By David Futrelle
Gillette’s new ad challenging toxic masculinity has got a lot of people talking. Unfortunately, most of them seem to be angry dudes attacking Gillette for challenging them to be “The Best Men Can Be,” and using the ad as an excuse to call other men “soy boys,” cucks, sissies, pansies and f***ots.
The ad, which took on an assortment of related issues ranging from bullying to sexual harassment, has gotten 5.6 million views on YouTube since it was released Sunday. It’s also gotten more than 400,000 “dislikes,” nearly four times the number of likes.
If you haven’t seen it yet, here it is. I have mixed feelings about giant corporations trying to position themselves as progressive entities, but the ad itself is pretty good, as these things go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPmuEyP3a0
So what are the online, er, critics saying? I spent a while reading through some of the reactions on Twitter, where the video was also posted, and, well, let’s just say that, just as comments on any article about feminism prove the need for feminism, Tweets about videos challenging toxic masculinity prove the need for videos challenging toxic masculinity.
Let’s start with Jeffrey here, who conveys some of the flavor of the response with this weird attack on Ana Kasparian of The Young Turks, who appears briefly in the video as an example of a journalist talking about the #MeeToo movement.
But most of the attacks weren’t misogynist attacks on women; they were, rather, misogynistic attacks on the allegedly insufficient masculinity of the Gillette executives behind the ad, and on those the ad was designed to appeal to.
Did I say men? I meant “soy boys.” Or at least that’s what the commenters meant.
Apparently, all the excess testosterone in these manly men’s systems has rendered them incapable of original thought. These aren’t the most creative of people.
Still, some eschewed the “soy boy” insult in favor of assorted old-school insinuations of inadequate manhood.
Others mixed-and-matched old and new school insults with gleeful abandon.
Others descended into straight-up homophobic attacks:
Others went with everyone’s favorite transphobic slur.
Such an inventive play on Gillette’s famous slogan “The Best a Man Can Get.”
And it’s not like anyone else thought of that joke. Oh, wait.
Yes, I’ll have the combo, please.
On second thought, I’ll have one with everything.
But perhaps the strangest contribution to this whole debate that I ran across while, er, researching this piece by bumbling around on Twitter came from our old friend Stefan Molyneux, the culty Canadian “philosopher” and YouTube blabber, who had this observation about the ad:
Stefan is suggesting, in a sly if not-quite-plausibly deniable way, that the ad is somehow going easy on Jewish men and exempting them from the “toxic masculinity” accusations, almost as if there were some big Jewish conspiracy on Madison Avenue to go along with the one in Hollywood.
How do I know this is what he’s getting at? Molyneux is an increasingly open anti-Semite who pretends to oppose anti-Semitism; he regularly tweets regurgitated anti-Semtiic talking points and, in a tweet the other day he explicitly denied that he has any Jewish blood in him. Which is evidently a big concern in the circles he hangs out in these days.
My question, of course, is how he can tell that none of the guys in the ad are Jewish. I mean, there are a LOT of boys and men in the ad, and it kind of seems statistically likely that at least a couple of them are Jewish. But evidently Stefan’s Jewdar is better than mine.
Turns out Stefan wasn’t the only one thinking about Jews. So were these guys, and they weren’t quite so subtle as Stefan in their tweets.
(I’m not quite sure how this fellow decided she was Jewish; I found no indications as to her religion online. “Gehring” is a German name but as far as I can tell not one specifically associated with Jews. Not that anti-Semites are big on accuracy.)
So I guess the problem isn’t just that a lot of men are poisoned by toxic masculinity. I guess a lot of them are also Nazis, who turn every discussion into an opportunity to talk shit about Jews.
I mean, we knew that already. But how convenient to be reminded of both facts so colorfully in this little collection of tweets.
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@Jenora Feuer:
More like millennia. That’s pretty much been the MO of European civilization for all of written history, probably longer. If anything, the recent surge in progress has finally resulted in a genuine threat to the thousands-years old power structures, and what we’re seeing is push-back.
On the one hand, corporations aren’t the good guys (are there good guys?)
On the other hand, at least Gillette is using it’s power over the media for good. Whatever their green-hearted motives, this video will have some impact and help a generation of young people see what we’re fighting for. So, good on Gillette. I’m actually in the market for a new razor, so I guess I’ll throw some money at them.
@wwth
Apparently, it’s because the soy products eaten by East Asians are fermented soy, which somehow neutralizes the phytoestrogens or something. Doesn’t make any sense to me, either; while some soy-based foods are fermented, such as soy sauce and miso, others such as tofu and soy milk aren’t, and edamame are just boiled and salted in the bean pod.
@Jane Done
This is not true.
I don’t get it. This ad valorizes men who act as moral guides, fatherly protectors, and, well, guardians of a civil society. How is that not real masculinity? Looks pretty damn traditionally masculine to me.
@AsAboveSoBelow
I was thinking the same thing. The framing is very much about men protecting boys or protecting women, and modeling that behavior for others. Considering how often the manosphere brays about how women should be grateful (read: sexually available) because men protect them, you’d think this ad would go over pretty well.
Oh, gosh. I forgot that the manosphere doesn’t always mean what they say.
Old git who shaves his face here. Gillette want to be progressive, good luck to ’em. Their ads won’t put me off, though I’m more interested in whether the product works as intended. I find a shave refreshing rather than anything I associated with my gender identity.
Have to admit having sideburns that make me look like Wolverine’s grandad though – I leave that bit as there are times the Parkinson’s world have me doing a Vincent.
@rv97:
Ah, I remember being young and afraid of the world… and for the world. There was the constant threat of nuclear annihilation. The US was only the “good guys” in the sense that they treated their own citizens less shitty than the Soviet Union, and stood as a deterrent against the Soviets conquering Western Europe; otherwise, they were every bit as much of an Evil Empire. Reagan and Thatcher were the worst things to happen to the global economy, worker’s rights, and the environment. AIDS was being ignored because it was a disease of f**s and n*****s even as it threatened to spread to other populations, because who cares about those subhumans. Most of the former hippies proved that they had only a superficial commitment to the hippy ideals of peace, love, and goodwill… they just wanted casual sex and no draft. Once they had those, they settled down to become good little citizens. Vulture capitalism, job exportation, immigrant blaming, the drug war, and so on. It was all too much.
For my own part, I did (and still do) on-and-off LGBTQIA+ and sex work activism, since those are closest to my own interests – I’m bi, and did some sex work in the early ’90s. I don’t try to handle everything. No one can. Pick and choose not just your battles, but also your wars, and let others handle everything else.
As for how the world changed since my youth? Some things have gotten better. Some things have changed, but not really improved yet – though at least it feels like a game of musical chairs where, instead of taking away chairs, we’re slowly whittling away avenues for fuckery. A few things have gotten worse. The internet has brought the horrible people who lurked in dark corners to the light of day; while it allows them to find each other, it also allows us to find each other and them. It’s a long, slow grind, with major victories coming after decades of hard work, and we do it for future generations as much as ourselves.
It’s okay to feel overwhelmed, but overwhelmed need not lead despair.
Oh this part is my favourite part of the whole soy turns the frogs gay nonsense they’re on about. Because yes, you’re right – they’re talking about phytoestrogens, which have the word estrogen in it, so it’s clearly a scary female thing that no manly man would want to ingest willingly.
But – oh god, this is hard to explain – okay, look. I will do it with pictures.
Here’s estradiol, which is what most people mean when they say “estrogen”:
And here’s a generic phytoestrogen they’re talking about:
I mean, they all have some rings, right? Pretty scary! I bet they act just like estrogen in a human!
But – but wait. What’s that sound I hear?
Is that the sound of some science???
Feast your eyes on this chemical and ask yourself – which of those two above is it most similar to?
Looks much closer to the estradiol than the isoflavone, right?
Know what it is?
…
It’s fuckin’ testosterone
These saucy bitches. I have no words. Only many, many giggles.
I generally liked the add, especially because there were men of colour in it, being active, not just in the background. It is virtue signalling, because Gillette is in it to sell razors, not to do a damn other thing. But if it gives people the idea that letting their boys torment and harass the hell out of other kids is even remotely Not Okay, then that means one less kid goes through the horror and life-altering injuries and PTSD bullying and assault in school caused me. And if that’s threatening to masculinity, well. It’s not like I count to MRAssholes anyway, because I’m a trans man and therefore Not A Real Man. Someone make me a soy latte, please, I do feel parched.
Still not shaving my beard, though. It is small but it’s taken me 2 years of T shots to get this far. Sorry, Gillette, I don’t like your ad that much. And when I do shave, it’s with an old-school safety razor and Russian razor blades branded Sputnik. (I’m so not joking, they’re amazing.) Someday, this Hobbit will have the Dwarven beard of his dreams. Someday.
@Alex
Safety razors for the win! I do prefer Wilkinson Sword blades though. Seem to last better.
@jane,
Oh gosh yes that is basically me in that picture. You nailed it!
Yeah, the whole traditional macho scene is beyond silly. Blind beyond all reason. But great to mock :3
Discussing this ad on FarceBook today, too!!
It don’t bother me, not a damn bit! I know better than to believe the mega-corporations are, or are ever going to be “progressive” — they’re capitalists, pure-dee.
But I have noticed an encouraging number of advertisements with a lot of diverse (or at least diverse-looking) people, and an encouraging number which seem to be seeking to start/maintain a conversation about social conscience.
I say “ride that horse as long as it’ll run”!!!
@ Scildfreja:
You’re a treasure, you TRULY are!!
From an evolutionary perspective, I’d expect estrogen and testosterone to be really similar, as they probably used to be the same, and split sometime around the time we (we meaning “critters”) invented sex.
That is a guess, but it makes sense given analogous organs…. I better study this… when I get a minnit….
@Jane Done and @Scildfreja Unnyðnes
I’ve also been mystified by the association these types insist on between their world-view, presenting one’s gender as traditionally masculine, and certain occupations, and, yes, choices about food.
As if I cannot drive a truck, like my coffee black most of the time but drink a soy latte when I feel like, support progressive causes, read feminist-written history, jump out of airplanes, not like bullies, all at the same time? [OK, not literally all at the same time but, yeah, I like doing all that.]
And to amplify what Wanda says, it seems like I *never* see these types who claim to be so masculine with traditionally attractive women as their partners.
I remember when, RooshV I think, would mock those photos of some guys wearing a “this is what a feminist looks like shirt”; every once in a while I laugh imagining I should do that, like at the range or something with Ms. Pavlov’s House [conventionally attractive, long blonde hair, big blue eyes and all] snuggled up against me but, eh, after all I’d rather have someone else be the center of attention.
@Pavlovs House,
Yeah. Funny enough, the black coffee and big trucks and loud disdain for feminism? That’s all virtue signalling. They’re just signalling conservative virtues.
Plenty of those dorks drink iced cappucinos in the summer.
@Scildfreja Unnyðnes
Incisive observation on your part, brilliantly stated, as always.
Also, many appear to lack the physical vigor and conditioning they claim to champion as an indicator the masculinity they advocate. I find that interesting as well.
[OK, everybody stop writing such astute comments. You all made me hang out here rather than work on the article I said I would work on tonight. Meanies.]
[kidding, obviously. the intelligence here is uplifting]
Darn it. Missed the edit window. That was supposed to read “…as an indicator of the masculinity they advocate.”
I’m a woman and a feminist and I prefer black coffee to fancy expensive sugary coffee drinks. Although I do like the coffee dessert type things every so often. I’m always amused by the black coffee = manly thing. My mom also drinks her coffee black. My dad drinks it with milk and brown sugar.
@Scildfreja Unnyðnes
Yes, the entire phytoestrogen angle is arrant nonsense prima facie. Looking at how they try to rationalize their way into #NotAllSoy is mildly entertaining.
@WWTH:
So does Captain Janeway:
“Listen to me VERY carefully, because I’m only going to say this once: Coffee. Black.”
Maybe that’s why I don’t hate her like so many others seem to do.
@Ariblester:
I am not referring to the “Christians destroyed everything” talking point of angry atheists. Restriction or control of knowledge is a repeating theme in rigid hierarchical structures, the latter being something which ancient Greeks and Romans were very much practitioners of.
In fact, the very first written mention (AFAIK) of gold and silver being used as a literary device to rank the value of human beings was in Plato’s Republic (pg 271, last paragraph).
Not to mention, evidence suggests that the agricultural revolution coincided with the dawn of patriarchy.
My use of the phrase “European civilization” is meant in the mostly literal sense: civilizations of white people in the geological area of what is now referred to as Europe, and the time frame I gave, written history (3500 BCE – present day), is intended to clarify that.
I like the ad. Most ads try to make you feel bad, or inadequate in some way. This one is trying to lift people up.
It seems like such a gigantic self-own to yowl about the end of masculinity when someone suggests “don’t be a jerk”. It’s similar to the way Trumpers automatically infer anti-Trump sentiment from speeches that gently remind people that decency, integrity, and honor still exist. They get all indignant about the imaginary slight: DECENCY!?!! HOW DARE YOU MAKE TRUMP LOOK BAD BY MENTIONING THINGS HE DOESN’T HAVE!
If intervening and rescuing people in trouble is so soy, then by their logic firefighters, military, EMTs, and superheroes must be among the biggest cucks.
All the Asian-Ontarians who voted for a party that ran on bigotry and cruelty instead of a costed platform last year need to take a long and hard look at the kind of people they’re enabling and allying with because this is just sad.
Also while we’re on the subject of demon-slaying spears:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMmsRQ-NehY
@Ariblester
Interesting website! I guess it just goes to show that maybe the “New Atheist” movement was closer ideologically to the religious right than the secular progressives all along, and their arguments with Christians were little more than theological differences.
WWTH mentioned H. Bomberguy, so I dug up these gems of his.
First, the one where he sends up Pajamapants Watson and all his spittle-flecked, supplement-shilling nonsense:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8dfiDeJeDU
(Spoiler: there’s SOY in them thar manhood pills!)
Then, the one where he gets his own T-levels checked (spoiler: they’re above average, as you may have guessed from his receding hairline) and goes on a soy-rich diet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MS0TrsI7rE
(‘nother spoiler: it has no effect on his t-levels whatsoever, but if he keeps it up, it could do wonders for his cholesterol levels!)
And finally, the coda to the whole soy-diet experiment, in which he devotes more razzes to Pajamapants & Co.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYXkHIsslD0
Oh, and a special bonus taunt for the Spittle-Flecked One:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOp28hQb_Xw
Needless to say, all the phytoestrogens in those brain-boner pills seem to have made Paulie a bit, erm, TESTY. Kind of like all those woman-haters in the comments section of the Gillette ad who, amusingly, seem to think they know just what kind of man we straight wimminz go for, and that they’re it.
Had I known this would blow up into such a huge kerfuffle today, I’d have stopped in for some soy milk at the health-food store, and picked up some Venus blades while I was at the drugstore this afternoon!
(Not that I’m a particular fan of soy milk OR razorblade corporations, but I’m guessing that there will ultimately be more buycotting than boycotting going on, and I’m anticipating lots more testerical screaming from these shitgibbons as a result.)