Black Milk’s Facebook Blunder

Social media has many uses, but every now and then we’ll see less-than-cautious public figures miss the mark and post things that are downright hurtful. None of us are strangers to this train-wreck effect when someone popular blunders online – for instance, Amanda Bynes’ Twitter surged in popularity after her breakdown of last year led to a storm of hate speech-laden tweets on her part. This week, it was fashion guru Black Milk’s turn to jam their designer shoe-clad feet into their mouths.

The trouble started on May the 4th aka Star Wars Day, when Black Milk Clothing’s Facebook page posted this image:

Screenshot courtesy of Alyssa Jane

The image compares a model in Black Milk’s R2-D2 swimsuit to a screenshot of the nerdy, no-nonsense Amy of TV’s The Big Bang Theory dressed in a uniform from 60’s Star Trek. Now, posting on Facebook is a great example of how the Chaos Theory works: any action you take or anything you say will have unpredictable reactions. Some took this post to be an innocuous attempt at the BMC team to be silly and self-deprecating on the occasion of the Star Wars day. Some others, many of them loyal but disappointed fans of the brand, noticed far more problematic, albeit unintentional messages, namely body-shaming and mockery of women whom may not be considered conventionally beautiful, which contradicts the company’s vision of acceptance and female empowerment. Fans expressed such feelings on the facebook page:

Comments such as these were since deleted, with the Black Milk team openly admitting to doing so:

Screenshots courtesy of Alyssa Jane

Rather than listen to customer’s concerns and be held accountable for the content of their social media pages, the team actively refused to apologize for any fans’ feelings they may have hurt, accused critics of being an annoying minority and encouraged them to unlike the page, shop elsewhere and otherwise ‘get over it’. It doesn’t take an expert in marketing to realize that this is poor handling of publicity. If there is one thing that no business can ever afford to say, it’s to tell people to take their business elsewhere in the event of investors criticizing you. It’s a dangerous tactic for any business to resort to because do you want the money or not?

To complicate matters, Black Milk’s handling of this affair has seen them break a number of their own commandments, written and published in an attempt to cultivate positive behavior among their consumers. Rules such as “YOU SHALL BE EXCELLENT TO ONE ANOTHER”, “YOU SHALL NOT MAKE CRITICAL COMMENTS ON OTHER WOMEN’S BODIES”, and “YOU SHALL GET OVER YOURSELF” seem to have been forgotten by the team during this incident.

During the heyday of deleting comments and banning paying customers for making complaints, the people at Black Milk’s Facebook further forgot about being excellent to others by banning people whom were uninvolved parties in the arguments that ensued, namely Rae Johnston, an Australian journalist and model whom has supported the brand since their days of obscurity, even wearing their clothes to red carpet events.

And sure, the Expectation vs. Reality image that started all the trouble was a simple joke, an attempt for the people behind the fashion brand to make fun of themselves and say “nobody’s perfect”. But there are some troubling undertones that are hard to ignore, even if they were unintentional. For one, have you seen what Big Bang Theory‘s Mayim Bialik looks like in real life?

Amy Fowler, the character that this woman plays for television, is deliberately designed to be unglamorous and plain-looking. To compare that to an image of a professional model posed for a glamor shot is an irresponsible manipulation of information about women’s bodies. Black Milk has admitted to deleting comments from concerned fans that are not positive enough to them – does this mean the dismissal and mockery of women who aren’t pretty enough, too? The meme image also communicates that you are somehow like the “dumpy” and “ugly” character if you don’t purchase their clothing. Playing on insecurities, even as a joke, even if they claim it is their own insecurities, means that Black Milk has become part of the same problem they’ve been trying to work against in the fashion industry.

A whole other problem arises not from the image itself, but how BMC chose to caption it: “to be a ‘geeky goddess'”. It begs the question: why on Earth would you want to be a “geeky goddess”?

No really, why?

The phrase itself implies that women should be put on a pedestal and receive special treatment just for being geeky, that we are “goddesses” entitled to worship and adoration, simply for showing up and existing as a female, and bonus points if we put on some eyeliner and a push-up bra! That is straight-up benevolent sexism. It might look like it encourages female nerds, and that we are empowered, but it actually just turns into a rejection of anyone less than conventionally beautiful. The false notion that women, let alone attractive women are somehow unicorns in geekdom is a big problem – it suggests, incorrectly, that we are an anomaly in a man’s world, and that those who aren’t deemed typically “pretty” aren’t entitled to a safe space. We are ladies who like comics and Sci-Fi. We are all of us real, good-looking women. We are not mythical creatures, and trying to act as such is only hurting us.

If you’re looking for some alternate brands to help show off your geek pride in style, we have some suggestions at the ready:

Human – the funky, colourful line of clothing and accessories has a plenty of nerdy, female-friendly products to keep you happy, at great prices too.

Her Universe – founded by Ashley Eckstein, voice actress from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, her fashion line specializes in Sci-Fi themed clothing that is adorable and creative.

CryWolf – last but not least, be sure to support geeky Canadian talent by checking out CryWolf clothing, run by two women from Toronto who aren’t afraid to put their bold imaginations out there and make them into spiffy t-shirt designs.

Sorry Black Milk, it’s not us, it’s you.

UPDATE:

Cam, one of the owners of Black Milk posted this statement this morning…

I want to start off by saying I am incredibly sorry for everything that has happened over the last couple of days.

We made a mistake and we apologise sincerely.

The intention behind the meme was to share a personal experience, and never meant to offend anyone. We misjudged the line between funny and offensive, and underestimated the true impact it would have. I am so sorry.

The senior management at Black Milk take full responsibility for the post and the way complaints following the post were handled. Any criticism should be directed there, and not to the social media team who were simply acting under the direction of management.

I want you guys to know that this wonderful, diverse community means so much to me personally. Having gone to meet ups and being involved in all the amazing things you guys do for each other is such a humbling experience. I don’t want to think that what has taken years to build could be jeopardised.

We are taking ownership of this situation, from the original post to the way complaints were handled. I will work together with the Black Milk team to ensure we learn from this.

We are a small, passionate team who truly value the friendships we have with you guys. I hope that the past four years are a testament to how proud we are of the diversity and inclusiveness within our communities. In saying that, we are human and unquestionably have made a mistake.

Again, we are truly sorry for everything that has happened. I really hope any damage caused over the last few days can be repaired.

This community is such a special place and we want everyone to fun and share the love.