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Russian Woman Sues Nike Over Ad That 'Could Turn Girls Into Men'

NikeWomen / YouTube

A Moscow woman is suing sports company Nike for damages after claiming that a viral ad encouraging girls to follow their dreams could “turn them into men.”

Self-described “life coach” Marina Rybnikova said Nike's clip could "corrupt young women," Russian news site Moslenta reported.

She is demanding 525,000 rubles ($9,300) from Nike for "causing moral harm."

Rybnikova was particularly outraged by a lyric in the ad that claimed little girls were "made from bruises and punches." The words appeared alongside an image of a female boxer training with a punching bag. 

"It's outrageous that lots of teenagers are watching this on Youtube," Rybnikova told Russian news site Afisha"Girls could easily go out and start fights after this video. That's what angered me," she said.

Rybnikova also found cause for concern when an onscreen choir declared modern girls to be made of "aspirations, skills, independence, and freedom."

"Independence does not really mean much to us [women]," she said. "We are still about internal structure, about comfort, about domestic life," she said.

Nike's ad, "What are little girls made of?" was published on YouTube on Feb. 15. It has currently had almost 9 million views.

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