Gillette stirs up more controversy with ads aimed toward women

Razor company Gillette is in the spotlight again. After taking heat for an advertisement urging men to stand up against "toxic masculinity" earlier this year, the firm is being ridiculed online over two separate plugs directed at women.

What are the details?

Last week, Gillette released an ad for its Venus razor, which showed plus-sized Instagram model Anna O'Brien in a bikini with a caption telling women to "go out there and slay the day."

While the image was intended to encourage body positivity and acceptance, several Twitter users slammed it as a message embracing unhealthy lifestyle choices. The ad sparked plenty of online debate, causing Gillette to step in and defend their choice in models, saying, "Venus is committed to representing beautiful women of all shapes, sizes and skin types because ALL types of beautiful skin deserve to be shown."

According to an "Inside Edition" report on YouTube, O'Brien responded to her critics by telling "Good Morning America," "For a lot of people, all they see is fat. They don't see the joy. They don't see the happiness."

Anything else?

According to the Daily Mail, another Gillette ad aimed at females "sparked outrage among 'disappointed' Twitter users" by showing a woman shaving her arms.

Users accused the company of trying to sell more razors by depicting arm shaving as part of a "normal" routine, while others expressed concern that it gave women — especially teenagers — another reason to feel self-conscious about extra body hair.

Gillette responded to the backlash by issuing a statement saying, "Many women have told us that they are not only shaving their legs or armpits as portrayed in advertising but other areas such as belly, arms or even toes! We used these examples in our advert to better depict women's realities.

"Our intent is not to put additional pressure on women but to help normalize the fact that hair grows in various areas of the body enabling a personal decision to be made on whether or not to shave it."