Reklameplakater for bikinier er ikke lenger velkomne i Øst-London. Det pågår en målrettet kampanje for å overmale de vanlige sommerposterne til H & M. Det gjelder kommersiell reklame, men røper et syn på kvinnekroppen som er et angrep på kvinners frihet og ytringsfriheten samtidig.

series of posters featuring models in bikinis have been defaced or torn down in east London in what appears to be a targeted campaign. Police have not yet linked it to any religious group, but the use of black paint is reminiscent of attacks on billboards in Peshawar, Pakistan, reported by The First Post.
The east London targets include street-level bikini ads for the popular chain store H&M and the Australian swimwear brand Sea Folly, as well cinema posters for the recently released Bollywood film Kites .
The H&M bus shelter ads are behind perspex cases, which have been daubed with black paint, covering the models’ faces and bodies. At street level, they present an easy target compared to the huge billboards defaced in Pakistan, where women’s faces have been carefully painted out by campaigners who believe the depiction of uncovered women is un-Islamic.
The Sea Folly ads were simply pasted up, and many have been torn down, leaving shreds of paper hanging where once the famously gap-toothed Australian model Jessica Hart stared out at passers-by in all her bronzed glory.
The Kites ads show the stars of the film, Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori, in a clinch. Set in Las Vegas and starring a multinational cast, Kites is Bollywood’s latest attempt to make a film designed to appeal to Eastern and Western audiences alike.
Avedon Carol, of Feminists Against Censorship, told the London Evening Standard: «The idea that somehow the image of women being sexy spreads all sorts of horribleness is reactionary and anti-women.»

Are Muslims censoring sexy posters in London?

Police said 14 bus shelters around Tower Hamlets, including many in Limehouse, were hit last month.

Residents told of similar damage in Waltham Forest. One said: «It seems to be a dedicated group who obviously have some serious issues with these adverts.»

After finding the black paint could be easily removed, the vandals switched to a sticky, tar-like substance which is harder to scrub off.

Agnes Callamard, of Article 19, a London-based organisation combating censorship, said: «While one may dislike some ads and find them offensive, this cannot be a basis for blacking out the picture.»

Avedon Carol, of Feminists Against Censorship, said: «The idea that somehow the image of women being sexy spreads all sorts of horribleness is reactionary and anti-women.»

The bus shelters are provided to Transport for London by advertising firm Clear Channel, which said the content was regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority.

A spokesman confirmed a rise in graffiti attacks and said each one cost £130 to put right. Dr Shaaz Mahboob, of British Muslims for Secular Democracy, said: «Many British Muslims wouldn’t go to the beach in a bikini but would never think it’s their right to impose their values on others like this.»

Pastor Henry Dixon, of Poplar Baptist Church, said: «If people feel that a poster is wrong then they should complain to the ASA. Causing criminal damage is not right.»

An H&M spokeswoman said: «A picture can be interpreted in many different ways. The interpretation is always in the eye of the beholder.»

Bus shelter bikini ads covered with paint in ‘censorship’ attacks