The Gillette Ad and Toxic Masculinity

[ceejay54321]

m.youtube.com/watch?v=aYsNoOyah-E

If a similar ad existed - that portrayed a woman as bitchy, criticising the appearance of others, overly obsessed with hair, make up, our bodies etc and the ‘product’ encouraged us to ‘be better women’ - would we be up in arms?

And (as I now know) I would say it IS offensive for a company that pays women 70percent less than men to produce that ad.

, I DO think it’s patronising and insulting to males who already know this is abhorrent behaviour.

Those men have been portrayed in the ad aswell .

I think that is more the reason that many people have boycott Gillette, not because of the advert specifically.

I can watch the always advert and not be offended, because I have never used the phrase "like a girl" as an insult. I know many women and men who do.

That’s true @wewearpink. I’m wondering if the ad is possibly portraying the abhorrent as the majority? I like the always ad because the younger females have no bias. Similarly if all the male children in the Gillette ad were challenging the toxic male behaviour/or demonstrating a cultural shift in thinking/or that they have no bias - the message would be more powerful?

That's a very good point. Perhaps Gillette should have taken it more in that direction.

At the risk of being flamed here. I think the abhorrent are the majority. Yes things are slowly making progress, but for things to change quicker I think these behaviours have to be pointed out to men and woman of all ages, not just children. If men are offended by that, tough.

I thought the ad was fine.

I think some men may find it offensive because they have been socialised with a sense of entitlement and don't like being challenged. That's how we got to #METOO because no one was challenging toxic masculinity, in fact it was encouraged.

You only have to look at sexual violence and domestic abuse statistics which is gendered behaviour, to see that toxic masculinity is thriving and well.

Women and mothers are often blamed for toxic masculinity but in this case, men are being asked to step up and set a good example. Many men aren't used to being held accountable and won't like that message.

Women and mothers are often blamed for toxic masculinity but in this case, men are being asked to step up and set a good example. Many men aren't used to being held accountable and won't like that message.

I agree. You only have to look at some of the threads on here about men who will not step up and share responsibility, and the default seems to be the woman taking responsibility for changing his behaviour, with suggestions like "write him a list", "sit him down and show him how to.....". Yet men don't seem to want to take responsibility for other mens behaviour and take offence when they are asked to.

I can recall so many incidents when I was younger where men did or said things to me, that made me feel uncomfortable or violated. I would have really appreciated another man call them out on that.

I remember the early 90s and the single mother witch-hunt. Single mothers were blamed for all social ills. Taking benefits, council housing, bringing up thugs etc No one pointed the finger at the men who had shirked their responsibilities and if they did, their mother's were blamed for bringing up feckless men.

Women are blamed for being raped, for being abused and for being abandoned. We seem to have a blindspot for holding men to account for their behaviour and when we do, we are angry harridans who can't get laid. Because, the holy grail is the penis - obvs.

I havnt used Gillette for probably 25 years as their ads have ALWAYS annoyed me and this is no different! (1st time i’ve seen it)

@Wewearpinkonwednesdays I firmly believe the abhorrent behaviour is in the minority, but I do feel I’ve been incredibly lucky in my relationships and life experiences. My mother is very strong lady, and was always the one calling the shots - she was the driver, the one doing all the diy, the one making the decisions. My dad had quiet string dignity but was happy to let her lead. My DP has a female boss and talks about her with immense respect. I genuinely believe the way forward is to have faith in the good - and that we are making progress. I work in a very powerful 90 percent female environment. The only discrimination I’ve seen recently was to a young male on a work placement - in a large group meeting it was suggested he dressed up as a ‘butler in the buff’ for a colleagues birthday...

My opinion is therefore largely shaped by my experiences - and a fully realise its very different for many people.

Again - I believe the men who find this ad offensive would largely be men who already recognise the behaviour is wrong - the ad is patronising. I’m going to show it to my DP today! He is a great male role model.

I'm not sure if this thread belongs in the relationship forum. But this was a bad ad. I'm not talking about the idea of propagandizing against "toxic masculinity". There is a lot of bad male behavior you could try and make and ad about. But the ad was way too heavy handed and pretentious. Good propaganda needs to be more subtle. Also are small boys playfighting really such a bad thing?

I’d completely discourage playfighting in boys and girls! DV stats now - and historically - have shown that females are victims. However DV stats male victims are on the increase - with some figures suggesting 40 percent of reported DV cases are men.

Sorry I wasn’t linking playfighting to DV there ... meant it as a separate observation!

Virtue-signalling bullshit in the service of profit.

I would not discourage play fighting. I think it’s something kids - especially boys - need to do.

I agree that the ad is woke nonsense.

There has been an abandoning of confronting it since the Gillette campaign divided opinion. It had been mainstream but became Taboo as offensive & a passing fad to actually CLASSIFY it. The approach was wrong indicating that it was abundantly noticed by large swarms of men & EZ to Fix. I define it perfectly here & as a man it has really created a heavy burden reducing elements of ourselves. PAGES 1 , 7 , & 11 in particular are eye opening www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058042337