The mutiny against Gillette's ad shows why we need movements like #MeToo

Critics ignore the explicit message of the advert, which is that gender is culturally constructed, and that we all have a responsibility to shape the future of our society.

Gillette’s new ad – “The best men can be”, which plays on the razor brand’s long-held motto, “The best a man can get” – is powerful and emotional, a carefully-spun narrative about the role models young boys see in their daily lives. It tackles bullying, sexual harassment, inequality in the workplace, and sexism on screen, by promoting courage, humility, responsibility, and kindness. It says all of these behaviours make up that complicated construct, “masculinity”. And it challenges viewers to question what sort of behaviour defines manliness.

The mutiny against Gillette’s ad reinforces why we need movements like #MeToo and shows how painfully little distance we as a society have covered since it began. In the wake of various high-profile allegations, #MeToo called out unsavoury behaviour that was somehow condoned by society – behaviour that increasingly comes under the umbrella of “toxic masculinity”. Yet Gillette’s ad, which recognises this drive for change and wants to take positive action, has been met by a major backlash.

The YouTube video of the ad had more than 200,000 comments just a few days after going live. The numbers of likes have hit 387,000. More tellingly, the number of dislikes exceeds 796,000.

Angry comments cover a range of issues with the advert: from those who declare they will never buy Gillette again, to the belief that boys need “rough and tumble” to develop healthily, and that society is falling apart because men are simply not “manly” enough anymore. Others claim that only women are hitting “like” and that this is further evidence of feminism sticking its nose where it has no vested interest: men’s toiletries.

Challenging stereotypes

On Twitter, these arguments were fuelled by Piers Morgan, who declared he would no longer buy Gillette products, complaining that society should let “boys be boys”. In The Guardian, Gaby Hinsliff drew attention to Morgan’s clearly limited understanding of the message of the advert: the call to reimagine what masculinity can be rather than sticking with outdated notions from the past.

The same obsession with “masculine” stoicism and the “stiff upper lip” makes men more likely to die from cancer and is a factor in why men under 45 have the highest rate of suicide. Presumably those who ask Gillette to leave masculinity alone, don’t want asking for help to be a part of it.

Business Standard