Gillette ad shows transgender man shaving for the first time

Gillette has done it again, releasing a heart-warming ad that shows a young transgender man learning to shave for the first time with his father.

Samson Bonkeabantu Brown is a transgender activist and artist, and he features in the video as his father guides him through the process of his first shave.

“I always knew I was different," Brown says in the ad. “I went into my transition just wanting to be happy."

The ad opens on Brown explaining his story, followed by a short clip of his father instructing him on how to shave and encouraging him as he does so for the first time.

“Now don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Shaving is about being confident," his father says as Brown carefully moves through the process.

Smiling as they share the moment, Brown later explains he's finally at a point in his manhood where he's "actually happy" and that people around him have come to embrace his transition.

“Whenever, wherever, however, it happens, your first shave is special,” the ad concludes, followed by the company’s tagline; “The best a man can get.”

With transgender men rarely featuring in media, positive representation from such a mainstream brand is a major step forward for more diverse representation.

Transgender men often face discrimination in their daily lives, with people often referring to them by female names or pronouns and refusing to accept their gender identities.

As such, having the brand recognise and support a transgender man like Brown by encouraging his masculinity is a huge deal for the transgender community.

However not everyone is on board with Gillette's inclusive message, with hundreds of social media users voicing their distaste for the new ad.

The shaving brand also faced backlash earlier this year when they released an ad that challenged the notions of toxic masculinity, with the clip praised and criticised in equal measure.

At the time large numbers of men swore to boycott the brand for what they labelled a 'social justice warrior' message, and now more are claiming they won't support Gilette allying itself with a transgender activist.

However, there has also been a great deal of support from other transgender men, women and allies to the LGBTQ+ community, who praised the ad and shared it across multiple social media platforms.

Young transgender men felt especially strongly about the ad, many sharing their own experiences of learning to shave while transitioning.

Hopefully the ad will at least open up a better dialogue about respecting transgender people, especially young men like Brown, in our own communities.