The Gillette Commercial: Having a More Nuanced Discussion on Masculinity

Last week, one of the largest razor manufacturing companies, Gillette, decided to air a commercial called "We Believe: The Best Men Can Be." The commercial came with a whirlwind of criticism. James Woods and Piers Morgan thought is was an overgeneralization of the male species. Michelle Malkin called it "sacrificing a massive consumer base at the altar of progressivism." Conservative political activist Candace Owens called the commercial "a product of radicalized feminism and cultural Marxism." On the other hand, the commercial received praise, including from conservative commentator Mona Charen. Before formally forming your own opinion on the matter, I ask that you view the commercial yourself (see below).

I viewed the commercial multiple times myself to see if there was anything problematic. One of the bigger criticisms is that the commercial presents an overgeneralized stereotype of men as brutish, that "masculinity has got to go." The commercial starts with depicting instances of bullying, lewdness towards women, and sexual harassment. It explicitly harps on the cliché of "boys will be boys." The commercial says that "we believe in the best of men," and cuts away to former NFL player Terry Crews saying that "men need to hold other men accountable."

The commercial then shifts direction. One young male chides his friend by calling a woman "sweetie." The commercial cuts over to another young man asking his male friend to not ogle a female walking down the street. A father then holds his daughter in front of a mirror and tells her "to be strong." Another father breaks up a fight between boys saying "that's not how we treat each other." After showing these examples, the commercial ends by saying that "the boys of today will be the men of tomorrow."

In terms of its social message, the commercial was pretty tame. Yes, the commercial uses the phrase "toxic masculinity," cites the #MeToo movement (see my 2017 analysis on #MeToo here), and uses the cliché "boys will be boys." Yes, the commercial doesn't mention that there are women who bully and harass, although it's equally true that "men commit a lot more violence than women, sexual harassment is undeniably a problem in many workplaces, and boys should be raised not to attack each other." However, there was no call to bring down the patriarchy or to reassess traditional gender roles. There was no message that "all men are bad." As a matter of fact, the people who were correcting the undesirable behavior in the commercial were other males. There were men in the commercial exhibiting bad behavior, but there were also men in the commercial exhibiting positive behavior. The commercial is not condemning masculinity, but rather certain forms of behavior conducted under the guise of masculinity. The solution is not the feminization of masculinity or men, but men taking initiative towards better behavior. In the Gillette commercial, more masculinity is the solution to the problem.

In 2014, I wrote a detailed piece differentiating hypermasculinity from a healthier form of masculinity. Masculinity is more complex than a simplistic form of machismo. It allows room for men to care, express emotions, show emotions, and yes, even cry once in a while. Going more to the heart of the commercial, the commercial shows that masculinity is not about forcing yourself onto others or causing others harm. In the late 19th century to early 20th century, masculinity was not only about exuding personal strength and resilience, but being strong enough to hold up others and to hold others to a higher standard. As Ernest Hemingway said, "there is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." When examining this definition of masculinity in context of the Gillette commercial, it actually portrays a more traditional definition of masculinity. The commercial is a portrayal of honesty, self-reliance, and virtue, one in which men can be their best and in which male toughness is the solution to the problem, which makes the Right's criticism of the commercial even more perplexing.

Ben Shapiro is right in that boys need strong male role models so they could become strong men. Interestingly enough, that is exactly what the end of the Gillette commercial was getting at: the need for men to be strong role models for boys and other men. As Mona Charen stated, the commercial should not be viewed "as reproof of masculinity per se, but rather as a critique of bullying, boorishness, and sexual misconduct." Values of honesty, moral rectitude, or respect for one's fellow are not "leftist or socialist priorities." Men treating others with respect instead of harming them is part of civil society, regardless of gender or political identity. It's called being a mensch, and it's something we should encourage.

Is this an attempt for Gillette to make more money? Perhaps. Is it possible that it is an attempt to start a dialogue on healthy masculinity? I would say so. What I would say is that while the commercial did not capture every last nuance in the debate, it did get us talking about the issue.