There were calls to boycott Hershey’s after transgender activist Fae Johnstone of Ottawa was featured on a chocolate bar
After a call to boycott Hershey’s chocolates because of ads featuring a Canadian transgender woman, the company’s social media campaign got both hateful comments and a loud chorus of support.
Hershey’s Canada has made five limited-edition “HER for SHE” chocolate bars with the faces of five women to celebrate International Women’s Day and “shine a light on women and girls who inspire us every day.”
Autumn Peltier, an activist for Indigenous rights and water, Naila Moloo, a teen climate innovator, Rita Audi, an activist for gender and education equality, Kélicia Massala, the founder of Girl Up Québec, and Fae Johnstone, the executive director of consulting firm Wisdom2Action, are all on the chocolate bars.
Hershey’s says that the campaign was meant to honor women and bring attention to the ongoing fight for equality. It is giving up to $40,000 to Girl Up, an organization that works for women’s rights.
When the HER for SHE bar opened on March 1, Johnstone wrote on her blog that she was proud to be a part of it.
In the social media campaign video, the 27-year-old raises an eyebrow, twirls, and talks about making a world where people can live in “public space as their honest and authentic selves.”
“I hope this campaign shows trans girls that they can also dream big and make a difference in the world.”
After #BoycottHersheys became popular, she posted on Thursday that it “shows how far we still have to go in the fight for feminist liberation and trans rights.”
“I don’t plan to go anywhere. I’m not going to shut up. I will always support women and girls, whether they are cis or trans.”
“An international campaign to boycott a chocolate company was not on my list of things I thought would happen in 2023,” she joked.
She later added, “As a young trans woman and feminist advocate, it was and still is a huge honor to be part of Hershey’s Canada’s campaign.”
CBC News tried to get an interview with her, but she was not available.
Backlash to boycot
Even though the special-edition chocolate bars are only being sold in Canada, U.S. media outlets like the New York Post and the far-right Breitbart have picked up on the story. They called the campaign a “woke fail.”
On Thursday, the hashtag #BoycottHersheys was popular on Twitter, and people used it to say bad things about transgender women and the company.
Helen Kennedy, the executive director of Egale Canada, said in a press release that she applauds the chocolate company for including transgender representation, but she condemns hateful reactions, saying that this shows how much more work needs to be done.
“Since the campaign came out, Fae [Johnstone] has been the target of an uncountable number of transphobic comments, news stories, and even a call to boycott the chocolate company for using a trans woman in their campaign.” Egale is upset by the transphobic reactions to a campaign that should be praised.
Michelle Fortin, the executive director of Options for Sexual Health and co-chair of the Vancouver Pride Society, said it’s disappointing to see a company get backlash for “doing the right thing.”
“I can’t believe that in 2023 we still haven’t figured out that inclusion and fairness include our trans sisters. Not having a uterus at birth is not what makes a woman. It’s not as simple as that.”
Julia Levy, who was the first transgender woman in Canada to get a Rhodes Scholarship and go to the University of Oxford, said that it’s upsetting to see women not stand up for trans people.
Levy said, “This transphobic backlash is even sadder because it comes from women who say they are feminists.”
She thinks that efforts to control how women look affect all women and trans people.
“As we’ve seen in the US, people who want to take away trans people’s freedom to choose what to do with their bodies also want to take away cis women’s freedom to choose what to do with their bodies. The female liberation and trans liberation movements are tied together in a way that can’t be broken.”
Today, the Hershey Company put out this statement:
“We value working together and know that diversity makes us stronger. Our Women’s History Month events over the past three years have been a celebration of all women and their contributions. We appreciate the many people and important partnerships that have helped make this happen.”
