Yes this is a hair vitamins blog but I'm feeling the need to wade in on the Gillette #METOO debacle as I've just been talking to my cousin about this and we're both totally on opposite sides of the fence right now.
If you haven't see it, Gillette have just released this advert that went viral within 48 hours. The advert shows guys shrugging off situations of bullying, catcalling and mansplaining as plain old "boys will be boys", Gillette then contrast this with scenes of Terry Crews, a sexual assault survivor, testifying in front of congress "Men need to hold other men accountable"
So where's all the outrage coming from? When in the world did it become a bad thing to stop a fight or not let bullying happen.
Piers Morgan, professional blowhard and British breakfast TV host, his pulled his tongue out of Donald Trump's asshole for 30 seconds, to share his outrage in his right wing column, "
"Gone is the celebration of men.In its place is an ugly, vindictive two-minute homage to everything that’s bad about men and masculinity"
So Terry Crews, saying we should hold each other accountable is apparently grinding Piers' gears.
My cousin put it to me a different way. The advert is showing all guys in the worst possible light, not all of us are perverts, bullies and sex offenders, why would they think 'I' the Gillette customer, am?
Natural, masculine traits of play fighting and chasing after girls have suddenly become this horrible nasty thing that everyone has to be protected against? In his words, "They're trying to get us to not be, us?"
I don't agree. The ad is all about telling guys to step in and not let bad things happen, as the "Boys watching today, will be the men of tomorrow".
And let's not forget, certain aspects of masculinity are intentensly harmful. Suicide remains the most common cause of death for men aged 20-49 in the UK. Men are suffering with mental distress, but may not be receiving (or indeed asking for) the help they need.
Depression is typically found to be more difficult to diagnose in men. This may be because men don't tend to complain about the typical symptoms, more often than not, it's the physical symptoms of depression that lead them to visit their doctor.
Netdoctor.co.uk highlights that the lifetime rate of depression is 12% in women and 8% in men. This marked difference could however be due to fewer men seeking help for depression.
So let's not forget that there are aspects of masculinity we can certainly do without.
And as Gillette's share price rises and they continue to generate hundreds of millions of dollars of free publicity, we want to know, which side are you on? Did the ad piss you off as much as it did my cousin? Leave your comments below and we'll reply to every single one.
