One of the gripes I have with the ad and one of the reasons why I think it misses its mark a little bit is how it portray toxic masculinity as only perpetuated by men, for example during the "boys will be boys" symbolic scene with all the men in a line parroting the line only men are present, but I feel like both genders indulge in the perpetuation of toxic masculinity in society. It ain't only dads that say "boys will be boys", plenty of mothers do too(which is one of the reasons why I find unfair that the maternal figures seen in the ad are only portrayed as accepting and nothing else), and should have been a part of the ad, especially regarding the "held each other accountable part". Same thing with the bulling scenes, girls bully "hyper masculine non-conforming" boys very often(I sadly know personally way too much about this).
I think the ad misses its mark because it focuses exclusively on the male part of responsibility while pretty much ignoring the female part, which I think is still pretty important when talking about this issue. Toxic masculinity is a gender relations problem that bite it's own tail, I think the ad should have focus on everyone's responsibility and need to be better. And yeah I get that Gillette is predominantly a men brand but the message it wanted to portray is an important one and I think it needed to be more inclusive and complete.
You are certainly correct that lots of women perpetuate and encourage
certain hyper-masculine, toxic masculine, and related behaviors along with stereotypes that can intentionally or unintentionally pressure boys and men into less than ideal attitudes, actions, and beliefs about their role and how they interact with the world. Bullying of boys in particular is a very real thing, as are certain pressures.
However. In the final analysis, the ultimate source of those caricatures and images are
men. Examining the negative role that women sometimes play is VERY far down list of issues impacting and perpetuating toxic masculinity. It probably disappears entirely if men just get their shit together. And as for this ad: It was an ad for men, about men
talking to and encouraging other men. There's plenty of space and opportunity to address tertiary/tangential of issues...
after we take care of our own house. In short: Worry less about women and more about the men who have principle control over the atmosphere and the tone and tenor of discussion around this subject.
