Fury as Costa Coffee uses cartoon image of ‘trans man’ with breast surgery scars on shop front: Angry customers now warn they will boycott drinks chain over ‘horrific imagery’

Costa Coffee was today/last night accused of glamourising ‘complex and dangerous surgery’ by covering a van with a cartoon image featuring mastectomy scars.

The UK’s largest coffee chain defended its use of the image to promote ‘inclusivity and diversity’ but was branded ‘crass and irresponsible’ and ‘absolutely bonkers’ – and there were calls for a boycott of the company on social media.

The image, depicting an androgynous-looking character wearing long shorts with scars below each nipple, is taken from a mural designed by the chain for Brighton and Hove Pride last year.

Use of the image on a mobile coffee van used at events around the country was condemned by feminist campaigners and people who had breasts removed due to cancer.

Tanya Carter, spokeswoman for child safeguarding campaign group Safe Schools Alliance, said: ‘It’s almost unbelievable that Costa would do something so crass and irresponsible as to use this image.

Feminist writer Julie Bindel (pictured), who is concerned about the impact of trans activism on ‘vulnerable’ girls and young women, said: ‘I remember stories about when a woman was thrown out of a Costa shop (in 2018) because she was discreetly breastfeeding. ‘Are we not allowed to breast feed but you are allowed to celebrate a woman having breasts removed for reasons of social contagion and vanity? It’s absolutely bonkers

‘The executives clearly have no idea what message this conveys, that irreversible surgery on healthy female breasts is to be applauded. Is this really any way to sell coffee?’

Feminist writer Julie Bindel, who is concerned about the impact of trans activism on ‘vulnerable’ girls and young women, said: ‘I remember stories about when a woman was thrown out of a Costa shop (in 2018) because she was discreetly breastfeeding.

‘Are we not allowed to breast feed but you are allowed to celebrate a woman having breasts removed for reasons of social contagion and vanity? It’s absolutely bonkers.

‘What’s really scary about it is the actual mastectomy scars are seen as a badge of honour, as cool.’

Ms Bindel said she feared the promotion of breast removal was targeting young women unhappy with their bodies who did not identify with mainstream femininity.

She said: ‘I think back to how I was as a teenager, how I didn’t like my breasts. Had I been able to lose them, I would have gone down that route.

‘This dangerous ideology that you can mix and match your body by undergoing complex and dangerous surgery is horrific.

‘We used to be appalled by cutting healthy parts of our bodies off. We have a duty of care to those young people, often under 18s, who are children legally.

‘I want to see the surgeons, scientists, those who advocate and profiteer from healthy breast removal criminalised.’

Defending the decision to use the image, a Costa Coffee spokesperson said: ‘At Costa Coffee we celebrate the diversity of our customers, team members and partners. […] The mural, in its entirety, showcases and celebrates inclusivity’

And Stephanie Davies-Arai, founder and director of Transgender Trend, which campaigns against the increase in children being referred to clinics for gender dysphoria medical treatment, said she believes ‘teenage girls are the target’ of the cartoon.

She said: ‘It’s caught up under the Pride flag, being inclusive and celebrating diversity but, actually, you are encouraging children to think they need to undergo unnecessary medical treatment affecting them for the rest of their lives.

‘Companies who want to appeal to young people are presenting trans as cool, as do the trans lobby groups.

‘This is being pushed on children as if having a major operation is just the same as changing your clothes.’

A picture of Costa’s van was posted onto Twitter yesterday afternoon by writer James Esses, a former Childline volunteer, who accused the chain of ‘glorifying irreversible surgery performed on healthy women’.

Thousands of people responded with many saying they would boycott the chain, which has nearly 2,800 UK outlets.

One woman wrote: ‘I had my breast removed due to breast cancer. (It was) very traumatic. How dare they promote it? This is offensive.’

Another said: ‘What in God’s name are Costa Coffee playing at by glamourising the mutilation of young bodies which more than often leads to major regret in later life.’

People shared their outrage on social media and a few, like Laurence Fox, even called for a boycott of the coffee shop chain

For Women Scotland asked Costa Coffee on Twitter whether they could understand how the ‘glorification and promotion of medically unnecessary mastectomies could be distressing and offensive to women who have suffered breast cancer’.

One user replied to this, writing: ‘Don’t you also think, @ForWomenScotland that trivialising such a serious procedure that is far more than “cosmetic”, makes a mockery of the women who have had to endure the struggles of coping both before and after such an operation? Why are @CostaCoffee happy to ignore women?’

Laurence Fox commented: ‘Dear Costa Coffee, you are promoting the mutilation of healthy young girls. I hope you are boycotted out of existence.’ 

Tonight, Costa said the controversial image was ‘a snapshot of a wider mural that was commissioned last year’ for Brighton and Hove Pride, to ‘celebrate diversity and inclusion’.

The company, bought by Coca Cola in 2019 and which is sponsoring the East Sussex seaside town’s 2023 Pride event this weekend, said its Costa Express coffee-selling van ‘is currently wrapped in part of the mural’.

Defending the decision to use the image, a Costa Coffee spokesperson said: ‘At Costa Coffee we celebrate the diversity of our customers, team members and partners.

‘We want everyone that interacts with us to experience the inclusive environment that we create, to encourage people to feel welcomed, free and unashamedly proud to be themselves. The mural, in its entirety, showcases and celebrates inclusivity.’

Source