A Mother’s Day ad campaign from Calvin Klein featured a transgender ‘man’ as part of the brand’s inclusive spread.
“Today, in support of women and mothers around the world, we highlight the reality of new families,” the company shared in the Instagram description, which included a variety of photos including a mother with just her child and an interracial couple as well.
“@k.vventzel is a South African painter and mother to Wild. @erikafeeh and @roberto_bete are expecting parents from Brazil. Roberto is due to give birth to his and Erika’s son Noah any day now. @venedaacarter is a prominent fashion consultant. Her family is Bobbi and Weston,” the caption continued.
The pregnant transgender ‘man’ Roberto, also shared the image with around 35,000 followers on the platform.
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A few days later, the post had generated more than 30,000 likes on the platform. The comments were overwhelmingly supportive, which was likely due in part to follow-up clarification from the Calvin Klein brand in the comments.
“We embrace this platform as an inclusive and respectful environment for individualism and self-expression. At Calvin Klein, we tolerate everything except intolerance— any intolerant commentary will be removed, and any accounts issuing hateful statements may be blocked,” the company posted.
“We look forward to continuing a positive and inclusive dialogue in partnership with our community.”
Still, some less-than-favorable comments remained on the post.
“I’m really confused,” one person shared. A few echoed this sentiment, genuinely questioning how men could get pregnant.
“Virtue signaling at its finest. None of this has anything to do with clothing,” another commenter wrote.
Multiple people vowed to never purchase Calvin Klein items again.
The campaign came just weeks after Apple was slammed for adding the pregnant man emoji to its platform. Progressives have been pushing the narrative that men can get pregnant, with President Biden’s first budget proposal including the phrase “birthing people” in a provision about healthcare in an effort to be more inclusive.
The AP Style Guide also changed its guidelines on the issue, saying as part of an update, “Phrasing like pregnant people or people who seek an abortion seeks to include people who have those experiences but do not identify as women, such as some transgender men and some nonbinary people,” Fox News reported.