If you're a woman under 50, you've probably seen advertising for THINX Period Panties all over your Facebook and Instagram feeds. But there's one place you won't see the controversial lingerie ads—BART.
According to the New York-based panty line which claims to negate the need for tampons or pads by directly absorbing period blood, BART rejected their ads for an upcoming station placement in San Francisco because they used the word "pussy." The "[BLANK]-Proof Underwear" tagline includes a version that reads "Pussy Grabbing-Proof Underwear," which BART claims violates section (b)(4) Profanity: "The advertisement contains words recognized by the community as vulgar, indecent, or profane for display in public setting that includes minors."
(Courtesy of THINX)
BART has not responded to emails from THINX which argue that the word "pussy" is not a profanity, but their media agency said they are "unlikely to change their minds."
A similar fight went down in New York City, where the Metropolitan Transportation Authority—who has neither approved nor rejected the ads yet—expressed concern about the ads' content, citing that the ads with models "seem to have a bit too much skin. And the ones depicting a peeled half-grapefruit or an egg out of its shell...[seem] inappropriate."
(Courtesy of THINX)
Regardless of what you think of the ads (and whether or not the panties actually work), should BART ban the word pussy from its stations? Let us know in the poll above.
