‘The Best a Man Can Be?’: Finding a Place for the ‘Real’ Man in Grooming Advertisements

Abstract

The author looks at how advertising aimed at cisgender men has shifted over the last two decades, moving from standard representations of hegemonic forms of masculinity to the adoption of the language and style of “postfeminist authenticity.” Drawing on a range of insights from across the social sciences and using the examples of three popular grooming products, Axe, Gillette, and Dollar Shave Club, the author critically examines the manner in which these new campaigns emphasize individual self-improvement and consumption choices as a means to solving the problems generated “by traditional, supposedly inauthentic, expressions of masculinity.”

Citation

Prins, K. (2022), "‘The Best a Man Can Be?’: Finding a Place for the ‘Real’ Man in Grooming Advertisements", Heřmanová, M., Skey, M. and Thurnell-Read, T. (Ed.) Cultures of Authenticity, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 179-192. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-936-220221013