FKA Twigs has shared her thoughts on a Calvin Klein poster featuring the singer has been banned in the UK, with the ruling claiming it is “likely to cause serious offence” by objectifying women.
The banned poster in question saw the artist posing with a denim shirt draping over one shoulder – leaving the side of her buttocks and half of one break exposed. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received two complaints about the campaign image, each arguing that the portrayal of Twigs was “overly sexualised” and caused offence by objectifying women.
Commenting on the campaign photo and follow-up complaints, the ASA made a statement reading (via The Times): “We considered the image’s composition placed viewers’ focus on the model’s body rather than on the clothing being advertised,” the ruling said. “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.”
Now, FKA Twigs has shared her thoughts on the situation, writing 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 continued: “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 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 campaign – first launched in Spring 2023 – was instead meant to empower. Upon the campaign’s launch, FKA Twigs told Rolling Stone: “Doing [this campaign] means I can be who I am — a strong woman. That isn’t going to go in and out of fashion,” she said (via The Times). “When I’m in my 60s and have grandchildren, I can show them these pictures and say, ‘Your grandmother was strong’.”
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