I get the uproar. For us men, shaving in the morning is one of the last vestiges of our absolute maleness. In front of a steam-covered mirror, towel draped over the shoulder, it might as well be 1951. #MeToo? Not up in here. Now Gillette wants us to look at that man in the mirror - that beautiful specimen standing razor in hand, foam dripping to the floor - and ask whether this is the best he can be. It's an outrage.
But the world is bigger than a bathroom and sexual harassment is wrong. It's frankly unbelievable that so many men, some of them educated, have come out so vehemently against what is really a valiant effort from a brand to change the status quo. Unbelievable, but not unexpected.
The male ego is covered with a very thin layer of very sensitive skin. Gillette of all brands should have realised that. Men do not like to be challenged or questioned either emotionally or behaviourally. How to be wrong with grace - to accept defeat - is simply not in the training manual for most of us.
Recently I sat and listened as a man explained to me and various others that if it flies, floats or fornicates, rent, don't buy. I was shocked. Even more so when I saw our jester's wife wasn't. He was just being him, the look on her face said. Boys will be boys. He didn't mean anything by it.
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