If you thought Gillette hit peak wokeness level with its widely-panned “toxic masculinity” ad, think again. The razor company outdid itself on Thursday, releasing a commercial featuring a father teaching his female-to-male transgender child how to shave her face for the first time.
In a Facebook post, Gillette posted the ad, titled, “First Shave, the Story of Samson,” showcasing trans activist Samson Bonkeabantu Brown shaving for the first time as dad watches and offers advice.
“Whenever, wherever, however it happens – your first shave is special,” the video is captioned.
“Growing up, I was always trying to figure out what kind of man I want to become and I’m still trying to figure out what kind that I want to become,” Brown says in the video.
As the activist begins to shave, Brown’s father advises, “Now don’t be scared. Shaving is about being confident. You are doing fine.”
“It’s not just myself transitioning. It’s everyone around me transitioning,” Brown adds.
The ad closes with a close-up shot on Brown smiling, with overlaying text reading, “The best a man can get.”
“I shot this ad for Gillette and wanted to include my father, who has been one of my greatest supporters throughout my transition, encouraging me to be confident and live authentically as my best self,” Brown posted on Facebook. “With the help of Gillette, I was able to share an important milestone in every man’s life with my father.”
“I am confident that this ad will encourage many of my trans siblings and fill them with the knowledge that our existence in this world can be filled with the love and support we deserve,” the activist wrote. “Be good to yourselves. Love yourselves. And know that when you greet the world with love, it can and will love you back, often in the places you least expect.”
“We anticipated there would be some negative response to this video, however we’re thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive responses we’ve seen, from both consumers as well as organizations,” a statement from Gillette said, according to PEOPLE magazine. “As a brand committed to helping men look, feel and act their best, it’s important to us to embrace inclusivity in how we portray masculinity. This is especially true for Samson and others in the trans community, which is why we created ‘First Shave.’”
While Gillette’s controversial ad tackling “toxic masculinity” earned praise from some on the far left, the company also faced a slew of backlash from consumers. For example, a campaign to boycott the “anti-masculinity” razors grew online in January, as previously reported by The Daily Wire, and the video racked up a stunning 98,000 “dislike” reactions on YouTube, far exceeding the “like” reactions.
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh thoroughly dissected the problems with the ad in January — including Gillette’s stereotyping of men, which Walsh argued would never fly if it had been done with regard to women:
“The ad says that ‘some men’ act the right way. Can you in your wildest and most fevered dreams even imagine the reaction to an ad that spoke about women in these terms? Imagine an ad for Dove body wash that shows women doing stereotypically negative things like gossiping and nagging and shopping too much, and then the narrator comes on: ‘Sure, some women act the right way.’ Feminists would be rioting in the street. They’d storm Dove headquarters and stone the head of marketing to death with loofahs dipped in cement.”
“But no such ad would or could ever exist. Women are not lectured and scolded this way. This sort of treatment is reserved for men. And men are tired of it. We’ve heard it enough. We’re terrible; we’re horrible; we’ve ruined the world. Okay, we get it. Thank you. Now shut up and sell your 14-bladed razors and leave us alone.”
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