Costa Coffee has come under fire on social media for a transgender illustration on one of its mobile vans. Users have been using the hashtag #boycottcostacoffee on Twitter—now known as X— to vent their feelings towards the U.K.’s largest coffee chain.
The illustration in Costa’s ad shows a person with scars on the chest, akin to those of people who get double mastectomies or “top surgery.”
Images of the ad first began doing the rounds on X when James Esses, a commentator on social issues who cofounded the anti-trans group Thoughtful Therapists, posted about it on the platform.
On Monday, Esses tweeted: “Dear @CostaCoffee, Could you kindly explain why you are glorifying irreversible surgery performed on healthy breasts of women for a mental health condition?”
Dear @CostaCoffee,
— James Esses (@JamesEsses) July 31, 2023
Could you kindly explain why you are glorifying irreversible surgery performed on healthy breasts of women for a mental health condition? pic.twitter.com/9NyFPYj9J3
The tweet has received 8.6 million views as of Wednesday noon ET, and many others have chimed in saying they will boycott the coffee chain.
I will never drink Costa Coffee again.
— Jeremy Brier KC (@jeremybrier) August 2, 2023
If they wish to promote dangerous medical procedures on little girls (who may need careful and compassionate help, not corporate-sponsored surgery) I will restrain from drinking horrendous coffee. #BoycottCostaCoffee https://t.co/CxrOVW7VK9
Costa has defended its use of the trans person illustration.
“At Costa Coffee we celebrate the diversity of our customers, team members, and partners,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement to Evening Standard on Tuesday.
“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.”
Despite critics pushing to boycott the coffee chain, many users have also voiced their support for Costa’s effort to include the transgender community.
Author Ugla Stefanía applauded the company’s advertisement as “lovely,” and said that what people were referring to as “mutilation” of breasts is, in fact, consensual surgery.
People will cry ‘mutilation!’ in reference to consensual surgeries for trans people and advocate against them, but won’t ever raise awareness of non-consensual surgeries performed on intersex people that can cause life-long harm. The bigotry and lack of empathy is glaring.
— Ugla Stefanía Kristjönudóttir Jónsdóttir (@UglaStefania) July 31, 2023
Dr. Helen Webberly, founder of health and well-being-focused clinic Gender GP, also said that critics had “completely missed the point.”
“Top surgery doesn’t harm people—it saves lives. Good on @CostaCoffee for being on the right side of history,” she wrote in a post on X.
Other experts have highlighted that Costa’s ad is sending out the wrong message to women by oversimplifying the reality.
“The cartoon-like picture of a young woman who has had her breasts surgically removed is shocking and irresponsible,” Maya Frostater, cofounder of Sex Matters, an organization with the goal of promoting “clarity about sex,” told the Telegraph.
“Young women are being sold a lie that if they have their breasts removed and take hormones they can become men, or at least avoid being women.”
Costa hasn’t said whether it will continue to represent the transgender community in its marketing campaigns. The company did not immediately return Fortune’s request for comment.
