A photograph posted by a U.S. Army veteran has gone viral after it was deliberately directed at Gillette in response to the razor manufacturer’s recent advert encouraging men to treat other people with respect and speak out against toxic masculinity.
The photograph, posted by Graham Allen, shows the former soldier standing with his three young children, his two sons holding weapons either side of his daughter. The caption stated that the family was practicing their own “toxic masculinity” and rejected Gillette’s advice regarding how he should raise his children.
What isn’t clear from the deliberately provocative post is how the right to bear arms and educate children on the safe use of weapons is at odds with the messages underpinning Gillette’s advert. Gillette’s advert urges people to reject sexual harassment, bullying, and attitudes towards gender that perpetuate stereotypes. Standing up for the rights of marginalized genders, speaking out against sexually inappropriate behavior, and discouraging aggression does not mean a rejection of traditional gender roles, in the same way that traditional gender roles are not a prerequisite for gun ownership or gun rights advocacy.
Gillette’s advert sparked huge debate last week and has since garnered more than 23 million views and more than 300,000 comments on YouTube. Many have objected to Gillette’s message, though most responses have been more considered and thought through than this photograph. As Yahoo Lifestyle notes, Allen has not responded to requests for comment.
Lead image via Pixabay.
And what about veterans who aren't triggered idiots like this moron? Are you going to thank them or deny their service?
It's more than obvious to a rational person that the term "toxic masculinity" disparages all men. Just as the term "toxic photographers'" or "toxic fill-in-the-blank" of your favorite minority would smear all of them, not just the odd bully among them. And why does Mr. Day find the post deliberately provocative when all the man is doing is pushing back against being belittled and stained by a false narrative? If Mr. Day finds a disconnect between the photograph and the message, I should advise him to look around, for there are millions such photos in the world. I suspect Mr. Day simply doesn't like the photo, the guns, and its message. And that makes it a pretty effective image...
"Toxic Gas" doesn't mean all gas is toxic... Oxygen is pretty good for us right?
"Venomous snakes" doesn't mean all snakes are venomous... but we can agree that certain ones are right?
"Toxic Water" doesn't mean that we should stop drinking water... but drinking too much of it in one sitting would kill a human. You probably see where I'm going here.
In the same line of logic as listed above, Toxic Masculinity doesn't mean masculinity is inherently wrong. Toxic levels are when that measurement of masculinity is used to harm others. It was shown in the ad as groups of bullies picking on weaker victims. Or men treating women as inferior..... Why wouldn't we want more people striving to be a hero to others?
It would be toxic masculinity if someone pointed out that this fathers son is wearing a pink dress shirt. Some might find some derogatory words to label that boy...
Sure, the commercial was stupid coming form a mens razor brand... I'm not going to argue that. But I certainly wouldn't let it trigger me. People are looking for reasons to be outraged and soapbox these days. Apparently we're all snowflakes.
You are, indeed, splitting hairs in your attempt to minimize the definition of "toxic". We all know what the word toxic means.
I don't understand your use of the term "trigger". Was the board of directors at the razor company "triggered" by social justice warriors to do something about masculinity? Was it the family man who posted the photo "triggered" by the "toxic masculinity" ad? Am I "triggered" by disagreeing with Mr. Day's article? Or are you the one who was "triggered" by me?
Don't count me among your snowflakes. And I wouldn't count the family man in the photo as one either if I were you.
I wasn't minimizing the definition just trying to help you understand that context matters. The only thing that needs to be minimized is the over reaction to the ad.
I will always consider you a snowflake, and same with the family man in the article... only because everyone is a snowflake, myself included.
Everyone is a snowflake? Grasshopper no understand your mystical perspective.
🤗
How many people have been banned for not being liberal?
Zero, but to hear the idiots reichwingers put it, they all are being persecuted just because people aren't putting up with their rudeness anymore.
"idiots reichwingers" What?
Oh, go ahead and say something.
Fortunately kids often rebel against their parents. I hope this kids do.
With the hostility and intent of trolling Gillette and the MAGA knee jerk tone, I also have to wonder if there was intent in choosing a cotton field as the setting given the history of cotton plantains in the past presumably “when America was great."
Was Gillette not trolling the men that buy their products?
Please keep your non-photography related politics to yourself. I'm here for photography/videography news. Thanks!
Please use your ability as a human to pick and choose which articles you decide to read. Is someone holding a gun to your head?
I feel sorry for his kids.
Deliberately Provocative to who? Just a dad stating his take on an ad. Not everyone feels like we have to be force fed an agenda from companies we used to buy products from.
Come on. It's blatantly obvious that the ad was intended to be provocative. And your second point has nothing to do with your first.
This dad takes an attempt to send a positive message as an attack on his right to bear arms? No where in the ad was their a mention of gun control... Am I missing something?
He dresses his kid in pink though... I thought that as feminine. Masculine does not automatically equal Toxic Masculinity. They are not the same thing.
"Well if all masculinity isn’t toxic, the what the hell is toxic masculinity"
If all water isn't toxic, THEN what the hell is toxic water? I'll let you think that one out.
Nope, I would rather have an old friend of mine who looked like a regular Joe but was a double black belt. The guy was amazing to watch. Can't judge a book by the cover.
We always think we're in the right because we judge ourselves by our intentions but we don't give others the same opportunity because we judge them by their behavior. Meaning, it might be difficult to identify when we do things that are actually viewed negatively to an outside group because we don't have the benefit of their perspective. Self awareness can be a tricky thing to keep up with when we're so sure of ourselves.
"not a goddamed one of them are toxic and I’m not toxic."
Says you right? Not trying to make this personal but that's quite absolute. From your comment history on FStoppers you've made statements that others might see as a bit toxic. You're not flawed? Infallible? Capable of poor judgement?
Of course! I always consider that I might not have the full picture. You've also made the mistake assuming that I don't agree with anything because it's conservative.
You've seemed to miss the point about the comment with the pink shirt. I was just trying to point out what ultra masculine champions might say about that shirt. It's not a point of view I personally own just one that I know exists and would contradict your description of Mr Allen as being all about masculinity. It would be TOXIC masculinity to say that kid can't be a man if he wears pink. See what I'm getting at?
"So far my family has only done things to help people, because that is how me and their mom raised our kids, so no they’re not toxic."
I get it. You strive to live by the moral compass you were raised under but it would be extremely naive to say you or anyone else were never in the wrong. I'm not excluding myself in this either.
"Of course when a conservative comments the left tries to not only impugn that person, they call the person evil, I don’t play that, it is just a difference of political opinion."
You keep making blanket statements as if the extreme is representative of the majority. Comments and outrage on the internet is not a good way to take the temperature of the population as a whole.
Getting back to the point of Gillet's message in their ad (again I think it was a dumb commercial) about toxic masculinity. As a self proclaimed libertarian, don't you agree that it would be harmful to control what others do as free man by labeling them as "not a real man", "sissy", or any homophobic slur? I think the messaging in the commercial was supposed to make us stop and think about how that type of labeling might be hurting how we as men act. Instead putting people into a box and picking on them when they don't exactly meet our personal definition of manliness, let them be free to be the best version of themselves.
Here's my take on the Gillette advertisement.
https://medium.com/@kennethjarecke/dear-gillette-were-done-here-12ba5d85...
Something tells me if the photo was promoting a liberal viewpoint, the title would have included "powerful message".
Can you fill us in on exactly how many "marginalized genders" there are in the world? I take issue with the "marginalized" label and I stopped counting genders at two.
I would think the bigger issue on a photo forum is whether the picture was taken with a phone, a dslr or mirrorless considering the usual hype over such subjects lately.
Excellent trigger discipline exhibited by all concerned. Good job Dad.
Allen is playing the emotions of the situation just as much as Gillette, and IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. A quick search shows that he is known "The Daily Rants Guy" and has a show on Blaze TV. He's pushing for more followers/viewers which, in turn, means MORE MONEY.
If the general population would take a moment to study the true intentions of these loud-mouthed jackasses that get both sides so triggered, we'd all realize they're just playing us for suckers so they can make more money.
It's a game, not a cause. Don't be the pawn.
BEAUTIFUL, ALL-AMERICAN FAMILY.
This photo is everything that is good about humanity and our nation.
So if I post a shot of my friend and his family they wouldn't be as everything that is good about humanity as this guy?
My friend literally saves lives every day- he is the director of medicine in ICU at a huge hospital, and works in life-threatening situations all the time. That is far more good about humanity than this guy posting this ridiculous image.
Many men in the United States falsely believe that masculinity is intrinsically tied to guns and weapons hence the obsession with firearms and glorification of war and the military.
Oof, seems a little heavy on the magenta-side of the spectrum, with some chromatic abberation at the edges of the treeline on the horizon. Could be whatever instagram-filter they threw on, could be Facebook-compression. A little fill flash would've been nice to light up their eyes a bit. Otherwise, decent pose, adequately lit. Anyone else got strong opinions about this?