“Is this the best a man can get?”
Gillette have released a new advert which tackles toxic masculinity and sexual harassment, issuing a challenge to men to “stop excusing bad behaviour”.
The commercial examines a number of stereotypes and common behaviours of men masculinity, such as the idiom ‘boys will be boys’ which is often used to let men off the hook for poor behaviour. The ad also features a retro sitcom in which inappropriate behaviour towards women is played for laughs.
Presented in the context of the #MeToo movement, the advert then goes on to show men calling out the behaviour of other men, from bullying and fighting to cat-calling. A clip from Terry Crews’ testimony, given after the actor revealed that he had been sexually assaulted by another man, said: “Men need to hold other men accountable.”
“Boys will be boys”? Isn’t it time we stopped excusing bad behavior? Re-think and take action by joining us at https://t.co/giHuGDEvlT. #TheBestMenCanBe pic.twitter.com/hhBL1XjFVo
— Gillette (@Gillette) January 14, 2019
Playing on the shaving company’s famous slogan, the advert asks: is this the best a man can get?
The advert has been viewed over three million times, and while it has drawn praise from many for its courage and progressive message, others have felt that the advert unfairly attacks men and masculinity.
“This makes me so mad my face is covered in tears. Gillette practically just castrated me. You’re trying to make it illegal to be an alpha male,” one person wrote on Twitter.”
Another said, “It’s so so crazy to me that so many men are upset that a commercial is asking them to be a better person and stand up for others. Absolutely WILD.”
According to data from the Office for National Statistics, men account for roughly three-quarters of all suicides in the UK. There were 4,383 male suicides in 2017, a rate of 15.5 per 100,000 men.
