Underwear and swimwear brand Andrew Christian is one of the best-known labels amongst gay men worldwide. The designer has built an empire with his sex-positive and colorful designs. However, a new campaign has quickly prompted criticism online.
The label has traditionally tended to go for stereotypically pretty muscle hunks for models. It has, to its credit, branched out, using trans men in recent years.
It’s little surprise that it’s now launched a “Thick” range, to highlight different body shapes and to show some belated love to bigger boys.
Other labels, such as Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty, have been offering extra large sizes for some time and using plus-size models.
That said, when Andrew Christian announced its new range yesterday, it did not get the reaction it probably hoped for. Posting a photo to Twitter of six models naked or in jockstraps, a caption reads, “THICK is coming in a few days at http://AndrewChristian.com”
The hashtags #bodypositivitymovement #inclusivity were added at the end. We’ve cropped the image below as it contains nudity.
It’s great to see the label using some bigger guys. However, some questioned whether the imagery and models were still “inclusive” enough to warrant the #inclusivity label.
“Would be nice if there were some brown skin colours present lmao, especially considering the title of this comes from AAVE,” said one person on Twitter.
AAVE stands for “African American Vernacular English”. “Thick” is similar to “thicc”, which is often used to describe chunky or stocky Black guys. It’s also shorthand for “thickset”.
Here are a few more of the reactions.
*Buys Carter Wear* We support black-owned business over herrrrre.
— Ishmael Mayhew (@ishcontent) May 1, 2023
Where the black boys???????
— Stahr Milan 🇭🇹 (@StahrTheBeauty) May 1, 2023
Um can we get some diversity in the color palette for this ad? Chocolate people are beautiful too!!!!
— Nemean Onyx (@jayright99) May 1, 2023
Shoulda left this in the drafts mama
— Marquis The Honey Bear (@MarquisHoney) May 1, 2023
Others questioned the range itself, noting it only goes up to 2XL.
Andrew Christian responds
Queerty reached out to Andrew Christian about the criticism. Spokesperson Jeff White sent the following statement:
“Ben Reznik, one of the models in the THICK photo is African American. I am sure he loves hearing that he isn’t ‘black enough.’ AndrewChristian.com has always had a huge range of all types of models.”
“We tried to introduce 2XL around ten years ago but the launch wasn’t successful. We made the decision to re-introduce 2XL in 2021 and the launch was so overwhelmingly successful that we decided to launch the THICK Collection which is designed and proportioned specifically for thicker body types.”
White says the ‘THICK’ 2XL size is for waistlines 40-42 inches (101-106cm), which is a couple of inches bigger than 2XL size for other Andrew Christian underwear.
Related: Five swimwear brands for bigger men and bears
Related*
Andrew Christian in hot water for using person of color to advertise “slave harness”
Who thought this was a good idea?
Prax07
They should’ve just come out with different labels on each pair. Thick, Fattie, Tubby, Lardass, Porker, Heffer, etc. Now that’d be cool.
JClark
It’s never enough, is it? Where are the disabled people? Where are the trans men? Where are the older people? Where are the unattractive people? Why aren’t I in this ad to represent ME!? I give Andrew Christian kudos for trying to please a crowd that will never be satisfied.
Kangol2
No surprise that they didn’t include any dark-skinned men, who can be from a range of races and ethnicities (Black, South Asian, etc.). Andrew Christian’s flippant, colorist, ignorant response speaks for itself and is telling you they don’t get it and don’t care. Instead, buy Carter, Fenty or other brands.
correctio
there is literally a Black guy in the picture???!! also a Latino guy with tats
Kangol2
@Correctio, DARK-SKINNED men are not in this photo. You might not see it but quite a few do. And not all Black/African Americans are dark-skinned, and not all dark-skinned people are Black/African American (cf. South Asian, Southeast Asian, etc.). Try again.
SUPREME
i don’t wear underwear, so i just don’t care.
Bosch
Is there something wrong with my eyes? I count 3 white guys in that picture.
Maybe people are getting confused by the colour balance of the photograph?
missvamp
something is very wrong with your eyes or you can’t tell what race people are. 2 white guys, one latino, 2 aa(one with ink & one without), one that is latino or mixed race(the tattooed guy).
Bosch
Different people seem to categorise races differently. When I lived in the middle east, people considered me “white”. Now that I live in Europe, people consider me “brown”.
In any case, it’s not a picture of 6 white men.
sfhairy
Hmmmm, interesting as there are plenty of men of color in this ad.
PinkoOfTheGange
In other news FLA is creating a state wide Jim Crow type law for GLBT people and getting medical treatment.
the AA guy in an underwear ad not being dark enough is so much mere important.
DarkZephyr
The tweets that seem to be implying that nobody but black people should be allowed to use the word “thick” to describe big people otherwise its “copying”, “stealing” and “stalking” because Black people supposedly made the word popular are absolutely over the top, especially since its been used in that capacity since the 1700s in England.
scotty
fat people should be called skinny, coz they have more skin.