Are you looking for a hot take on the new Gillette ad? You’ve come to the right place, because I’ve got LOADS of them. Let’s explore whether Gillette highlighting – and fighting against – toxic masculinity is a) the greatest thing to ever have happened, b) the WORST THING EVER or c) something in between.

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There are few terms that make me more uncomfortable than ‘alpha male’ – alongside the fact that self-defined ‘alpha males’ usually only come across my radar when they’re spouting misogyny, the phrase itself seems to pack masculinity into a teeny tiny box from which there’s no escape. But this week’s guest blogger – Phoenix Rose (who’s guest blogged for me before on sleepy subspace) – wants to have a go at exploring the phrase, and seeing if there are ways it could be redefined for the 21st century. What if ‘alpha’ didn’t just speak to tropes about aggression and competition, and instead represented something different?

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