THE GILLETTE TOXIC MASCULINITY COMMERCIAL, AND THE BEST WE CAN BE – FOUR POEMS IN AN ESSAY

Oluwakemi Amusan

Introduction

In January 2019, Gillette aired a commercial targeted at men. The commercial highlights toxic masculinity and asks men to re-consider their ideas of the best a man can be. It was however considered a misfire and an attempt to commercially capitalize on an ongoing controversy about the shortfalls of a patriarchal society. This opinion spread among men, who are deemed to be the utmost beneficiary of said patriarchal society.

While it is understandable that the first allegation of toxicity or dysfunction in today’s (patriarchal) society will be men, it is important to note that toxic masculinity is not peculiar to the male sex, and toxic femininity is not peculiar to the female sex.

I like to think of sex in this context as the biological variation that makes a person male or female or intersex, while gender is an expression of feminine and masculine variations in an individual, in line with social constructs.

Beyond the design, functionality, gender, sexual orientation, strength, socialization, culture and hormones, both feminine and masculine energies exist within all sexes, and genders, in varying amounts.

This implies that when either of these energies is not balanced, we have a capacity to express toxic behaviors. Women have as much capacity to express toxic masculine behavior as a man have the capacity to express toxic feminine behaviors.

Consideration of this complexity by the Gillette commercial, would perhaps, have lessened the outrage that resulted from men being once again singled out to be rebuked, and by a capitalistic company at that.