Back in January, it was reported that a Calvin Klein ad featuring FKA Twigs had been banned in the United Kingdom. A statement from the Advertising Standards Authority at the time explained, “The ad used nudity and [centered] on FKA twigs’ physical features rather than the clothing, to the extent that it presented her as a stereotypical sexual object. We therefore concluded the ad was irresponsible and likely to cause serious [offense].”
Now, though, BBC reports the ban has been partially lifted. A statement from the ASA reads in part:
“We have made clear that while we think the image of FKA Twigs was overtly sexual (though not sexually explicit), the ad presented her as confident and in control and, therefore, she had not been presented as a stereotypical sexual object. We have, however, maintained our decision that the overtly sexual image of FKA Twigs was not suitable for display in an untargeted medium, a poster, where anyone could see it. In that regard, we thought it was materially different to the mildly sexual and sexually suggestive, but not overtly sexual, images of Kendall Jenner in the other two posters. So, the ban still applies for that reason.”
It also notes, “While the external criticism was important and gave us pause for thought, it was not in fact the reason we revisited our ruling. That reason was our unease about the wording in the ruling explaining our rationale for our decision that FKA Twigs had been objectified. We thought it was inconsistent in its treatment of the three posters and was therefore flawed.”
Some of that external criticism came from Twigs herself, who wrote in January, “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.”
