New Gillette ad features dad teaching trans son how to shave

"This ad made me feel seen."

Shaving brand Gillette has continued to raise the bar for inclusion and diversity in advertising, releasing a new campaign video which depicts a father teaching his transgender son how to shave.

The video introduces Samson Bonkeabantu Brown, a trans teenager from Canada, who shares the advice his father has given him about shaving. The video then shows the teen shaving as his father watches on proudly.

“I’m glad I’m at the point where I’m able to shave,” he says in the video, which has clocked up over 600,000 views on Facebook.

“I’m at the point in my manhood where I’m actually happy. It’s not just myself transitioning, it’s everybody around me transitioning.”
Taking to Brown praised his father for being his "greatest supporter" throughout his transition.

“I’m keenly aware of how blessed I am to be able to exist in this world being supported by my family in ways that all too often many of my trans brother, sisters, and siblings who exist outside the binary are not always as fortunate," he wrote.

“I am confident that this ad will encourage many of my trans siblings and fill them with the knowledge that our existence in this world can be filled with the love and support we deserve."

He added: “Be good to yourselves. Love yourselves. And know that when you greet the world with love, it can and will love you back, often in the places you least expect."

Gillette has previously been praised by members of the LGBTIQ+ community for featuring trans woman Jazz Jennings in a Gillette Venus campaign, while .

Watch Insight's episode Transgender Teens on May 28 at 8:30PM, or catch up on after broadcast. 

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2 min read
Published 27 May 2019 10:54am
Updated 29 May 2019 11:23am
By Samuel Leighton-Dore

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