Guy | Girl

She showed him the ad that afternoon. It was by a razor company Gilette, and depicted boys participating in acts of violence, harassment, and bullying, along with the message that 'We can be better'. The school had been erupting with fierce debates over the content. It was clear where she stood.

When he had finished watching, she asked him."Are we man-haters? Because I see nothing wrong with the ad. It brings up some valid points."

"The problem with the ad is that it generalizes every man. So now just because we aren't hyper feminists we have to change?"

 "I don't understand how feminists get generalized and stereotyped all the time for being stuck up, a bitch, annoying, man-hating, and a feminazi, not to mention criticized for being overly 'sensitive'. Yet the moment an ad like this one comes out, you have throngs of men going to the internet to complain and to boycott Gilette."

"At least no one is insinuating you're essentially a rapist! Can't a guy talk to a girl in the streets anymore without being labelled as sexist?"

It was then he remembered what she had said at the park yesterday. "You know I didn't mean catcalling or harassing. I mean that the guy could have just wanted her number or something."

"No one is insinuating anything. It doesn't even mention every man in the ad. Plus even you can't deny that some men are misogynistic and sexist."

"I guess my problem is with the phrase 'toxic masculinity'." He leaned back to face the ceiling, his eyes tracing the fluorescent lights. He was a sports star at their school, tall, handsome, and aggressive. "I don't understand why I'm constantly being told not to be as aggressive, or as competitive, or to not bottle up my feelings. But that's just how I am."

"People are always criticizing traditional masculinity, how it's toxic, sexist, and oppresses women. But masculinity isn't a disease. It's biological. Maybe it's time we start learning that."

A/N - I thought I would go back and add a note because I don't think I made my point of view clear enough. I hate how Gilette was boycotted afterwards and probably lost a bunch of money for speaking out. It makes it hard for companies, especially companies traditionally geared towards the male audience, to advocate for issues of equality/race/class/sexuality etc..

However, I do agree that Gilette's ad wasn't executed very well. Instead of focusing on maybe one really big topic - such as street harassment, they just jumbled a bunch of small things together. Although there were really good points, they were watered down by the lack of focus/bad wording/tacky execution.

Another example that got a lot of heat was the Nissan ad. Again, another great topic to tackle - how women's voices are suppressed in the workplace - but terrible execution. It made it seem like she was making a big deal out of nothing - especially to male viewers that might not understand or see the underlying problem here.

https://youtu.be/1hh6dT3ffGA