Calvin Klein Billboard BANNED For Being 'Suggestive Of Violence And Rape' (PHOTOS, VIDEO, POLL)

Australia's Advertising Standards Bureau has ordered the removal of several Calvin Kelin billboards after complaints that the image invokes violence against women, the Herald Sun reports. Psychologist Alison Grundy wrote about the issue on a popular women's advocacy blog, explaining, "the Calvin Klein poster clearly intimat[es] the gang rape of a woman to advertise the brand."

According to the Herald Sun, the bureau looked at the case and found, "that whilst the act depicted could be consensual, the overall impact and most likely takeout is that the scene is suggestive of violence and rape....The Board considered that the image was demeaning to women by suggesting that she is a plaything of these men. It also demeans men by implying sexualised violence against women.''

Take a look at the billboard image and the rest of the pictures from the campaign below and let us know what you think.

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The billboard:

Should be banned.

Should NOT be banned.

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• Lara Stone Excited to Be the New Face of Iconic Brand Calvin Klein

  Related video

(Images from Fashionising)

WATCH the ad:

Comments

[Nancy Coppola]

02:39 PM on 10/26/2010

So Calvin...remember the ads with little girls showing their little skirts 'hiked way up to here'?
Yes, there should be a limit, and he's passed it again. If not, why not just show a pedophile
seducing a kid or a woman actually being raped? Come on, use common sense with these ads.

[Lauren Kottwitz]

07:16 PM on 10/25/2010

I just don't think this is so bad.

[gammik64]

12:27 PM on 10/25/2010

This should be banned of ugly, unattractive and poor taste.

[ABXNOMORE]

08:37 AM on 10/25/2010

This ad is typical of CK. It does not suggest rape but it pushes sexiness as a means to sell a product. Would I prefer that young people were not exposed to this, yes, but is this technique not used continually in our society? Does the girl in the ad project herself as sexy and confident, yes. She's not projected as a shy thing to be taken advantage of or overpowered, she is seen as one of them, the group. She looks just as tough and edgy as the men in the ads. Do the men look tough with an inner city look and style, yes, but that does not mean they are rapists. When put in the context of today's world I don't find it suggestive of rape at all.

[Kay-B]

09:02 PM on 10/24/2010

LOL this isn't "suggesting" rape. faqq outta here.

[Aitch5]

08:41 PM on 10/24/2010

Should NOT be "officially banned" because I don't believe in any censorship BUT mainly it distracts us from the fact that the photographs are done to shock, "be controversial" edgy, break taboo etc.. ...and it ultimately leads to more SALES for them. That is all they care about.
Personally I find much of corporate high fashion to be useless, money grubbing and a waste of time and money. Not style...but so-called fashion.

[SickHippie]

03:22 AM on 10/24/2010

Paging Dr. Rorschach... Paging Dr. Rorschach...

[mamacat]

07:08 PM on 10/23/2010

OK, I see their point.

[hasheville]

09:43 AM on 10/23/2010

The Advertising Standard Bureau and the psychologist said it well.

[MrsFonebone]

09:30 AM on 10/23/2010

Suggestive of sl*ttyness and woman as object, thus perpetuating that tradition--nothing to do with jeans, just a cheap thrill for the boys and girls and a calculated move to get some controversy and hence some free attention.

[George Faris]

09:21 PM on 10/22/2010

CK must have said it was suggestive of violence & rape.

[lotus321]

01:34 PM on 10/22/2010

Just looks like a bunch of gay men who wouldn't know what to do with a woman or wouldn;t want to do anything with a woman let alone rape her.

[Melisa Vistain]

04:45 PM on 10/23/2010

I agree...

[gammik64]

12:30 PM on 10/25/2010

Here Here.

[Empress212]

12:39 PM on 10/22/2010

I don't get the controversy. This looks like a typical day for my gay guy friends and I.

[BebeLush]

12:02 PM on 10/22/2010

Oh, yawn. Calvin already ran a similiar ad ages ago. Anybody else remember it?

[DrSnuggles]

11:59 AM on 10/22/2010

Hmmm, certainly some strange photos - but I don't really see the suggestion of violence and rape. Multiple partner sex maybe.

Also, I think the kissing through the fence photo is a little bit sweet.

[Willow-the-Witch]

11:33 PM on 10/24/2010

I didn't think there was any suggestion of violence either. My husband & I were just looking at it and we both agree some of the pictures may be in poor taste for a huge billboard, but nothing suggested rape. I think the woman's face & body language convey a message of her as the aggressor, for lack of a better word, in the situation.