On Nov 1, marking 100 days until the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, P&G launched “Love Over Bias – The film imagines what the world could be like if we all saw each other through a mom’s eyes.
This video brings many folks to tears, I suspect because so many people can relate to this message. I relate to this message, not because of the bias I have seen affect my life, but because we are a family that is different that “the norm,” and I worry about the bias my child might experience.
The film celebrates a mom’s role as her child’s first and greatest advocate, the one who sees her child’s potential regardless of how others might see them. The hope is that this film will help bring people together to talk openly about bias, its role in limiting human potential and the need to see beyond the things that divide us to the common things that can bring us together. Titled “Love Over Bias,” the film illustrates a wide range of bias that athletes and many other people around the world unfortunately face. It also highlights our mothers’ roles in supporting us in overcoming these hurdles. Many athletes face obstacles stemming from what they look like, who they love or where they come from on their journey to the Olympic stage.
My son has two dads. There is no mom, and I am the primary caregiver and am very conscious of our surroundings and what I have to do to protect my child. We made a decision to raise him in New York City because we felt there would be the least amount of discrimination towards him and his family. Thankfully we were 100% correct. We have experienced almost no bias since his birth over 14 years ago. I am incredibly grateful for that, and therefore honored to have been chosen to share this message with you!
I know we are the lucky ones. We are not pioneers like some friends of mine out in suburbia, or less accepting states. Which is why I am grateful to P & G for highlighting that a mom, and/or a dad, are the biggest champions for their children, protecting them every step of the way, so the bias they encounter is at least minimized and handled appropriately, so that all parties involved can learn from the situation.
I attended an event to celebrate the release of this video and I was thrilled to meet with two Olympic champions, one of whom is Michelle Kwan: “Michelle Wingshan Kwan is an American retired figure skater. She is a two-time Olympic medalist, five-time World champion and nine-time U.S. champion.” Wow!
What an honor it was to meet this figure skating icon! Michelle’s biggest hardship on the road to Olympic stardom was financial. While all the other girls had expensive skates and outfits, Michelle’s were not as new. She always knew how hard her immigrant parents worked to support her training through those years, and in sports, like life, sometimes there is bias towards poorer participants.
I also met with Gus Kenworthy, the 2014 Olympic Silver medalist in Men’s freestyle skiing and the first openly gay action sports athlete. I asked to do a quick skiing video with him!
We discussed growing up with bias. He shared that his fear of coming out of the closet kept him hidden, and was not affected by bias except perhaps his own internalized feelings about how the world views gay people.
His mom was with us, so I insisted on taking a picture with all of us!
For more information please visit LoveOverBias.com!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of P& G, and all opinions are 100% honest and my own.
Life is too short to have a bias towards anyone on this planet. I always love the proctor ads for the olympics! Your video with Gus Kenworthy of course is a hit with me.
What a great article proctor &Gamble has great products
Thank you so much for sharing your story, and thank you so much for sharing what P&G is doing! There is so much hate in the world right now. We need more love and less bias.
What a powerful story! You may not have been trailblazers, but you still did something that not everyone was doing. You went against the grain. That grain is still there in some places. I LOVE that P&G is doing its part to help sand it out.
For me life it too short to worry about what anyone else is doing. As long as someone is happy, why can’t we as a society just let them live THEIR lives. There really is no such thing as normal anymore anyways.
What a great story. I am glad that you were able to get involved with this. I don’t think that life is beautiful if we don’t just be more open to much more. Society is not as it was, more is accepted and that’s a beautiful thing. 🙂
I love that P&G is doing this. My daughter’s boyfriend is transgender and I worry about the discrimination that they may face from less accepting people.
What a beautiful video with a powerful, passionate message that has certainly touched my heart. If only more people viewed our differences as an opportunity to learn and love.
Mitch, I am so glad you are part of this campaign. I think the commercial is just beautiful. We have a child with autism, so we have had the experience of having a family dynamic that is different from most people we know. It had just made us stronger as a unit. I think you are a wonderful dad!
This sounds like a brilliant campaign and it’s so cool that you were able to meet with Michelle! I love the message of empathy for one another.
OMG. Seriously, that P&G video ad brought tears to my eyes. “Imagine if the world could see what a mom sees. #LoveOverBias” We must live without judging others. Just live. And love. The world would be better if we all got rid of biases and prejudice.
Being a woman of color I was privileged enough not to experience too much bias growing up. However, I heard many stories from friends of family. This is such a great blog and so wonderful for P&G to bring awareness via #LoveOverBias.
This sounds like a great campaign. It’s so important to be accepting and free of bias so our kids can grow up in a better world that accepts them for who they are.
What a beautiful event. I’m glad more and more companies are supporting this and it’s good because they’re able to help so many people. It’s amazing how much acceptance can change a person’s life, especially a child’s.
That sounds like a wonderful film! I love the focus and I have no doubt it will be great.
I love to support companies like P&G that have such amazing campaigns, We all need to learn that we are all people. Love is love!
I’m in tears after I saw the video! Such a powerful message! Love it!
Aww I remember Thank you Mom Campaign from a couple years back! What a good cause. I think loving everyone is what we should all do all the time.
You go to the best events! This video was powerful and emotional great job P&G!
This is such a great story Mitch and I love this campaign! This video is super powerful!
I love Procter and Gamble products and this an excellent campaign.