Far too often, guys are constrained by old-fashioned male stereotypes, like men should always be tough and never cry. AXE believes that guys deserve to live without these external pressures and be able to express all their unique traits, quirks and features. As a grooming brand, they want to inspire young guys to be whoever they want to be – and have fun doing it – by showing that there is no one way to be a man.

That’s why AXE is introducing a new word and concept to the world – Bathsculinity. That’s right. Bathsculinity is an attitude for the modern man who is confident in himself and can be defined as:

Bathsculinity, noun: Qualities or attributes regarded as characteristic of young men who take pride in their appearance and feel confident in expressing their most attractive selves, inside and outside of the bathroom.

To help spread the word, AXE has teamed up with hilarious actor and comedian Lil Rel Howery of “Get Out,” “Birdbox” and “Uncle Drew ” explosive fame to encourage guys to embrace their own brand of Bathsculinity through its latest series of spots, available on YouTube. AXE has also enlisted additional partners to challenge guys to explore their own self-care and share their ’bathsculine’ moments on social media with #AXE and #Bathsculinity.

“Growing up, I definitely felt the constraints and effects of society’s expectations of men,” Howery said. “That negativity is actually one of the reasons I turned to comedy in the first place, and why I’m so excited to be partnering with AXE to help guys move away from traditional masculinity and explore their bathsculinity.”

Bathsculinity is an extension of the work AXE has done over the past few years with the message that “there’s no one way to be a man.” This started with the publication of The Man Box research in 2017 which revealed that 72% of men have been told that real men should behave a certain way*.

This month, AXE and Promundo built upon The Man Box study to identify the economic impact of harmful masculine stereotypes through the new The Cost of the Man Box research, which found that dated stereotypes of what it means to be a man, and the behaviors they lead to, are costing the US economy at least $15.7 billion annually.
** These costs were calculated based upon six key behaviors and public data, estimating how these costs would be reduced if the Man Box was not a factor.

To address the negative effects of the Man Box, AXE created the AXE Senior Orientation program to go directly into schools and work with teens to help break outdated stereotypes of manhood. This year, we are evolving the program into an in-school curriculum, developed in partnership with education specialists, Cairn Guidance, that will address gender roles, sexuality, self-expression, and more, in middle school health classes this fall.

“AXE continues to break the barriers of masculine stereotypes each year by partnering with great organizations and individuals who support this mission,” said Dawn Hedgepeth, General Manager and Vice President of Unilever Deodorants, Men’s Grooming and Hand and Body Lotion. “It is our hope that the Bathsculinity mindset will encourage guys everywhere to embrace self-care and self-confidence in every aspect of life.”

To learn more about Bathsculinity, visit www.axe.com or follow @AXE on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.