Together they represent a new masculinity, one that’s sensitive, thoughtful, creative and unafraid to be who they are.”
Masculinity has certainly been the word of the week. Gillette razor-makers repurposed their famous slogan ‘The Best A Man Can Get’ to put out this ad challenging sexism.
It took some flak for portraying men in a negative light, but the 16-year-old (male) ballet and tap dancer we asked about it took one look and said, “Huh, high time.” Not because men overall are shown in a negative way, but because there is some behaviour “that could be improved,” he said.
“Probably my peers are the group that’s most at fault here because things that seem like just a bit of a joke can get out of hand.” Do the girls call the boys out on it? “Sometimes they do; usually they ignore it or go and cry in the bathroom. I haven’t actually put a stop to anything, but I think an ad like this is useful.”
As a little boy doing ballet, he himself was subjected to “lots of pink-and-frill jokes. Now I find there’s more weirdness around men being dancers at all than taking ballet classes. I’ve got one classmate who still doesn’t know I dance. He says men ‘shouldn’t be dancers.’ I just laugh to myself.”
A Spanish business owner in her forties said she found the Gillette campaign “valiente” (courageous). She winced at the 30-second point (boardroom vignette), saying, “I have girl friends telling me about this kind of thing all the time.”
Her (male) business partner crushed the notion that the ad shows men in a negative light. “No, there are all kind of guys there, some of them stopping the bad behaviours. I think it’s an optimistic ad. I like it.”
Practically alongside the Gillette ad’s appearance, 24-year-old pop star Harry Styles (formerly of One Direction) interviewed hot young actor Timothée Chalamet (‘Call Me By My Name’, ‘Beautiful Boy’) for this broad-ranging piece in Vice and i-D.
Like our teenage dancer, Styles grew up with a mother and sister. “I think there’s so much masculinity in being vulnerable and allowing yourself to be feminine,” he says, in the segment where he and Chalamet (referred to in the intro at the top of this blog) discuss modern masculinity.
“I would be so thrilled to know that the roles I’m playing are instigating change in some way,” says Chalamet, 23, on that topic.
Read next: This Week: The 10 Most Talked About TV Ads On Social
You might also like
More from Featured
TikTok Is Now Banned On All Devices Issued By The US House Of Representatives
The chief administrative office of the House issued a directive establishing TikTok, the popular social media app, as a security …
New Burger King STAYCOOLNYC Hoodie Keeps Your Whopper Warm
The limited edition Burger King STAYCOOLNYC hoodie with two built-in pockets with insulated warming technology.It might be getting cold outside …
How To Create Instagram Notes (And Delete Them!)
Instagram Notes are a new feature launched by Instagram that allows users to share posts containing only text and Emojis.Instagram …
Delta To Offer Free In-Flight WiFi
Delta Airlines is reportedly making every passenger’s dream come true: free in-flight WiFi starting early next year.The airline has reportedly …
This A.I. Artist Depicts Your Favorite Movie Characters Riding The Subway Home
This creative is using Midjourney to depict some of our favorite movie characters riding the subway home after a long …
TikTok Is Testing A Full-Screen Horizontal Mode
The new TikTok Full-screen horizontal mode means Creators could now create a single video that's optimized for both TikTok and …
Apple Could Soon Allow Third-Party App Stores On The iPhone
Upcoming EU rules could mean Apple will have to allow third-party app stores on the iPhone starting in 2024.The news …
Downy Releases Its Super Bowl Ad 2 Months Before The Game
Downy waited 11 years to return to the Super Bowl, and they are doing so by releasing their campaign two …
Apple Enhances Security with End-to-End Encryption for iCloud Backups
Apple is expanding its iCloud security features and introducing support for security keys for two-factor authentication.TL;DR; – Apple has announced …