Adidas Model Receives Rape Threats Over Hairy Legs
Swedish model Arvida Bystrom has been receiving death and rape threats after appearing in an Adidas campaign with unshaven legs.
The 26-year-old model and photographer often posts photos on social media showing body hair, whether it is on her legs or her armpits. She is also not afraid of posting snaps of her showing a little cellulite. Apart from her art, she too has been vocal about her views on femininity. Because of these, she is no stranger to hate mail.
Recently, she took to Instagram to admit how she is abused by netizens and how they shower her with threat, rape threats even, for continuing to challenge society's views on femininity.
After appearing on the Adidas advert wherein she promoted a pair of shoes, she received another round of nasty comments. Some called her disgusting and even likened her to a monkey. And others even threatened to rape her.
"Me being such an abled, white, cis body with its only nonconforming feature being a lil leg hair," Bystrom wrote. "Literally I've been getting rape threats in my DM inbox. I can't even begin to imagine what it's like to not posses all these privileges and try to exist in the world."
In the same post Bystrom acknowledged that she also received a lot of love and support from fans. Many showered her with praise for challenging the standards society has set and expects women to uphold.
Displeased netizens claimed that they no longer want to wear Adidas because of Bystrom's campaign. Despite the online backlash, Adidas seems to have chosen Bystrom for her tenacity to uphold her advocacy. The sports brand calls the Swedish model and photographer an artist who "questions femininity and gender standards using so-called 'girly' aesthetics."
