PETA's advertisement on toxic masculinity is vulgar, weird and unnecessary
Dear PETA, we get it. The pressure to stay relevant in the woke-era is enormous. One has to constantly brainstorm ideas to cater to new consumers, who have an opinion, are unabashed about their beliefs and don't think twice before calling a spade, spade. And when Gillette gets toxic masculinity right, you want to cash in on the trend too. But your new (old) advertisement on toxic masculinity is plain vulgar.
For those who didn't get the Gillette reference, we have got you covered. A few days ago, Gillette released an advertisement with the tagline: Is this the best a man can get? Modeled around the #MeToo movement, the company put the onus on men to change things. Calling out toxic masculinity of their brothers could be the first step, the hard-hitting video told us.
Unsurprisingly, the Gillette ad hurt sentiments of many who slammed the company for targeting men. Nevertheless, we were impressed. Just as the world of internet was reeling from the Gillette ad, PETA decided to pull up one of their old clips and ended up ruining vegetables for everyone. The clip was first released in 2012 and received backlash even then. But PETA didn't learn.
The over one minute video (though it strangely feels much longer than that) features weird looking dudes gyrating with vegetables dangling from their nether regions. The idea was to promote the vegan way of life and tell men eating veggies increases the stamina (in bed and otherwise). But if PETA thought vegetables in that area would appeal to anyone ever, they need a reboot.
The website of the animal rights organization reads there is strength in compassion. It also lists the benefits of vegan meals, emphasizing they are rich in proteins and don't block artery like meat does. And we aren't questioning this, PETA. We would have paid attention if you sent us an email telling all this. You didn't have to subject us to the torturous advertisement.
“Traditional” masculinity is DEAD. The secret to male sexual stamina is veggies. 😉 pic.twitter.com/51DUsqzyO3
— PETA (@peta) January 16, 2019
The world is polarized, now more than ever. While most of us agree toxic masculinity is harmful, many don't even want to acknowledge it exists. Amid immense confusion, PETA has only done a disservice to sensitive issues by making a mockery of it. Eating veggies aren't going to solve toxic masculinity. Wish the one who (re)uploaded this clip knew better.
