No. This is a fiction. In real life, that middle aged man has had plenty of opportunity to not be a close-minded bigot by this point. If he is still one, it’s willful, and one beer with a transwoman is not going to change his mind anywhere except a commercial.

I agree, I liked the ad too. If only because it gave be a teeny tiny bit of hope is what feels like a constant avalanche of suckage right now. I don’t think the ad was trying to speak in total absolutes but rather offer the hope that some people can be open to changing their mind. If not then we’re f*cking doomed. 

I think that one problem with the commercial is this: Everyone involved is British. Absolutely nothing wrong with that of course, but the left-right schism in Britain is presently not as intense or as irreconcilable as it is in the US.

Studies have shown that one of the few effective ways to change a person’s viewpoint can be achieved through a 10-minute non-confrontational conversation. So, this ad is portraying a method that does work.

I kind of did, too.

You want to make actual change? Because ranting and raving in the comfort of the Jezebel echo chamber isn’t going to do shit. Being a bigot is not a permanent condition, so don’t treat it like one. I get it, it’s easier to just walk out of the conversation and just talk to people who you know won’t disagree with you.

Exactly. I think that we do often have to demonstrate that we are worth knowing and that we have things in common with them. Literally rule one in the propaganda playbook is to dehumanize your opponent; that makes it supremely easy to do things that harm them (be it legislating against their rights or rounding them up…

My initial reaction was I liked it. Then cynicism seeped in and I was like yeah they’re just sticking around for the free beer.

We look at isolated incidents such as Heineken’s ad and think “We’re improving!” without actually doing any of the real work to improve. Heineken wants to promote diversity and bipartisanship with a surface level social experiment that misses the real problem altogether. Case in point, we’re totally cool with…

I’ve noticed that some people who are racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic, etc can change their tune once they know and care about someone in said group. It helps open their minds. Obviously not every asshole has this experience, but I’ve seen it happen around me with certain people.

They’re not promoting that. They are selling an image of a company that cares about that when all they really care about is selling beer. If they cared about that, they wouldn’t normalize “climate change could not be real...we just have a difference of opinion” or “trans people shouldn’t exist...that’s a legit…

It’s framed as if these discussions are just “differences of opinion” and that we just need to find common ground. Wrong. climate change is REAL. Sorry but it is. No amount of sticking your fingers in your ears and going LALALALALA! will change that. Denying climate change is objectively wrong. There’s no…

“Can you imagine if the ad had a racist guy and a black guy?”

Yeah, I saw one guy whose view on trans persons seemed to change and another who seemed to soften toward feminism. The other pair just seemed to agree that civil discussion is the best approach to conflict. To constantly argue that morally correct people engaging with the morally wrong opposition validates the morally…

Nothing like a bunch of mediocre-looking men surrounded by swimsuit models to get me into the summertime spirit. Hard pass.

Scheana is generally also not my favorite, but I felt pretty badly for her during these reunions. First, watching the people she thought were her friends so clearly reject her and yell at her - she’s obviously their b team friend they call on when the others are busy. Second, having to deal with Shay face-to-face…

Sandoval at the wedding with all the extra clothing options was a delight. And the supercut they did of him always bringing backups and alternates -- oh Sandoval, never change!

What is the weekly manicure budget for these women?

Someone please tell me why I love this show so much.