By Colombo: Sri Lankan model critically analyzed ad condemned on social media during her ad after a billboard of a gym named Osmo in Colombo displayed with her bold features attached with the text, “This is no shape for a woman”.
Just after the display of billboard on January 26, 2018, both men and women has shown an outrage expression of disgust and fights started to get down “blatant sexism and body shaming” commercial advertisement.
Reports proclaimed that the activists had started a campaign entitled “Boycott Osmo” on social media. They chanted slogans on roads against that bold advertisement.
The gym responded properly on campaign against it while a British activist Marisa de Silva said, “The ad was nothing very different from the typical objectification and sexist usage of women by the industry, which has been selling anything from automobiles to perfume by sexualizing women and their body parts.”
“But this ad also attempted to body shame by dictating to women the ideal shape they should resemble, almost as though it is the sole basis of their worth,” she explained, “An outrage on social media is a natural phenomena.”
The Gym owner said, “It was inspired by a World Health Organization reports on obesity in Sri Lanka.”
One of the workers of Osmo gym (who wants to keep his name as secret) told that before display he tried to call Osmo’s marketing manager to complain but he was told that it had been approved by the company.
He quoted that he tried to approach Harsha de Silva, the minister in charge of the Kotte constituency where the billboard was put up.
“I asked the Colombo MC Commissioner to remove this unapproved offensive hoarding. I would not tolerate this in Kotte but of no use,” he informed.
In the further discussion, the gym manager told that advertisement was temporarily covered a tag of sexism and disgust by some but mostly it was cheered and appreciated by many as we didn’t intended to degrade, offend, insult and undermine anyone, one person or women in general.
Reporter: Syeda Faiza Bukhari