After choosing RuPaul’s Drag Race season 7 winner Violet Chachki to be theface of its latest lingerie collection, Playful Promises issued a lengthy statement Monday on Twitter to all those who have made transphobic comments about Chachki.
In the post, the brand made clear that Chachki is gender fluid and should not be referred to as a man. They said they specifically chose Chachki because gender fluid people are often not represented in the media or the lingerie industry.
Things you need to know about why we chose Violet Chachki to model our new range of Bettie Page Lingerie:
1. Violet is gender fluid. We did not choose “a man”. We chose a gender fluid person that is not represented in the media, and certainly not in the lingerie industry.
— Playful Promises (@PlayfulPromises) November 20, 2017
The brand also went on to explain that trans and gender nonconforming people are welcome in their community. They also shot down people misgendering and making transphobic comments about Chachki.
3. We also chose to use a non-binary model because the vintage/pinup community has certain issues with gender (also racism, but that’s another thread). We’ve seen comments comparing “modern” women to their “classier” counterparts of the past.
— Playful Promises (@PlayfulPromises) November 20, 2017
The brand also broke out a historical lesson pin-up models and respectability politics.
Also, you can’t claim to be a fan of Bettie Page without acknowledging that what she was doing at the time was severely frowned upon. If you expect a brand named after her to do things by the book, you’re missing the point of what she stood for.
— Playful Promises (@PlayfulPromises) November 20, 2017
The brand also called out lingerie campaigns that focus solely on the male gaze. Not only is the collection’s model gender fluid, the photographer and lingerie designer were both women.
5. So many lingerie campaigns are created with the male gaze in mind. Less so than 20-30 years ago, but it’s still there. What does using a non-binary model who is not a cis woman, shot by a woman, wearing lingerie created by women, say to you about the male gaze?
— Playful Promises (@PlayfulPromises) November 20, 2017
I realize I didn’t mention the points (because they seem obvious to me) that 1) Violet looks stunning, always and 2) her style is so closely aligned with everything Bettie that it’s a match made in heaven.
— Playful Promises (@PlayfulPromises) November 20, 2017
Playful Promises,
Photography:Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for August Getty Atelier
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