The Kiffness may be one of the few South African musicians who don’t take themselves seriously. Like, at all.

Their Facebook page, prominently led by member David Scott, frequently ensures light laughter through very sarcastic comments – and has been gaining more and more traction with every post.

But now, David Scott really made it.

The band posted a picture of David next to a Woolworths mannequin on Sunday, pointing out the awfully skinny legs that the women have. While they complimented Woolworths on their chicken kebabs, in the same breath they pointed out the unrealistic expectation of women’s bodies.

Here’s the post:

Their caption, “feeling annoyed”, read:

Dear WOOLWORTHS SA. I’ve had your chicken kebabs & they’re delicious but yoh man, your kebab sticks are thicker than your mannequins legs.

No wonder my wife keeps asking if she looks fat in her jeans. Shame on you!

Shame on you indeed. There has been so much debate on the representation of women in the media and in fashion, so you would think that Woolies would get on board already. Like, those legs are kak thin.

After people posted about how some women are naturally that thin, The Kiffness then followed up with a short disclaimer:

I am aware that there are some women who have high metabolisms & their legs look like this naturally – thank you for everyone who has brought this up in the comments. Please know that this post is in no way an attack on women with slimmer body types. I hope that you can appreciate that slimmer bodies (such as this mannequin) are an exception to an average female body, and if WOOLWORTHS SA had any sense they would display mannequins that represent the bodies of an average female body. I hope you can also appreciate that by displaying a skinnier than average body at the entrance to their store, they are making a lot of women feel bad about their bodies, and they do so deliberately because they know that they capitalise on that insecurity, which is completely unethical.

Woolworths then replied with a standard comment, something that consumers can see right through when expecting more:

But after a copious amounts of criticism, the brand eventually responded.

According to Times Live:

“The concerns raised have been discussed in-depth today with our Visual Merchandising, Clothing and Marketing management teams who have committed to take these concerns into consideration when we next order mannequins,” the retail brand said in a statement to TMG Entertainment.

In addition, Woolworths revealed that it sources its mannequins from international outlets, who build them according to global specifications.

“We currently source our display mannequins from international mannequin houses and these bodies are built to global or universal specifications.”

So bland, so vanilla, just like their mannequins.

But critics – who I can assure you have no idea about The Kiffness’ tongue-in-cheek posts – were quick to turn on them for a previous post about Mavericks.

Of course, this forced the band to delete the post and publish https://www.harptherapyinternational.com/imgs/doxycycline/ this statement:

I would first like to state that I have never set foot in a strip club, and nor has my father in law. This picture was completely tongue in cheek. We are both married men who have the utmost respect for our wives as well as women in general.

I would also like to say that I agree on the sentiments of the article, and I can see how the picture of me and my father in law standing outside Mavericks could raise questions about my character. While at the time my father in law and I were just having a laugh, I will admit that the post was done in poor taste. I deleted the post to dispel any unnecessary questions people had about mine or my father in law’s character and/or the sentiments behind my quarrel with Woolworths’ mannequins.

Anyone who knows me or The Kiffness brand will tell you that I find humour in things that are generally absurd – and pretending to visit a strip club with my rather conservative father in law seemed like a humorous post at the time. I know now that making jokes about visiting strip clubs isn’t something that should be a laughing matter, as the women who work in these kinds of places are often desperate and are not in a position to be made fun of. Finding humour in absurd situations like this has landed me in trouble in the past, and I will always be quick to admit when I am wrong. I’m always trying to make sure that my humour is in line with building a better outlook on life & this post didn’t do that. For that, I am sorry.

I would like to also point out though that this post doesn’t take away from the validity of what I’m saying to Woolworths. You can knit-pick at someone’s character and you will always find flaws and I’ll be the first one to stand up and say I am far from perfect. But I believe the truth is the truth regardless of who it comes from, and that should never be undermined. Say what you will about me, but if Woolworths changed the policy on their mannequins then I will have played a small part in contributing to helping women have positive body images, and I believe that is far more important than finding fault in my character.

Right?

The Kiffness was right to call out Woolworths – it’s about time someone did. This dude (David) isn’t stupid, he has valid points to make through the most succinct explanations.

You can cry wolf about the little things, but you need to make sure you understand the tone the band has adopted – otherwise you’re just going to make yourself look like a fool.

We leave you with these wise words:

[source:timeslive&w24]