Heena Sharma Blog

Gillette’s new ad – “The best men can be”, which plays on the razor brand’s long-held motto, “The best a man can get” – is powerful and emotional, a carefully-spun narrative about the role models young boys see in their daily lives. It tackles bullying, sexual harassment , inequality in the workplace, and sexism on screen, by promoting courage, humility, responsibility, and kindness. It says all of these behaviours make up that complicated construct, “masculinity”. And it challenges viewers to question what sort of behaviour defines manliness. The mutiny against Gillette’s ad reinforces why we need movements like # MeToo and shows how painfully little distance we as a society have covered since it began. In the wake of various high-profile allegations, #MeToo called out unsavoury behaviour that was somehow condoned by society – behaviour that increasingly comes under the umbrella of “toxic masculinity”. Yet Gillette’s ad, which recognises this drive for change and wants to tak...

In the wake of the # MeToo movement , almost 80 per cent of men have become overly cautious in their interactions with women colleagues, according to a report. The study by market research and analysis company Velocity MR, which had over 2,500 respondents across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Chennai, noted that eight out of 10 people said that formal workplace interactions have been highly impacted as a result of the movement . It found that close to 80 per cent of the respondents said fear of losing their career, family reputation, social stigma, and scepticism could be some of the reasons for the victims not reporting the cases earlier. Also, around 70 per cent of the respondents agreed that even after reporting the cases, victims still face threats. The study further observed that close to 50 per cent of the respondents disapproved of victims reporting the abuse later, while two in five males supported the victims saying they are right in repo...