Why are people boycotting Boots? Are you?

[Deadbeatex]

For full disclosure I haven't seen the advert yet, but I'll probably end up searching for it if I don't come across it naturally during viewing in the next few days.

I've seen the #boycottboots and have worked out it's to do with their new Christmas ad. What's the issue? Are you boycotting Boots or do you think people are overreacting?

Randomly choosing the poll options simply because as stated I've not seen the ad so I don't currently have an opinion either way

YABU I'm boycotting
YANBU it's an overreaction

Yes and sadly we are called bigots if we don't swallow the Orwellian newspeak. I'm not black but I wonder how black people feel about the anti trans sentiment being compared to real oppression like racism?

Thanks for yourvinput,but my question was specifically for WrongWrongWrongagain who seems to be avoiding answering me.

Is Kate Winslet Moroccan by birth in this scenario?

I thought it was a bit … meh
Not boycotting

No

Then it's not an analogous scenario, is it?

Yawn.

No. OP hasnt seen it yet which she said more than once.

It says what it means - factually the amount of people of colour on adverts is way over the representation of the percentage in the UK overall. Still can’t see how that interprets as ‘there are too many black people on TV’….just pointing out in that context how silly it is to say people are boycotting Boots because there’s a woman of colour in their advert…..

I agree - the fact that ethnic minorities are over-represented in ads doesn't mean there are too many. It's just a statistical observation. I'd also say black people are over-represented compared to (for example) south and east Asians. I've always assumed it's because ad-makers want to include a diverse ethnic mix, but most ads only have a few (or sometimes only one) person in them so you can't represent the ethnic mix of the country accurately in one ad. You put one black person in a group of 3 or 4, they're over-represented compared to the national statistics - but that's better than not being there obviously.

And yes, as black people are very frequently used in ads and no one bats an eyelid I don't think the Boots boycott is because they've dared to feature a black person. OK I'm sure there are some racists who don't like it in itself, but it's really not why this particular ad has pissed a lot of people off.

I’ve just watched it and it was absolutely fine. Liked it a lot. I agree that anyone talking about boycotting is being a big fat bigot.

Not RTFT

Just watched the advert and I love it!

I think I can see the issue though. The subtext is “useless old white man takes credit for black woman’s work”

And I imagine that some white men take exception to Father Christmas being weaponised against them (not what I think, but how I imagine some might feel).

I do think we need to be careful to be feminist and anti-racist without becoming anti-white-men. Because that fuels the sort of rage that brings people like Trump to power.

I do like the advert, but we need to watch out for black vs white, male vs female tropes and try and bring people together more.

It’s because that woman is a racist. She called the royal family “terribly white” I will not be shopping at boots.

It's a great advert .she is a brilliant actress and great at this and honestly we do 90% of the christmas work anyway this is just being honest.

I watched it and there is nothing to it at all. It's just an ad.

Hardly offensive 🤣🤣🤣 sorry but get a life.

So true.🤣🤣🤣

Love your turn of phrase 😘🤌

Is Kate Winslet Moroccan by birth in this scenario?

To be a parallel scenario, it should be Ghana not Morocco. She'd have to be born in Ghana, half Ghanaian herself and have a black husband and complain that the (or a) Ghanaian royal family was terribly black.

She called the Royal Family "terribly white" in a particular context and I really don't see how this was racist. But if the bigots want to make an issue of it I'm sure they will.

I don't have an issue with transpersons, drag queens, LGBT etc, I think they have the right to go about their business unharmed and respected as human beings like all of us.

What I have an issue with are the very small minority of very loud people who cry oppression when someone accidentally misgenders them or those who believe they can gatecrash women's sports, women's rape crisis centres etc those who consider themselves discriminated against because their hobby is wearing a dress and high heels and try to make it equivalent to serious issues like racism, homophobia etc. Very few people with gender dysphoria issues are actually being actively denied jobs, housing, educational opportunities. Yes some kids are bullied for being trans and that is awful. Just like kids being bullied for having red hair is awful.

You can put on a dress and say you're a lady. That's something you opt in or out of. It's a lifestyle choice like starting to smoke or drink or wear a tattoo.

No. I'm not going to answer your question because there are important differences. To the best of my knowledge there is no black monarchy equivalent to the white British monarchy, with it's (really quite recent) history of colonialism and empire and all of the oppression of people who weren't white that it entailed.

Black people in Britain have far more of a right to comment on the whiteness of the British Royal family before they are considered racist, than white British people have to comment on the blackness of any other royal family. You're asking a false equivalency question.

I've been boycotting Boots since they went privately owned and avoided paying UK tax.

(Half Ghanaian ethnically I mean not just in terms of nationality)

She called them very white, yes. They are!

They feed on each other. the race baiters and the racists. They need each other. Normal people just stand back and laugh at them both.

As someone who grew up in London with a father from Ireland and a mother from Ghana, I remember as a child that there were not many people like me on the TV. Now, when you look at things like adverts, it has gone right the other way. I'm thinking of getting my boys signed up by a modelling agency. They will make a fortune.🤣

What we really need is for adverts to actually represent the society we live in. However, you tend to get lots of nutty "progressive" types working for ad agencies, so we will continue to get adverts that concentrate on containing "the message" instead of selling the product.

stating the obvious would have been 'it's very white' (still not really a need to say it though!)

Saying it was "too white" ascribes a value judgment to it.

People got offended because there are millions of families across the UK who are all white, so assumed she would also judge their families - and let's be honest anyone who said someone's family was "too black" or had "too many gays" in it, would be pilloried.

I'm not offended but think it was a pretty stupid thing to say tbh - it wasn't really relevant to what she was being interviewed about, and how does she suggest it should be solved? It would be ridiculous if they bought a 'token' random black/asian person onto the balcony just for optics, or encouraged one of the GC to marry someone of a different ethnicity just for diversity points.
Besides which the RF aren't exactly representative of the average person in any other way!

You don't have to be a 'Tommy Robinson' type to think a celebrity said something a bit stupid or ill thought out, it happens pretty much on a daily basis. Obviously doesn't mean she should never work again!