A horrified mother has slammed a swimwear company after her teenage daughter received a Brazilian-style bikini as a prize and was encouraged to post photos of herself online.
Tania Swan wrote a scathing letter to Australian company Makana Swim after finding a package meant for her 16-year-old daughter which contained the skimpy costume.
She later found out the schoolgirl had won an Instagram competition and was sent the revealing two-piece free of charge.
Tania Swan wrote a scathing letter to Australian company Makana Swim after finding a package meant for her 16-year-old daughter which contained the skimpy costume (pictured)
A small note (pictured)attached to the package encouraged the schoolgirl to shared photos of herself in the bikini online
However, according to Ms Swan, the worst part was a small note enclosed in the package which asked her daughter to post pictures online wearing the g-string bikini.
‘I told her that she wasn’t going to wear that. She insisted that she could sunbake with it in our backyard. This is not appropriate as at times, people can see into our backyard,’ Ms Swan wrote in a post on Collective Hub.
‘Who are these people I began to wonder? Why would they give my daughter free skimpy swimwear? I then asked, “Have they asked you to take any photos in the bikini?” She reassured me that they hadn’t.’
An unconvinced Ms Swan noticed the card which came with the bikini read: ‘Make sure you tag us in any photos you post in your newest swim piece so that we can feature you on our social media accounts!’
She was sickened to learn her daughter had been encouraged by the company to share ‘half-naked’ photographs online.
‘She was now being instructed to tag this company in photographs of herself in her what they deem (in their own advertising) “cheeky” swimwear so that they feature my daughter’s half-naked body in advertising their product,’ Ms Swan added.
She was sickened to learn her daughter had been encouraged to share ‘half-naked’ photographs online by a bikini company (Bikini pictured on model)
‘She was now being instructed to tag this company in photographs of herself in her what they deem (in their own advertising) “cheeky” swimwear so that they feature my daughter’s half-naked body in advertising their product,’ Ms Swan added (Bikini pictured on model)
In a now-deleted post, Makana Swim asked Instagram users to comment on their post to win a prize
‘My daughter, perhaps more naïve to my concerns seemed somewhat sympathetic to this newly fledged company that was only trying to get more people/followers.’
The mother then expressed fears that other underage girls had been coerced into sharing sexualised photographs of themselves on social media.
‘Alarm bells are ringing. It makes me wonder who else has “won a prize”? Who else has tagged this company with images unbeknownst to their loved ones?’ Ms Swan said.
‘How old are these girls being targeted? Do they even care? Sexual exploitation? Economic exploitation? I’m not sure but my gut feeling is that something is not sitting quite right.’
Ms Swan’s story attracted a divided opinion on social media when Collective Shout shared the letter to its Facebook page.
A number of people slammed the concerned mother for being an inattentive parent and unfairly targeting the start-up swimwear company.
‘What a vile hateful woman. Why has she taken no accountability for herself as a parent? If she doesn’t want her daughter to wear it take it from her – simple!’ one woman said.
The mother then expressed fears that other underage girls had been coerced into sharing sexualised photographs of themselves on social media (Bikini pictured on model)
A number of people slammed the concerned mother for being an inattentive parent and unfairly targeting the start-up swimwear company (Bikini pictured on model)
‘Good grief… if this mother was so concerned over this maybe she should be more aware of what her daughter is doing rather then blaming some small business,’ another wrote.
Some defended Ms Swan and pointed out Makana Swim had a responsibility to verify the age of the competition participants and not send thong-style pieces to 16-year-old girls.
‘Maybe the company has a responsibility to do some “due diligence” before running such a competition,’ one man wrote.
‘Thanks for this – this is so inappropriate and predatory for this company to target teenage girls in this way. It’s a good thing her mother was switched on!’ another woman said.
Daily Mail Australia attempted to contact Makana Swim however the company appears to have shut down their Instagram, Facebook page and website following the backlash.
Collective Shout has also confirmed terms and conditions were previously shared on the company’s website which clearly state ‘You must be 18 years or older or have adult consent to enter the competition’.