Auckland Transport bus ad pulled over 'transphobic' claims
Tuesday, 16 August 2016
Auckland Transport has pulled an ad containing a joke about a bus exhaust pipe following complaints from the transgender community.
The council-owned transport authority said it would now re-edit the video to remove the scene, which has been deemed 'offensive' and 'transphobic'.
The ad, targeted at students, involves a man ditching his car and 'finding new love' on other transport options.
When he rides the bus he kisses the window and says 'she was beautiful' before seeing the exhaust pipe and saying, 'then I realised she was a he'.
**READ MORE:
* Are New Zealand bathrooms doing enough to accommodate transgender people?
* Gender-neutral bathrooms in New Zealand schools
* Time for a transgender education**
'But I'm cool with that, it's the 21st century,' he adds.
The ad also includes a reference to group sex, when the man gets a lift in a carpool.
But it was the 'transphobic' implications of the bus scene that upset protesters on Facebook.
In a planned Weekend of Action, organiser and transgender woman Jessica Alouette said the group would 'bombard Auckland Transport with emails, phone calls, tweets and Facebook posts' demanding the ad be immediately pulled and a public apology issued.
She said the ad contained a 'trigger warning for transphobia'.
The offending scene suggested that transgender women weren't real women, she said, and that was a 'f…ed up' representation.
'It's ignorance as much as anything but it's unfortunate that this is still happening.'
While protesters achieved their goal of getting the ad pulled, Alouette said their initial complaint was dismissed by Auckland Transport, which said it would not be reviewing the campaign.
They were still hoping Auckland Transport would issue a public apology, she said.
An Auckland Transport spokesman said the ad was not intended to offend anyone 'but clearly, and regrettably, this has been the case'.
'The decision has been made to modify advertising material. References to 'she was a he' (along with the exhaust pipe image) will be removed,' the spokesman said.
In the meantime, and until those alterations were made, the clip has been taken down from Auckland Transport's YouTube channel and cinema advertising has ceased, he said.
'AT takes its social and community responsibilities seriously, hence this decision. We thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and again apologise for any offence or distress caused.'
The protest group has also taken aim at Air New Zealand over its in-flight safety video where Rhys Darby dresses up as a woman.
Alouette said they had not received a response from Air New Zealand, and would continue to send them emails until they did.
The group has created a template survey for others offended by the videos where people can 'describe the impact that these videos have on you personally'.