Forever 21 Pulls Offensive T-Shirt After Getting Slammed For Promoting ‘Rape Culture’
Forever 21 has come under fire for this Men’s T-shirt [Photo: Forever 21]
Just what is going on with the decision-making bods in the fashion industry at the moment? From Dolce & Gabbana’s ‘Slave sandals’, to ASOS’ ‘Slave’ emblazoned T-shirt and Zara’s shirts come Nazi camp uniforms, there have been some rather questionable judgement calls of late.
The latest brand to let an ethical faux-pas slip past the sense-checkers is Forever 21 who has come under fire for it’s arguably ‘rape-y’ slogan Tee which has ‘Don’t say maybe if you want to say no’ plastered across it.
Any article of clothing which nods to rape inferences is going to be on dodgy ground, but this particularly item could be deemed particularly offensive thanks to it’s victim-blaming undertones.
Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t long before critics jumped on social media to slam the brand for seemingly endorsing rape culture. Project Consent was one of the first activist groups to attack the company for the graphic tee.
Critics took to social media to slam the fashion brand’s insensitive T-shirt design [Photos: Twitter]
“Hey, @Forever21, we think you should #StopVictimBlaming and pull this shirt from your stores,” the campaign tweeted.
Others accused the fashion brand of making jokes at the expense of sexual assault victims.
“This #Forever21 tshirt blaming women for rape AIN’T OK & deserves all the hate it’s getting,” wrote one woman.
Forever 21 quickly pulled the £16 T-shirt, billed on their site as the ‘Maybe No Graphic Tee’, and hastily released an apology.
“Forever 21 strives to exemplify the highest ethical standards and takes feedback and product concerns very seriously,” a representative explained. “With regards to the T-shirt in question, upon receiving feedback from our customers, we took immediate action to have it removed from our website. We sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by the product.”
Props to the company for dealing with it so quickly, but its somewhat befuddling how it ever slipped through the approval net in the first place?
What do you think about the T-shirt? Let us know @YahooStyleUK
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