That recent Gilette ad is fascinating and reveals what feels like culture's collective confusion over what gender is supposed to be.
The ad starts by showing a sequence of 'bad' masculine actions - boys fighting, guys catcalling women, or shaming each other for crying. (Cont-)
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It also features lots of men treating women badly - mansplaining, slapping them on the ass, etc.
The message seems to be clear: It's bad to expect men to be strong or present as aggressive or dominant over women.
We then move onto Gillette's vision of "The best men can be" (cont)
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The "best men can be" is summarized by the following shots:
1. "Men need to hold other men accountable"
2. A man tells a woman to smile. Another man gets between them and says "cmon"
3. A man catcalls a woman. Another man gets in front of him and says "not cool"
(cont)
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4. A father with his son breaks up a fight
5. A man resolving a fight peacefully
6. A father teaching his daughter to say "I am strong"
7. A father breaking up a fight between boys
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This list is Gilette's example of how men 'should' behave.
In this list, three (four?) feature men in the role of "protector of women" - that a man's job is to protect a woman from other men.
Another two feature men using their physical strength to stop fights.
(cont)
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Only one shot on this list features something that seems feminine - peacefully resolving a fight.
Gillette tells us it's bad when men show dominance over women, but then show shots of men acting as protector for women implicitly too weak to do it themselves
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Gillette isn't truly challenging masculinity, it's just redirecting it - it still uses the appeal to strength, power, and physical intimidation as being inherent to maleness - "Men need to hold other men accountable." It's stroking the war game urge in a socially acceptable way.
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Maybe this is all fine, but it does make me feel like Gillette - and the society it's so carefully catering to - is confused about what it means for a man to be 'good to a woman'. Both the bad and good worlds provided as contrast in this ad seem to remove agency from women.
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"culture's collective confusion over [...] gender"?
Nah. I think this is just Gillette's super clumsy attempt at, in the words of Bret Weinstein, "bidding on woke dollars."
It's a clumsy after school special of a commercial/marketing campaign.
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I really disagree. I disagree so hard I think I'm gonna make a separate tweet thread about it.
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