Marks & Spencer in new sexism row for naming their cocktail, 'Porn Star Martini'

Marks & Spencer has been accused of “normalising porn' for naming one of their cocktail, 'Porn Star Martini'.

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Marks & Spencer in new sexism row for naming their cocktail, 'Porn Star Martini'

Marks and Spencer under attack over a martini name(Photo: Twitter)

Marks & Spencer is under attack over their new cocktail name. After pre-made cans of their new cocktail named, 'Pornstar Martini' were seen sold in stores, the multinational retailer is ensnared in a new sexism row over what consumers have termed  'normalising porn'. The 'Porn Star Martini' is reported to be a blend of passion fruit and vodka and costs £2 for a 250ml tin. And despite its popularity and prevalence on bar menus around the world with Marks and Spencers claiming to be the first one to see the drink in the supermarket, not everyone is taken aback by its name. 

Angered parents on Mumsnet wrote that they did not want to have to explain what a porn star is to their children while food shopping at M&S, and feminist campaign group Object! said the supermarket was "normalising porn. "In a recent tweet, feminist campaigning group Object accused Marks & Spencer, of “normalising porn”, they tweeted, “Marks & Spencer normalising porn,”.

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Twittersphere as always have been flooded with tweets expressing their concern and insights about what they feel is misogynistic and degrading women on M&S's part. 

Check the tweets here: 

“And if you try to complain online, the system rejects the word 'porn'. Mixed messages huh?”The feminists group continued. 

Parents with children have also raised concern regarding this provoking name. One Mumsnet user wrote: "It may be an actual cocktail, but I don’t madly want to explain to my small daughter what a porn star is, while shopping for cake.

"While another added: "It is normalising porn by using the word 'Porn star' on an item sold in a shop which is as safe and middle of the road as one could get. Therefore porn and porn star become nothing out of the ordinary. Items bearing the word "porn star" are on display to all ages. Children can't buy them but they still see them."Since posting, the tweet has been liked nearly 200 times and been flooded with comments from people who agree.“Repulsive. We all need to complain to M&S,” one person wrote.

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Another added: “Do you seriously think a 'porn star' is something to which your customers should be aspiring, given that the vast majority of porn involves degrading, hurting and raping young women??”

Check out some of the concerning tweets here:

According to reports, the drink was first created and named by one Douglas Ankrah in 2002. Ankrah stated that he had named the cocktail the Maverick Martini, in tribute to a dodgy club in Cape Town, but later decided to change the name to the Pornstar Martini. Much unlike the fuming comments, Ankrah insists that there is nothing sexist about the drink.

In a recent interview, he stated, “The drink is very evocative and tantalising. I called it Pornstar because I thought it was something that a porn star would drink, there’s nothing sexual there,” “Bars, when done properly, should be environments where one can be bold, sexy and playful. Being a huge part of the bar scene, I wanted to create a drink that personifies those attributes; bold, sexy and playful.”

In response to the comments on social media, M&S Spokesperson has also told The Independent: “Porn Star Martini is a common and popular name for a passion fruit cocktail drink. We launched it back in September and it has already become one of our most popular cocktails.”

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