Gillette’s latest ad features a Black father teaching his female-to-male transgender child how to shave off chin hairs that grew as a result of taking male hormones.
The new ad comes months after Gillette angered its customer base by shaming manliness as “toxic masculinity.” Gillette saw a dramatic drop in sales after the ‘toxic masculinity’ commercial debuted in January.
The new ad features a touching teaching moment between a father and FtM Canadian artist Samson Brown who is learning to shave for the first time as an adult.
“Now don’t be scared… shaving is about being confident,” says Samson’s father.
In a later scene, seated on a sofa with dad, Samson says she questioned the man she wanted to become while growing up.
“I’m at the point where I’m actually happy,” Samson says.
“It’s not just myself transitioning, it’s everybody around me transitioning,” says Samson.”
“Thank you so much Gillette,” Samson commented under the ad on the company’s Facebook page.
The company responded, “Thank you for sharing your story, Samson! We’re honored to showcase this special moment between you and your father and are proud to have you as a partner. Thank you for your courage and confidence in sharing your journey to becoming your best self!”.
In the controversial “toxic masculinity” ad that aired in January, a narrator asked “Is this the best a man can get?”
The narrator added that toxic masculinity “has been going on far too long. We can’t laugh it off, making the same old excuses.”
The controversial Gillette ad has 791,000 thumbs up and 1.4 million thumbs down on YouTube.
The ads target the Black community because LGBT advocates believe Black people are homophobic.
