On January 13th, 2019, shaving company Gillette launched a new campaign by releasing a commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPmuEyP3a0) that strongly encourages their male customers — and any man watching the commercial — to be better men.
In one minute and 48 seconds, the commercial touched base on toxic masculinity and the consequences it holds, such as bullying, sexual harassment and sexism in the workfield.
We see cases of a young boy being bullied by his peers for being different, a man belittling the only woman at a work meeting, and men sexually harassing women and laughing about it. The phrase “boys will be boys” is continuously said at one point in the commercial, nodding to the famous expression used throughout the last century to excuse the wrongdoings that boys do to their female counterparts, and even to each other.
After pointing out the issue, the commercial then offers a solution by showing a clip of Terry Crews (https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/10/terry-crews-harvey-weinstein), recounting his own times of being sexually assaulted and Crews powerfully saying to the judges, “Men have to hold other men accountable.”
The commercial then shows men stepping up and stopping other men they see trying to sexually harass women, boys bullying kids, etc. The commercial ends with the narrator saying “The boys watching today, will be the men of tomorrow.”
By this commercial playing across every television in America, the boys watching it will be introduced to the issue of toxic masculinity and see that it’s not okay to bully, sexuallly harass, be sexist, etc. This could change the game of sexism and sexual harrassment.
There has been lots of controversy over Gillette’s commercial, mostly from angry men saying they have been misrepresented and stereotyped by this commercial. According to an op-ed by USA today (https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/01/17/men-deserve-credit-gillette-commercial-controversy-assumptions-masculinity-fathers-column/2605063002/), men are furious that Gillette is making it seem as if all men routinely let things like this happen. This anger has led to many men boycotting Gillette.
These men who are angry at Gillette are completely missing the message of the campaign. It isn’t to bash men; it’s to make them better. It is to remind them to step up and be a man of integrity and character. It is not saying all men are bad. It is saying that if you are a man, and you see that sort of behavior committed by a fellow male, to stand up to them.
Gillette, on behalf of women, thank you. On behalf of anyone who has been harassed by a man (whether that be verbally or physically), thank you.
Thank you for being courageous and being the first to shed light on such an important issue. This could truly change the game.
To learn more about Gillette’s campaign, go to https://gillette.com/en-us/the-best-men-can-be
HCXOXO,
Kelli Carmack