Bikini brand comes under fire for using a male model to promote women’s swimwear

An Australian bikini brand has come under fire for using a male model posing in a women’s swimsuit.

Moana Bikini, a swimsuit brand owned by body-positive influencer Karina Irby, shared an Instagram video of model Jake Young strutting around in a white one-piece swimsuit worth $130.

‘Obsessed with this look,’ the account captioned the post, adding that ‘Moana babe’ Jake was modelling a size small.  

The move left several customers upset, with many accusing Moana Bikini of ‘allowing men to encroach on women’s spaces’.

‘Is that a man? I thought you were about empowering women? Men seem to be trying to take over everything women hold sacred. Our safe spaces, our identity and now our fashion,’ one user wrote.

cores of upset customers have since commented on the video, with many accusing Moana Bikini of ‘allowing men to encroach on women’s spaces’.

‘Is that a man? I thought you were about empowering women? Men seem to be trying to take over everything women hold sacred. Our safe spaces, our identity and now our fashion,’ one user wrote.

Moana Bikini has doubled down on its decision to share the video.

‘If Jake in our bikini upsets you that much we feel as though this may be a you problem,’ the brand wrote in a response to an unhappy follower.

Jake has also defended himself, insisting that his post is ’empowering to a minority’.

‘There are many different types of women. Women with different anatomy to what you consider ‘normal’,’ the model wrote in a comment.

‘I am not a woman nor have I ever claimed to be. This post is simply empowering a minority & I’m forever grateful for that. Your hate is a reflection of your own insecurities, not mine.’