfortable in
Load More Replies... I really, really cannot see what the problem is here, they are just clothes FFS! To be honest, I would say that the swimsuit itself is a fairly gender neutral design anyway. Without the top, it is just a pair of fairly normal European style of swimming trunks. A guy here could wear those to the beach or swimming pool and nobody would take any notice.
Nobody is stopping the bigots from shutting up and not looking. Instead they're choosing to look and whine about something that doesn't affect themselves. Typical rightwing bigotry, typical TERFdom.
Daniel is an anagram of denial, a perpetual state that he lives in.
Load More Replies... Oh for fvcks sake! Everyone just needs to grow up and mind their own business. Let people wear whatever they want to wear - it's not hurting you!
So some people are mad because a product wasn't specifically marketed to how they identify? Sounds pretty fragile to me, maybe base your identity on something other than an advertisement. No wonder they are so mad all the time; us other humans aren't supposed to ever do anything different. Pathetic!
Onya Bonds. Haven't been great with like the manufacturing stuff, but like, this is cool. And to all the bigots out there - why do people living their lives and being happy make you so angry? And I know a lot of you are Christians, so hey: Matthew 7:3, Psalm 139:13-14 and 1 Corinthians 12:12-13
Other people's underwear isn't for me to worry about. And I am guilty of having worn non-female underwear... shocking, I know. If one can hate about that, I really don't know.
As I straight man I really couldn't care less who wears bikinis and who is advertising for them.
Load More Replies... You literally wrote the nonbirnary model uses they/them pronouns, yet refer to them as 'he' and 'him' throughout the text. Can you please adjust this?
I appreciate you pointing out my lack of attention when failing to write the proper pronouns. The story has been corrected. Thank you.
Load More Replies... People like us exist whether u like it or not. Y should we be pretty much banned from the public eye for existing as ourselves?
The ONLY thing that bothers me about this ad is that this person looks so much better in a bikini than I do..
Assigning gender to most clothing is arbitrary and unnecessary. Anybody offended by this ad is too easily offended.
Right? If I like a piece of clothing and it fits me, I wear it. I bought a really comfortable fleece flannel a few months back and it's my favourite thing to wear on cold days, turns out it's a "women's" shirt. I don't care in the slightest!
Load More Replies... Why are people so triggered by ths? No one is forcing you to wear it, but it wonderful there are options for those that would like to.
Without the beard I don't even notice because I'm just looking at the bikini which I guess is the point of advertising
Their quality has been s**t for a long time. Maybe they should work on that first?
No matter what your views are, what is the point of getting angered over one model in a fashion campaign? I feel like there is no point in making a big deal
The mere fact that people took time to comment and criticize the ads prove that the ad is a good idea. When I see something I don't like in an ad, I just pass. If people are triggered by those pics, they have a problem. Why do you care? I've seen people with jeans' waist at knee level. Somehow a male body with a bikini on doesn't phase me. Might be unusual, but not ridiculous at least.
I don’t really give a s**t about inclusivity or whatever but that guy looks 🔥. Like he really makes those bikinis look good. And his body is more realistic and relatable to me, as a woman, than the AI generated bubble hipped BBL booty s**t they show on Fashion Nova and I still shop there. Also that gray-ish bikini is cute AF
This wouldn't be a thing if Bonds didn't profited from it. As l couldn't care less about gender, now let's talk about how that underwear is produced. If your employees don't have fair conditions and decent salaries and you try to pay even a cent less taxes, you can f**k the right off.
Trans and NB people are murdered at a higher rate than any other group. Talking about trans acceptance and working towards it is still incredibly important. Trying to hijack a conversation because "you don't care" is at best annoying, and at worst just a complete dismissal of trans people. Can you imagine walking into a room where a bunch of people are chatting and saying "Shut up! I'm here and we're gonna talk about what I want to talk about!" Get over yourself.
Load More Replies... Irregardless whether he’s a he, she, them, or ze… damn, he has amazingly healthy hair! What is he using. And some men need chest support too. What do I care what he is wearing. 30 years ago I had mixed feelings about that. Now… people are people, so why should it be.
*regardless, *they, *they have, *they, *they,...looks like you have some progress to make in terms of not having a problem with it.
Load More Replies... Sure why not. But I am guessing that particular bikini would fit differently on a woman.
I imagine it would fit differently on a lot of different people, since people of all genders come in a vast array of shapes and sizes. Not all clothing has to be made to fit YOU (or any one specific person).
Load More Replies... There's literally a woman in the advert alongside the NB person. You must have a very easy life if you think this is a problem.
Load More Replies... What's the point of using a man to advertise a product intended for women? Only thing it does is showing that it would never fit a woman with big breasts, just like it was said in one of the featured comments.
Not a man. Not womans clothes. Thats the point
Load More Replies... Maybe the problem isn't "non-binary models". Maybe the problem is "models". Maybe we don't need models at all to sell a product. Or in the case of attire, would a generic mannequin not serve the purpose? Then there is no more he/she, too old, too young, too skinny, too fat, exploitation going on to argue about.
The problem with mannequins is that people aren't generic.
Load More Replies...
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