After the imagery of Gap Kids new campaign was posted on Twitter, outraged social media users rushed to criticise the clothing chain.
The shots show four girls striking different poses together, and there’s one that picture in particular that caused outrage,.
It showed one of the taller girls resting her arm over another’s head, which parents didn’t take to well.
You can see the snaps here:
And this one in particular has got tempers up:
In their initial tweet displaying the new imagery, Gap state:
“Meet the kids who are proving that girls can do anything.”
But it didn’t take long for people to catch on to the surprising composition of the shots:
The campaign slogan by the American fashion brand is “Girls can do anything!” and the irony of the passive nature of the girl of colour in the shots has only riled people up further.
While the other girls are expressive, as the Twittersphere put it, the black girls can’t show “happiness, confidence or their individual talent.”
In the campaign video in which American chat show host Ellen DeGeneres briefly interviews the girls – who are a part of a group called Le Petit Cirque, aka “the only all-kid humanitarian cirque troup in the world" - parents told how their kids asked: “Why is the black girl not talking?"
While aiming to be a step in the right feminist direction, the clothing line are being attacked for glazing over race issues, and the campaign has been called out for exposing the problems of ‘white feminism.’
Gap are yet to respond to the backlash.
What do you make of the campaign?
Let us know on our Facebook or Twitter (@CloserOnline) page.