Tuesday 19 November 2013

What Does It Mean to Be a Man on International Men's Day?

I woke up this morning to be informed by a tweet from Owen Jones that today was International Men's Day - He was critical about the day but as a man I decided it was worth researching. 

The International Men's Day website states that it is a day for focusing "on men's and boy's health, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality, and highlighting positive male role models". 

It further says: "Men make sacrifices everyday in their place of work, in their role as husbands and fathers, for their families, for their friends, for their communities and for their nation". 

Trinidad & Tobago was the first nation to commemorate the day and currently around 60 countries celebrate the day. 

It is the sort of day or occasion that would go by without much of a mention apart from the occasional comment by someone who read about it on social media. 

As opposed to being simply a chauvinistic day, it is a day for tackling male issues and celebrating the important contributions that men have made. 

For example, one of the key themes for this year's day was raising awareness about male suicide. 

Okay attaching a label to a day may antagonise people but the success of Movember shows that a lot of men care about male issues. 

Whilst some may sneer at the idea of a day for men, the intentions behind International Men's Day are good and if something positive can come out of today then surely it is worth celebrating? 

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