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Harry’s, an American company specializing in shaving, body, face, and hair products for men recently partnered with trans man Luke Wesley Pearson to promote its new set of razors. The news broke on social media when Pearson took to his Instagram reel, tagged Harry’s, and posted:
“Celebrating my first Pride with facial hair!”
As soon as the reel surfaced online, conservative netizens compared Harry’s with Bud Light (the beer brand collaborated with a trans woman in March for their campaign for which they were banned) and demanded that the brand be boycotted for being too “woke” and teaming with the LGBTQ+ community.
Moreover, the internet slammed Harry’s for using 100 percent of their profits from the new razor set to push the Trevor Project, which promotes gender-transitioning surgeries for minors.
“We’ve taken down Bud Light. Now it’s Harry’s turn”: Harry’s Razors latest campaign sparks severe backlash online
As per Luke Weasley Pearson’s Instagram reel description, Harry’s, along with their sibling brand Meet Flamingo (a US-based company focused on producing body, face, hair, and shaving amenities for women), joined hands with Brooklyn-based artist, illustrator, and LGBTQ+ advocate Ohni Lisle and designed Harry’s 2023 Face & Body Shave Set.
The set includes a razor handle, one Harry’s facial razor, and a Flamingo razor for the body. As per Pearson, who is promoting the set, the best part about it is that all profits made from the sale would directly go to the Trevor Project, an initiative encouraging gender transitioning. Pearson wrapped up his caption by stating:
“Feeling handsome and proud to be me every day of the year. #HarrysPartner”
In the 34-second reel, he is seen presenting the Harry’s Razor set alongside a woman. He also adds how, while growing up, he was always envious of boys going through puberty, getting facial hair, and learning how to shave – all of which he missed out on.
Following this, he can be observed shaving his own beard with the in-reel text reading how he loves “growing a beard and maintaining it.” Pearson further continues:
“Having facial hair and a grooming routine is the most gender-affirming thing to me.”
The reel ends with him reminding his viewers that “razors aren’t gendered,” but they are designed for either the face or the body.
Unfortunately, for Luke Weasley Pearson, who identifies as a trans digital creator, and for Harry’s Razors, the promotional campaign did not sit right with internet users who especially slammed the latter for being too “woke” and taking Bud Light’s path. In fact, conservative men have gone on record to say that they will boycott the brand for the latest move. Here are some of the comments from @EndWokeness' Twitter post.
So far, neither Pearson nor Harry’s Razors has publicly commented on their potential boycott controversy.
Brands that have recently been boycotted for platforming queer creators
The Harry’s Razors scandal comes in the wake of beer brand Bud Light facing a boycott since May over an endorsement deal with trans-TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney. In fact, in response to it, a conservative businessman Seth Weathers launched “Ultra-Right” beer last month.
Likewise, in March, when a trans woman was hired for the Hershey’s chocolate PR campaign to celebrate International Women’s Day, there was severe right-wing outrage against its “wokeness.” In fact, Daily Wire's conservative founder and CEO Jeremy Boreing launching Jeremy’s Chocolate in response. It had a transph*bic message attached to it with a "He/Him" nuts chocolate bar on one hand and a "She/Her" "nutless" bar on the other.
What’s interesting here is that last year, when Harry’s Razors withdrew their ads from Daily Wire, citing the media company’s anti-LGBTQ+ content, Boreing even launched Jeremy’s Razors as a line of “non-woke” toiletries for men.
