Parthasarathy “Partha” Raghuram joins Katherine Albrecht to discuss his campaign against Gillette’s efforts to label Indian men with facial hair as “lazy” in a deleterious bid to sell more razors. Callers weigh in.

This peremptory conclusion of Yahoo! has turned Gillette’s (P & G) campaign of “Women against Lazy Stubble into a fiasco!

Poor Gillette! it’s ill-conceived ad promotion campaign is money down the drain!

If Gillette chooses to term all Indians who grow beards as “lazy”, then their campaign denigrates the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh who sports beard as per the custom of his religion, the Sikhism, as “lazy”. Is it not an affront to the honour of the whole nation?

Gillette owes a public apology for denigrating the high office of the Prime Minister of India.

Here is an excerpt from the report of DNA:

“In the Gillette campaign, men who do not shave or those who wear stubble are shown to be lazy, so their women have every right to detest and demean them,” said Mumbai-based PR Gokul of the All India Men’s Welfare Association (AIMWA). “Gillette also tags this campaign as women on the warpath. We feel it portrays men negatively and tries to curb their choices” said Mumbai-based PR Gokul of the All India Men’s Welfare Association.
Proctor and Gamble (P&G) claimed that the campaign was based on research findings. “Serving men since 1895, their well-being is at the heart of every decision that Gillette takes. In that spirit we respect all ideologies, communities and opinions that men have. WALS is a creative expression of research findings by AC Nielsen which state that a majority of women prefer their with a men clean shaven look. Our campaign is not an imposition of such views on men who feel differently or wish to grow facial hair out of choice. Our endeavour is to provide superior quality shaving products to men who wish to shave,” said P&G spokesperson.

“By calling men with stubble lazy, P&G have made a communal statement,” said Myth Kumar from Bangalore. Terming the campaign in bad taste, the Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid said, “Sikhs and Muslims wear beards due to religious reasons. But their wives do not complain. Companies should be careful of religious sentiments before running campaigns,” said Bukhari.

An ad campaign that prods men to shave has made members of a men-only NGO pull at their hair

‘Mooch nahi to kuch nahi’. Indian men, traditionally, grow up believing moustache is the most potent symbol of masculinity. In fact, shaving off the moustache is considered inauspicious even by Hindus, especially in north India.

However, a new campaign by a multi-national brand of safety razors has launched a tirade against facial hair that “communicates a heroic image of the independent, willing and able to do manly things”.

Gillette, a brand owned by Procter and Gamble, launched a Women Against Lazy Stubble (WALS) advertisement featuring Bollywood hotties (really?!) Mugdha Godse, Neha Dhupia and Minissha Lamba urging women to encourage their men to get rid of facial hair. Men grow stubble just out of their laziness, the campaign said.

Not everybody is amused. “The advertisement is derogatory and tantamount to domestic violence against men,” said Swarup Sarkar, coordinator of the NGO Save Family Foundation (SFF), who is spearheading the movement against Gillette’s promotional feature.

Another NGO affiliated to SFF, All India Men’s Welfare Association (AIMWA), celebrated December 7 as the National Stubble Day and has sought a public apology from the company. “We want Gillette to withdraw the advertisement and furnish an apology in all national dailies. The advertisement is sexist in nature and calls men lazy for not shaving everyday,” said Virag Dhulia, founding member of AIMWA from Bangalore.

AIMWA has also sought an apology from the brand ambassadors of the advertisement campaign, Bollywood stars Mugdha Godse, Minnisha Lamba and Neha Dhupia, for endorsing it. “A company has decided to humiliate men for not shaving everyday. Tomorrow it will be for some other reason. Such campaigns basically target individual choice and freedom. We need to uproot this menace,” said Dhulia.

According to the data provided by SFF and AIMWA, more than 3000 men from all over the country have joined the protest campaign and followed the National Stubble Day. “The number is increasing by the day and we are informing our members across the world to lend their support to the protest,” said Sarkar. “Corporates, by resorting to such stupid advertisements, are promoting disharmony in family life. They portray all men in a derogatory manner. Shaving should be a natural choice for men and it has nothing to do with them being lazy,” he added.

Take your pick: The primitive man did not shave and what if Gillette brand ambassadors would have kept the stubble

Dhulia added the protest will continue till the advertisements are discontinued and the NGO might take legal recourse, if the company fails to address their demands. “The Gillette website promotes the campaign by using a tagline called Women on War Path. What kind of language is this? They are using words and phrases to pull down men,” he said.

Take your pick: The primitive man did not shave and what if Gillette brand ambassadors would have kept the stubble

The message that Women Against Lazy Stubble intends to spread among men are:

• Till men don’t shave, they won’t co-operate.
• Now that the comfort of Gillette Mach 3 is affordable, there are no more excuses to not be shaving.
  If men don’t shave, they shouldn’t expect women to groom themselves either.

Number of men reportedly against the Gillette campaign: 3000

The others who erred

SFF and AIMWA have earlier raised their voices too against corporate houses for presenting men in a derogatory way. “Earlier Kitply, ICICI Lombard and Hindustan Lever had used bad language against men while promoting their products. In an advertisement used by ICICI Lombard, a wife was shown calling her husband a fool for not buying a particular insurance policy. The company discontinued the ad after we protested,” said Swarup Sarkar of Save Family Foundation.

A similar complaint was registered against Hindustan Level for promoting Ponds cold cream where the advertisement suggested if a woman uses the cream it will not only help her get rid of facial spots but also domestic violence.

Evolution will do away with debate and stubble

Latest research has suggested that organs as well as physical features that humans don’t put to use daily may go away in coming generations due to evolutionary pressure. Big daddy of evolutionary sciences Charles Darwin had argued that humans carry some organs (like the tail bone, ear pinna etc) that are evidence of evolution and represent a function that was once necessary for survival, but over the time with the growth of a species these were rendered useless.

Taking forward his theory, scientists in the UK had said that hair that was once necessary to keep humans warm in the early stages of evolution, will go away eventually as the species has now found alternative ways for that function. So, practically they predicted that future humans would be born without body hair. The debate over the stubble would perhaps die a natural death.

About AIMWA:

All India Men’s Welfare Association (AIMWA) is the first ever organization formed in India to fight against all kinds of discrimination against men and boys. AIMWA was launched in Hyderabad on 11^th October 2009 and has expanded to Bangalore and Chennai within two months of its launch with around 1000 members.

Background:

Gillette, the manufacturer of branded shaving products for men has come up with the idea of “Women against Lazy Stubble” wherein men not shaving, or men sporting stubble have been tagged as “lazy” and their women have every right to detest and demean them. And Gillette also tags this campaign as “Women on the warpath”. This ad campaign was launched on November 7, 2009 and includes campaigns on various media channels as well.

Objections:

AIMWA perceives this campaign as outright against men and is protesting against,

1. Violation of fundamental rights of men.
2. Negative portrayal of men by calling them lazy.
3. Infringement of choices by men.
4. Unnecessary financial burden on men, and
5. Imposing of conditions on men.

Additionally the views expressed in the “Women against Lazy Stubble” campaign and endorsed by Bollywood actresses Minisha Lamba, Neha Dhupia and Mugdha Godse about women’s preference of shaven/stubbled men does not represent the views of the average Indian Woman. As the campaign is being promoted by Procter and Gamble and it has a commercial interest in it, there is every reason to believe the views are bought off, especially when a group of women called “Women Against Male-bashing (W.A.M)” have started the campaign called “Stop the War against Men and Boys”.

The views expressed by W.A.M in their press release aptly represent the views of the average Indian woman as there is no commercial interest involved in it and is a pure expression of thoughts by the Indian women about men and their right to CHOICE. Also, the campaign ignores the umpteen researches that have been done proving it’s actually the stubble in a man that attracts the woman.

A stubble is a man’s right and no one has any right whatsoever to dictate when he should shave or whether he should shave even. It is completely a man’s discretion whether he should remain clean-shaven or stubbled or bearded or unshaven.

By calling men who sport stubble as lazy, Gillette and its parent company Procter and Gamble have issued a Communal Hate Speech as there are enough religious minorities in India who have religious reservations against shaving and also a Gender Hate Speech against men. AIMWA strongly protests it and condemns it outright. AIMWA views the campaign as downright sexist, anti-male and one that can have many disastrous consequences for men like,

1. This campaign will lead to more men facing more domestic violence from their wives in the form of verbal abuse, economic abuse and emotional abuse. The campaign treats MEN as FREE ATM MACHINES and promotes domestic violence against men. Domestic violence is the numero uno killer for men as corroborated by suicide statistics from the National Crime Record Bureau. Every year more than 57000 married men are ending their lives.
2. This campaign adds to the never ending expectations, of the society in general and women in particular, from men.
3. This campaign ignores the countless contributions that men make to the society. It disrespects the fact that the most dangerous, precarious, menial and risky jobs are not only undertaken by men but it is also de-facto expected that they would do so. And if men stop doing those dangerous and risky jobs, the society would cease to run. Rather the campaign designers have chosen an optional activity as shaving as a benchmark to measure activeness of men. It cannot get any more pathetic.
4. This campaign encourages women to command men, which is a violation of fundamental rights of liberty granted under the Constitution of India.
5. The campaign commoditizes men for commercial purpose which is not acceptable. Today it’s shaving, tomorrow some other company might come up with some more such sexist campaigns spreading Gender Hatred in order to boost sales and it can be against anyone, men or women. This campaign is being protested against to pass a message to the Corporate World that they too have limits and they need to learn to respect them.

Why National Stubble Day:

Because stubble is a man’s right and since Procter and Gamble is spreading hatred against men with stubble, AIMWA has come up with the idea of celebrating December 7 as the National Stubble Day. The members of AIMWA have decided not to shave on December 7 this year and the following years as well and urges other men to join us and strengthen the movement.

National Stubble Day is being marked to,

1. Register AIMWA’s protest against the sexist anti-male ad campaign, “Women against Lazy Stubble”.
2. Protest against commoditization of men to boost consumerism.
3. Protest against rampant anti-male quotient in the society and unchallenged insults thrown at men treating them as second class citizens while ignoring the reality that men make some wonderful and indispensible contributions to societies and civilizations.
4. Raising voice against promoting Domestic Violence against Men using commercially motivated sexist anti male ad campaigns.
5. Assert a man’s rights and prevent infringement of the same.

Additionally, on the occasion of National Stubble Day, AIMWA presents the following demands,

1. Procter and Gamble to stop the “Women against Lazy Stubble” campaign immediately.
2. They should publish a 10 cm. X 12 cm. apology for insulting men, in all leading national dailies, on either the front page or back page.
3. Actresses Minisha Lamba, Neha Dhupia and Mugdha Godse should tender apologies to all men for calling them lazy and urging women to detest unshaven men.
4. Procter and Gamble should also tender an apology for making a Gender Hate Speech, and
5. They should give an undertaking that they will never design sexist anti-male ad campaigns in future under any circumstances.

If the above demands are not met, then AIMWA will be constrained to agitate the protest and intensify it and for that Procter and Gamble will be held responsible.

Thanks and Regards

President
All India Men’s Welfare Association

Stubble is the way to win a woman’s heart, a study has shown. Researchers found that women are more attracted to men with stubbly chins than those with clean-shaven faces or full beards.

Women participating in the research rated men with stubble as tough, mature, aggressive, dominant and masculine – and as the best romantic partners, either for a fling or a long-term relationships.

The findings of the experiment, carried out on British women aged 18 to 44, could explain the appeal of actors such as George Clooney and Brad Pitt who cultivate their unshaven look.

The Deccan Chronicle eulogizes the “thin line of fuzz” and encourages you to “Step out in style with a sexy stubble” by this statement:

Forget all the jazz about being metrosexual and freshly scrubbed and clean shaven. It is the thin line of fuzz on the jaw line that separate the men from the boys. Facial hair has never been so hot. And Bollywood’s leading men are flaunting this look in all their bearded glory. From Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan at the IIFA awards to Neil Nitin Mukesh and Saif Ali Khan, everyone is sporting a sexy stubble.

Though this will boost the morale of stubbly hunks, it surely blunts the edges of the razor business! And Gillette is obviously worried. They have to do something to get the men reach for the razor and start scraping off their facial growth in the wee hours of the morning for their till to jingle nonstop!

But how? Catch the women! But should it not have a facade of a truthful campaign? Easy. Declare aloud that “a study has revealed that women have started liking men with clean shaven look”. What if it is travesty of truth! All is fair in war and business.

Now the big business is out with their bag of tricks. M/s. Procter & Gamble India Ltd, the owners of Gillette brand of razors, have ushered in a sexist campaign maligning men with stubble. The onslaught begins like this:

‘Women Against the Lazy Stubble’ (WALS) “No more Excuses for Men Not to Shave!”

The slogan is followed by an overt threat to the men of India:

The message that WALS intends to spread to men across the country is three fold:

1. Till men don’t shave, we will not co-operate with them.
2. Now that the comfort of Gillette Mach 3 is affordable, there are no more excuses to not be shaving.
3. If men don’t shave, they shouldn’t expect women to groom themselves either.

This offensive campaign is perceived by men of India as highly objectionable and are terribly upset over this.

Hence All India Men’s Association (AIMWA) demands immediate scrapping of the campaign and issue of an apology by P&G for badmouthing and insulting men of India as a whole through their press release.

Here is how men express their agitation and indignation against the ill-conceived campaign of P&G:-

• Stubble Rubble
• Dear Ladies, I love my stubble
• Boycott Gillette Razor for Promotion of Domestic Violence Against Men and Treat Men as Free ATM machine.
• Stubble is a Man’s Right
• Women Against Male-Bashing

More blurb on the glory of the Stubble:

• Behind every successful star there is STUBBLE!
• “Facial hair or beardedness is a powerful sociosexual signal, and an obvious biological marker of sexual maturity,” said lead researcher Nick Neave of Northumbria University.

This will keep things in perspective!