The Sri Lankan gym Osmo put up a billboard that blatantly body shamed women. The ad displayed a picture of a 55 gallon drum with a caption stating “this is no shape for a woman.” Citizens of the city quickly turned to social media criticizing the gym for posting such an ad. Activists claimed this type of advertisement is typical of the modern advertising industry toward women. The gym was contacted and urged to take down the billboard due to its inappropriate insinuation of what the female body should look like, but the company refused to remove the ad. Only after contacting the minister of Kotte, in which the billboard is located, was billboard covered up. As reparation, those who contacted Harsha de Silva, the minister, were permitted to place an ad speaking out against sexism where the body-shaming ad once stood. Additionally, de Silva took to social media, condemning sexism. However, the removal of the ad did not come without backlash: some perceived the removal of the ad as a violation of free speech. After only a day of displaying the ad against sexism, it was removed anonymously. Osmo gym put out a statement in which they explained they had stopped using the sexist ad, and explained a WHO (World Health Organization) report on obesity among Sri Lankan women served as the motive for the ad. They apologized for offending anyone.
I found it interesting that the backlash on social media had such an effective impact. It sheds a new light on civil society in Sri Lanka, whose Freedom House scores only reported it as “partially free.” Personally, I would not have expected the backlash to have been successful for these reasons. It demonstrates society’s ability to hold those accountable for social injustice and could set a precedent for the future. It signifies a possibility for future change in the country, and is important due to its grassroots demonstration of vertical accountability through the use of social media.