Mumbrella are reporting that the Advertising Standards Board (ASB) has cleared the contentious Libra Tampon ad, which earlier this year came under scrutiny from anybody and everybody (vagina not necessary for comment) for its ostensibly transphobic message of exclusion on the basis of sex and/or gender, which, as we’ve learnt, aren’t mutually exclusive.
The official complaint levied at the advertisement, that “in short, it’s transphobic“, was met with the defence from Libra’s parent company (as presented to the ASB), that “The bathroom duel is… a humorous and cheeky demonstration aimed at conveying our ‘Libra Gets Girls’ message… [and that] The advertisement was created with the intention of being humorous.”
SCA Hygiene added that the intended comparison “is between a woman and a man dressed as a woman. Our end line of “Libra get girls” in no way qualitatively defines who “girls” is referring to, other than the Drag Queen depicted in the advertisement not being able to use a tampon (for anatomical reasons) as she is a man – Libra believes that this has been a key misinterpretation of the ad. Nor does the advertisement make any value judgments about what constitutes a “real” woman.”
In its statement, the ASB said that it noted the importance of transgender issues and considered that it is not clear whether it is a drag queen or a transgender woman and that the ad’s attempt at humour prevented it from an intent to demean women who do not menstruate, or vilify transgender people and men who dress as woman.
This means we can all go back to getting along now, right Internet? Should you feel so inclined, you can read the full report here. No judgement if you don’t and watch this instead:
