The mutiny against Gillette’s ad shows why we need movements like #MeToo

Critics ignore the explicit message of the advert, which is that gender is culturally constructed, and that we all have a responsibility to shape the future of our society

Latest News: 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 Movement  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 take positive action, has been met by a major backlash.

The YouTube video of the ad had more than 200,000 comments just a few days after going live. The numbers of likes have hit 387,000. More tellingly, the number of dislikes exceeds 796,000.

Contain Source By Business Standard  OR  BS

#MeToo: India Today Exec Editor Gaurav Sawant accused of sexual assault

The allegations have been made by award-winning journalist Vidya Krishnan, who says that the incident happened in 2003 when she was working at The Pioneer

India Today’s executive editor and top TV anchor Gaurav Sawant has been accused of sexual assault. The allegations have been made by Vidya Krishnan, who was the health editor at The Hindu newspaper in New Delhi till last month. The case has been investigated and reported by the Caravan magazine’s Nikita Saxena.

Krishnan says that the incident took place in 2003 when she was working at The Pioneer newspaper, which was run by Chandan Mitra, a former member of parliament. The allegations include that he touched the fellow woman journalist’s breasts, asked her to bathe with him, displayed his genitals to her and physically forced her to touch his genitals.

The Wire has reached out to Gaurav Sawant, India Today, Chandan Mitra and Vidya Krishnan for responses. This report will updated as and when they do respond. In a late night tweet, Sawant said, “The article published by Caravan is irresponsible, baseless, and completely false. I am talking to my lawyers and will take full legal action. So grateful to my family, friends, and viewers for their support.”

NDTV reported the response they received from the India Today group: “The article is distressing to read. Unfortunately, we are in no position to comment on it or investigate the matter since Gaurav Sawant was not employed with us in 2003. Nevertheless, Mr. Sawant has been asked to provide an explanation. Besides dismissing the allegations entirely, he has informed us that he is consulting lawyers to seek legal remedy.”

Business Standard OR BS

#Metoo: Sushant Singh Rajput denies harassment issue by Sanjana Sanghi

In his defence, Sushant Singh shared screenshots of their SMS conversation and called it a “smear campaign”

Latest News : Sushant Singh Rajput has been accused of sexual misconduct by his “Kizie Aur Manny” co-star Sanjana Sanghi. In his defence, the actor shared screenshots of their SMS conversation and called it a “smear campaign”.

Sushant on Friday tweeted snapshots of his conversation with Sanjana from the first day to the last day of the film’s shoot, and |BS|captioned it: “I feel sad to reveal personal information but it seems that there is no other way to state what was, in the midst of this curated and well-timed smear campaign.

Sanjana has accused the 32-year-old actor of behaving inappropriately on the sets of the movie, saying he made her feel “uncomfortable” with his “overly friendly behaviour” during the shoot in Jodhpur.

Read More: Sushant Singh Rajput

On Thursday, Twitteratis pointed at Sushant’s missing blue verification tick on the micro-blogging platform following the claims.

However, Sushant on Friday clarified: “For all those deliberately using the missing of Twitter ‘blue tick’ to substantiate their false claims, allow me to tell you that it is not there since September 5. Get your facts checked before jumping to conclusions that you so eagerly want to.

Business Standard