A new marketing campaign by the popular U.K. men’s grooming line Lynx asks the question: Is it OK for guys to experiment with other guys?
The answer: Of course it is! So have at it, fellas!
According to Lynx, the purpose of the #isitokforguys campaign is to open people’s minds about the restrictions labels place on people, particularly men.
“Young guys live in a world filled with labels and limits,” the company says. “In fact, over 50% of them have been told that a real man should behave a certain way. Pressure that ultimately makes bullying, depression and suicide so common among men.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
The campaign is being supported by a series of short videos which feature men answering questions about subjects like doing yoga, liking cats, wearing jewelry, and, oh yeah, hooking up with other men.
“#isitokforguys kicks off Lynx’s mission to expose the pressure guys feel to ‘be a man’ and empower them to be whoever they damn well want,” the company says. “Together with our partners, we want to fight those limitations and create a society where there is no wrong way to be a man. No labels. No limits on what men can or cannot be.”
Watch the videos below.
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
I’m kinda creeped out by this brainwashing. It has nothing to do with the product, so what if the next product decided to go the opposite direction and run a it’s not OK campaign.
Juanjo
That’s ok. You can be creeped out. After all any post you make often has the same effect on people.
Donston
I’m very much pro people experimenting and understanding the parameters of their sexuality. But while trying to take away the pressures of conventional masculinity is nice, I’ve realized over the years that it doesn’t matter who you sleeps with or what they identify. There are gay, straight and bi men who are homophobic. There are straight men who sleep with other guys that are homophobic. There are gay men who only sleep with men that are homophobic. There are men who never have any sexual contact with guys that are not homophobic. Sticking your penis in someone isn’t gonna make you an open-minded person.
And once again, we see the “be who you want to be” agenda that LGBTQ media has started pushing like gangbusters. I just can’t roll with that. It feeds into the belief that sexual orientation is just a lifestyle and it’s the same as sexual behavior and that you can pick whatever “label” for yourself that you choose even if it’s bull. In a way these things are code for: “You don’t have to be a self-accepting gay man” and “just indulge every narcissistic instinct you have” and it feeds into inherently gay men’s self-hate and hetero obsession.
Donston
Also, experimentation, fine. But, believe me, from personal experience having a ton of sex outside of your orientation is not the most psychologically healthy thing to do.
Donston
Finally, finally, if any type of clothing company flat-out told girls to “experiment” they’d be rightly ripped to shreds. There’s a more positive way to educate than telling people to sleep around.
gaym50ish
It also perpetuates the notion that we’re all into “recruiting” other guys.
Sluggo2007
You’re very lonely, aren’t you, Donston?
Paco
The no labels crowd just want to cling to their heterosexual privilege. It helps them dodge the discrimiation and hate the rest of us have had to fight head on.
crowebobby
If you claim anyone can enjoy having sex with someone of their own sex, isn’t that tantamount to saying sexual taste is a matter of choice? I’m not saying that but it appears to me you guys are. Any sexual taste gays disapprove of is chosen, but our tastes are imposed upon us at birth.
Donston
This gets into the whole orientation vs preference vs behavior discussion that people are frequently scared of. Orientation simply means sexual attraction. One can have a homo orientation but bi preferences, bi orientation but homo preferences, queer orientation hetero preferences, etc. Men can indeed enjoy sex with genders that have no inherent sexual attraction to for a variety of reasons. Sexual preferences, sexual behavior and sexual fetish all have some degree of choice. There is no choice in orientation.
And believe me, there are more inherently gay men who regularly sleep with women than inherently straight men who sleep with men.
Jive Turkey
A great concept considering the massive issues around masculinity and self-concept in society… not sure on the wording/approach though…
Great to see QUEERTY supporting the message for guys to be proud of who and what they are with an article link right below this one claiming you can point your finger at all of “Hollywood’s least endowed men”…
Hypocrites!
KaiserVonScheiss
People should be themselves. If they want to experiment, that’s fine. But they shouldn’t be pressured into it.
But it seems like there some opposition to what is viewed as masculine. I understand that there’s no such thing as a perfect masculinity, but that doesn’t mean men who act that way should be pressured into acting less masculine.
I always the the point was allowing people to be themselves, not telling people how to live.
Donston
As much as I just criticized this company for exploitation and subtle homophobia I don’t think trying to strip men of their masculinity was the point. If we’re to believe (as we should) that masculinity makes no one better than someone else, that it does not make a man, that many gay men are inherently masculine and that at least half of men who identify as bi are fem then whoever you have sex with doesn’t equate to masculinity levels.
It’s the idea that men having some sexual occurrences outside of their orientation or identifying as something other than hetero equating to actually being more educated and open-minded- that’s incredibly naive and manipulative. Plenty of straight men are misogynistic. And as we see here on the regular there are plenty of self-hating homos, plenty of homophobic bi-identifying men and plenty of inherently straight men who sleep with gay guys but hate gay men.
Sometimes I think most comment-ers don’t actually read the whole articles and links before posting their response (this isn’t directed towards you specifically).
Donston
Also, having sex with men does not equate to not being obsessed with masculinity. We all know how masculine obsessed gay men can be, either possessing it or being surrounded by people who have it. The whole campaign completely misunderstands sociology.
jultoe
This article has produced a thoughtful discussion. I think the clothing company is hoping to exploit and serve those who venture into the experimental arena. To distinguish their brand from others, they label their clothes. So it is with behavior, it is labeled to distinguish differences. Labels generate in personal and social distinctions about behavior, which may be addressed variously. Freedom entails variation across a spectrum of behavior and speech. So, I think of every sexual encounter as an experiment and adventure as neither partner completely knows how it will turn, even if conducted entirely with mutual respect and affection. Sex is supposed to be an act of freedom, so who can question the parties or acts of a mutual choice? Male, female, and human are conditions of nature, not merely descriptions of chosen, forced, or learned behavior. Making love should be special and fun, so we are inclined, as humans, to experiment with persons and behavior, to find partnerships and practices of shared pleasures, and eventually, responsibilities. Thank you.
Chris
Liking cats? Oh, no! I draw the line there.
Richard 55
Men are natural experimenters but women find it offensive.
Sluggo2007
They find it offensive because it’s something they can’t control. That, alone, drives them crazy.
radiooutmike
I rather like these advertisements.
I don’t think they are a command to action; like to lose your masculinity or to encourage same-sex hookups. But, rather, a thought experiment of what it would be like for each of to accept those parts of us which society deems as non-masculine.
Just as societal views on what makes a woman attractive can damage women who don’t reach that objective level of beauty; so do societal views on what makes a man masculine have can negatively affect men who don’t reach that ideal as well.
It’s all just window dressing.
I mean think about someone you admire or was a role-model for you. Maybe it was your dad, mom, friend, brother or a celebrity who personified some type of ideal you wanted to be? Did you just admire them because they were attractive, played sports well or were rich? Or were these people who inspired you also ‘good’ people as well? Maybe they taught you the value of perseverance, justice or love?
I tend to think of it as being masculine versus being a man. Does it do you any good to emulate a man who is totally masculine, but maybe is a horrible person? Versus say someone may not be very masculine as you define it, but yet is an admirable person. And yes, I know that these things are not mutually exclusive, but it does illustrate a point.
I think too many us get confused between what masculine means versus what being a man means.
potato_butt
God, so much bigotry in the comment section. This campaign does not push any kind of agenda on anyone. They’re simply telling you that it’s ok to experiment if you’d like to. They’re doing the opposite of “pushing an agenda”, they’re ERASING the former agendas/ideologies that have been pushed upon the society.