Adidas is currently confronted with a shitstorm on social networks. But it's not about poor production conditions, encroaching bosses or false promises about ocean plastic. It's about a swimsuit. It has a black and white basic pattern and some large colorful splashes of color, and again and again the small inscription: "Love unites", love connects. The model, who shows the swimsuit in the Adidas online shop, walks with a slight hip swing, the camera captures details on the back cutout. In a small info box you can find out how tall the model is and what clothing size she wears.

Julia Anton

Coordinator "Society".

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So far, so normal – but at one point Adidas breaks with social expectations: the swimsuit is not presented by a female, but apparently by a male model. It is not known which gender identity the model assigns to herself.

In any case, there is a great deal of excitement in conservative circles. Twitter users are calling for a boycott, even announcing that they no longer want to wear previously purchased Adidas products, and the vomiting emoji is widespread. A post by US swimmer Riley Gaines, who accused the company of wanting to "wipe out women" with photos like these, attracted a lot of attention. In an interview with Fox News, Gaines, who advocates for a law against trans women in professional sports and has also appeared with Donald Trump, added, "this image tells me that women don't count, that they're not even good enough to model for swimsuits that are made for them" – although in the "plus sizes" category, the swimsuit is presented by an apparently female model.

The swimwear in question comes from the "Pride" collection created by queer South African designer Rich Mnisi. It also includes pants, jerseys and shoes. As the company itself writes, the 30-piece collection is "part of our commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and our Global Purpose Partner Athlete Ally". The garments are supposed to be a "love letter to individuality", which at least suggests that they are intended as unisex.

Are swimsuits only for women?

In fact, the collection in the German online shop is not aimed at any particular gender, the pieces are displayed for both men and women and are gender-neutral under "sportswear". In the US shop, on the other hand, the swimsuit is labeled as a product for women, according to media reports, which gave additional material to the allegations of an allegedly "woken" fight against women – and, of course, conversely, raises the question of how serious Adidas is about the visibility of the queer community. Adidas has not yet commented on this. Nevertheless, even in German user posts, the swimsuit is classified as a garment that should be reserved for one gender alone.

Why, one may ask. After all, as many other Twitter users point out, swimwear that also covers the upper body was still standard for everyone at the beginning of the 20th century. A photo of Reich President Friedrich Ebert in swimming trunks caused a scandal in 1919, and even today "topless" bathing for women is still being discussed. Now, on the contrary, it's about a little more fabric – which is there for those who want to wear it.