On May 8, 2022, Calvin Klein posted an unusual ad of a transgender man showing off his baby bump alongside his transgender partner. The ad was part of the brand’s Mother’s Day special advertisement campaign, featuring three non-traditional families. Since then, it has received different reactions from social media. The caption on the Instagram post read, “Today, in support of the mothers and women all around the globe, we have decided to spotlight the realities of new families.”
The Calvin Klein’s ad featured Erika Fernandes and Robert Beke, who is a Brazilian female-to-male transgender TV personality. The post continues to mention that the two are expecting the birth of their son, whose name is believed to be Noah any time soon. Additionally, the ad also contains another image of the same couple in bed, with the Brazilian TV star Roberto cradling his baby bump. The caption read, “We can give birth biologically or from the heart….” Within no time, the post went viral on all social media platforms. Several users congratulated the iconic fashion brand for its inclusive ad claiming the message was beautiful. However, other users posted transphobic comments threatening to abandon the brand following its “woke campaign.”
While some Calvin Klein fans have praised the renowned fashion brand for its inclusive message on equality, others reacted negatively to the post. Some Instagram users were quick to claim that the ad was the brand’s effort to align itself with ‘woke culture’ since it only catered to a few exceptions. Many from this lot threatened to cancel and boycott Calvin Klein.
Other users expressed genuine concern for Calvin Klein customers and employees living in countries like Sri Lanka and Malaysia, where the LGBTQ community is persecuted. In contrast, other netizens were happy that Calvin Klein – a prominent name in the industry – was raising awareness of transgender families.
In response to the negative comments, the company affirmed that it does not tolerate intolerance, saying in part, "At Calvin Klein, we do not tolerate any prejudiced comments, such comments will be immediately removed, and any account users posting these hateful statements will be blocked."
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