FKA Twigs has blasted the decision to ban her Calvin Klein poster in the U.K.
The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received two complaints about the advert, which shows the singer modelling a denim shirt. The garment is draped over one shoulder, exposing the side of her buttocks and half of one breast.
In its ruling on Wednesday, the ASA said it had banned the poster because it focused on her body rather than the clothes.
“The ad used nudity and centred on FKA Twigs physical features rather than the clothing, to the extent that it presented her as a stereotypical sexual object,” the ruling reads.
FKA Twigs, real name Tahliah Barnett, called out the “double standards” behind the decision on Instagram.
“I do not see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ that they have labelled me. i see a beautiful strong woman of colour whose incredible body has overcome more pain than you can imagine,” she wrote in the caption. “In light of reviewing other campaigns past and current of this nature, i can’t help but feel there are some double standards here. so to be clear…
“I am proud of my physicality and hold the art i create with my vessel to the standards of women like josephine baker, eartha kitt and grace jones who broke down barriers of what it looks like to be empowered and harness a unique embodied sensuality. thank you to ck and (photographers) mert and marcus who gave me a space to express myself exactly how i wanted to – i will not have my narrative changed.”
The ad must not appear again in the U.K. in the form that caused the complaints. ASA executives have told Calvin Klein bosses to make sure that all future campaign imagery for the brand “does not irresponsibly objectify women and is appropriately targeted”.
