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Original poster

To absolutely LOVE the new Gillette advert!! Outrage on Twitter.

477 replies

gluteustothemaximus · 15/01/2019 12:07

Have you seen the new Gillette advert?

It's in line with the #metoo movement and it's just brilliant.

Reaction online is depressing though. It has pissed Piers Morgan off royally though, so that's excellent. Poor little snowflake. Offended at an advert Grin

OP posts:
Inkstainedmags · 17/01/2019 13:01

Men have been told for a long time now that they’re not needed to protect or help women. Women are entirely their equal and can stand up for themselves perfectly well. They don’t need a man to do it for them.

I'll bite.

People of colour, people whose religion or sexuality or place on the gender spectrum is different to mine are my equals and don't need me to 'protect' them, but I still challenge people whose behaviour is offensive or discriminatory towards those groups. Not to be a saviour but because I disagree with those views and would like to live in a world where fewer people think it's ok to be shitty to each other.

So that being the case, why do you need a man, in particular, to challenge men who behave badly? Why couldn’t it be a woman? Does it even matter what gender they are?

Gillette aims its marketing at men. It would be a bit weird if they launched a campaign speaking particularly to women, no?

2boysDad · 17/01/2019 13:28

"Gillette aims its marketing at men. It would be a bit weird if they launched a campaign speaking particularly to women, no?"

I would say they just have.

Ultimately Gillette isn't Oxfam or a political party. There's a subdivision of a huge multinational that has one aim. To make MONEY

Thats it.

If this advert impresses a lot of women but annoys a lot of men then its a bad commercial decision. Why? Because it's men who are buying their Mach3 razors and overpriced shaving foam.

If (and yes, it's an "if) a lot of men feel as annoyed as me about this - and also stop buying Gillette then it's by defintion a bad commercial move.

No one likes being lectured to - and certainly not by a bunch of hypocrites who are quite happy to market blue razors to men and more expensive pink razors to women

rightreckoner · 17/01/2019 13:30

Yes that confuses and saddens me too derxa. I'd hazard a guess at the malign influence of ubiquitous online porn - which is a whole new Gillette ad's worth of a debate.

Original poster
gluteustothemaximus · 17/01/2019 13:30

Boys will be boys is extremely damaging.

It was used in the case of Audrie & Daisy (two teens raped, one committed suicide and one attempted suicide)...the sheriff said boys will be boys.

In the case of male rape by a woman (although that's not possible in the UK) men say 'lucky guy!' So men are supposed to enjoy being assaulted by a woman?

Boys in the playground, DS would constantly be pushed around, called gay for not liking football, and whenever boys fought....ALWAYS the parents would roll eyes and say 'boys will be boys'.

Man goes down the pub...'I'll have a white wine spritzer' 'what mate, no beer?!?' You're a man, you drink beer.

Gay men. Too scared to say anything because 'real men' aren't gay.

The list goes on. These issues all affect MEN.

Grow up, man up, grow a pair, don't cry, don't be a puff/cissy....

On top of that, we get the HUGE issues where women are concerned. Since the age of 7, I have experienced men at their worst, and as a teen/young woman almost every day. I have stories, hundreds of stories, from catcalling to rape. IT IS A HUGE PROBLEM.

OP posts:
Isadora2007 · 17/01/2019 13:31

If this advert impresses a lot of women but annoys a lot of men then its a bad commercial decision. Why? Because it's men who are buying their Mach3 razors and overpriced shaving foam.

Actually I reckon that you’ll find women often buying the weekly shopping which includes toiletries for the household. So maybe not that bad a business move.

2boysDad · 17/01/2019 13:35

"Actually I reckon that you’ll find women often buying the weekly shopping which includes toiletries for the household. So maybe not that bad a business move."

You might be right. In which case this is a marketing masterstroke.

Time will tell.

User758172 · 17/01/2019 13:38

Gillette aims its marketing at men. It would be a bit weird if they launched a campaign speaking particularly to women, no?

They could do, but I don’t think women would like it if they did.

But I wasn’t referring to Gillette, I was asking a question of a PP.

AhhhHereItGoes · 17/01/2019 13:40

@MrsAriadneOliver I don't need a man to stick up for me but it's nice when anyone sticks up for you, man or woman. But it's more being nice a man is challenging another man's shitty behaviour than it specifically being an incidence with me.

akkakk · 17/01/2019 13:52

We shouldn't buy their razors. They are non-recyclable single use plastic items with embedded metal. Nobody has to shave.

no-one has to use an online forum :) but your phone / computer / tablet has far more damaging elements in it than my razor does...

when you decide to fully embrace a life with absolutely no non-recyclable elements in it, then you will have a right to tell others whether they can shave or not!

until then - accept that people all have different views / choices they make, and many of the things we do / use / buy / own have no essential need...

2boysDad · 17/01/2019 13:59

Actually if you use a razor like a Mach3 or similar, the majority of the razor is re-used. It's only the heads that need to be replaced and I personally find that they last a long time (which they should do as they cost a fortune).

User758172 · 17/01/2019 14:07

@AhhhHereItGoes

It is nice when people stick up for you, but no one’s obligatated to, man or woman.

Rufusthebewilderedreindeer · 17/01/2019 14:09

Is that your bar for toxic masculinity - beating up and raping women?

Apparently

Shame though as otherwise i was enjoying their posts

akkakk · 17/01/2019 14:27

Is that your bar for toxic masculinity - beating up and raping women?

Apparently

Shame though as otherwise i was enjoying their posts

I think you will find that I was quoting that person's post...
worth reading through the thread... Wink

Rufusthebewilderedreindeer · 17/01/2019 14:46

I have read through the thread

I don't understand why you think I haven't

Dutch1e · 17/01/2019 17:37

but vast numbers of men are not that kind of man

And yet vast numbers of men are the kind to minimise, misunderstand, ignore the very real problems experienced by women and children.

Ads like this take one tiny step toward saying "Take notice of the world outside your own experience. Speaking up is now everyday cool, not only the exclusive domain of action heroes."

ChesterGreySideboard · 17/01/2019 18:10

I can absolutely state that for the vast majority of women in my circle, there will have been no form of abuse as described

Really? No one has had a comment from a white van driver or when walking past a building site?

Rufusthebewilderedreindeer · 17/01/2019 18:15

chester

Yeah, i don't believe it either

It happened constantly to me when i was younger

Though to be fair maybe dont the catcall women message is getting through?

Nope just checked with dd...its cos i is old as she is still getting catcalled

ChesterGreySideboard · 17/01/2019 18:32

The thing is Akkakk is that you are male so your female friends simply won’t tell you.

Every woman knows this happens to every woman.

ChesterGreySideboard · 17/01/2019 18:33

Just to prove my research.

To absolutely LOVE the new Gillette advert!! Outrage on Twitter.
ChesterGreySideboard · 17/01/2019 18:38

I think you need to be careful about using such words to talk about this

So given that you are male Akkakk you can sod off with telling women what language they use to describe the abuse that we get every single day.

Rufusthebewilderedreindeer · 17/01/2019 18:44

chester

I would posit that that attitude is why no one talks to him about any sexual harassment they may have received

velourvoyageur · 17/01/2019 18:50

2boys
But who does the men's shopping, along with other general household items? Who, when doing the weekly shop, looks at the half price offers on the Ocado website and sees Gillette among them and thinks oh yeah, good advert, they'll do.

JacquesHammer · 17/01/2019 18:50

I would posit that that attitude is why no one talks to him about any sexual harassment they may have received

Agreed. Is “I’m not minimising but....” the new “I’m not racist but....”?

ChesterGreySideboard · 17/01/2019 18:56

‘Some of my best friends are black and they tell me they’ve never noticed any racism’.

akkakk · 17/01/2019 19:33

I have very clearly said that there are issues which need changing - but the minute anyone male or female starts to claim absolutes, in a world which is multi-layered in shades of grey, they lose credibility...

to say that every woman on the planet has been the recipient of Toxic Masculinity and continually so, is to:

  • either greatly exaggerate (talk tosh)
  • to devalue what is being referred to by including any interaction from those who are male...

in good humour and presupposing that posters on here are not talking tosh (though I could be wrong looking at some posts!) then to claim that everyone has been the recipient of Toxic Masculinity is to devalue that word.

The reality is that all humans have the capacity for good or evil - some choose one / others the opposite - and most of us will have an inclination to good and the occasional off day... So, for this conversation to have any relevance - to get the 'good men' stopping the 'bad men' as is the basis of the original advert then there has to be an understanding of the elements of behaviour which constitute Toxic Masculinity - i.e. behaviours previously excused as 'masculinity' but which are not acceptable...

The reality is that this does not include everything which is characteristic of men - but only the things which are not of respect to others...

so, let us not redefine all masculinity (whatever that might mean!) as toxic - it is not - and I can be absolute that I have never done any of the things being referenced - abuse / cat calls / wolf whistles / pinching bottoms / being patronising / being sexist / etc. etc. etc. whether to females or other males... Nor have those other men I know - it would just not be a part of our culture which is one of respect to others - I can't think of any men I know who would think it acceptable to wolf whistle someone - and therefore equally, the women in my circle (which is wide) simply do not spend every day being subjected to that behaviour...

so, Toxic Masculinity is not endemic in all parts of society - so those coming on here and claiming such absolutes - quite simply you are wrong, don't use your experience to assume a general pattern - there are plenty of parts of society where there is a built in respect for others - esp. for women.

It has nothing to do with masculinity - all the things being referenced in the advert can be done by women as well as men - so let's get off the bandwagon of all men are bad - they are not...

Perhaps it would be simpler to take this discussion and re-phrase it as Toxic Behaviour is bad except that is of course tautology - as Toxic by its nature means bad...

So, let us stamp out Toxic Behaviour from anyone - and let us not castigate all men - when the vast majority are decent... I am very sorry for anyone who hasn't had that experience - it is a real shame as it clearly gives a very false impression of the male sex - but I can assure you that there are many many areas of society where that behaviour is not prevalent...

and as for discussions with women - plenty at very deep levels