A couple of days ago, the Gillette commercial, We Believe: The Best Men Can Be | Gillette (Short Film) () was brought to my attention and I was shocked at the number of dislikes the video had received.
Yes I understand the general disdain that most Conservatives and Libertarians have against radical leftist and quasi-feminist movements, but to me, the commercial was simply asserting that men should be better. What’s wrong with that right?
I felt there was something I wanted to articulate regarding the ad, but just couldn’t put my finger on it. Until I saw a Facebook post shared by a friend and it hit me.
(All the credit for this post goes to the below Facebook Post. You can read the whole post in the picture or keep reading for my commentary.)
As the post asserts, ALL cultural and political context or framing aside, there is absolutely nothing wrong with what the ad is saying. It’s simply a moral and ethical encouragement that men should rise to a higher standard and not objectify, bully, harass etc. Who the hell would disagree with that? If you did, you’re probably an idiot with an argument not worth listening to.
But what stood out to me so much, is the crafty argumentation fallacy/trick that Gillette is employing.
Motte and Bailey Argumentation
In the picture above, the high part on the hill is the Motte, while the low part is the bailey. The lower part is the more difficult part to defend, but the motte stands as backup ground so the defending army can easily retreat. The bailey is not an ideal place for an army to stand their ground, and typically there is a quick retreat into the motte. From the motte they can toss their stones and arrows at the enemy, while maintaining the higher ground. Essentially, the bailey is a very difficult spot to defend, while the motte is easily defendable.
This sort of argumentation fallacy is used all the time. Three groups immediately come to mind:
Anti-Vaxxers
When talking to Anti-Vaxxers, they will typically start off with some ridiculous statement that vaccines cause autism. As you push them more on the evidence, they start to back off and say something to the effect of “Well I should get to decide how to raise my children.” Well duh. That’s a very defensible position. Of course you should be able to decide something like that. (This is just for examples sake, I do think there are other argument methods which anti-vaxxers could employ that would be more effective)Post Modern Constructionist
When talking to constructionists, their basic ideas state that everything is essentially socially constructed. Asians and people in the western world have at times come up with very different ways of viewing ethics and morals. Therefore, everything is just an opinion. There are basically no objective facts. When you start to push a constructionist on that idea, they will begin to retreat and say something to the effect of, “All I’m saying is that different cultures come up with different interpretations of things!” But if you retreat, they’ll go right back to the “therefore there are no objective facts”. You see, retreating to the motte is much easier then trying to defend the bailey.Holistic medicine advocates
When talking to advocates of holistic medicine, you may hear something to the effect of “Alternative methods work much better than traditional methods, I even have friends that have cured their cancer with it.” Perhaps, you may start referring to the scientific literature, but then they will quickly retreat. “All I’m saying is that alternative methods are harmless, and placebo effects are very powerful. People should be able to use what makes them feel good.” Again, retreating to the motte, because it’s actually defensible.
So what does this have to do with the Gillette commercial? The jargon and set of ideas utilized in this ad are indicative of an ideology, that quite frankly, many people disdain. An ideology that advocates for ideas that further pit women against men, supports the idea of an imaginary patriarchy, and trashes on more traditional values.
Think of it this way:
All women should be believed.
Wait..what?
Okay all I’m saying is that men should be better!
What’s wrong with that?
Don’t blink too fast though.
If you do, they’ll be right back at the bailey.