Today, is a great day. It is of course International Men's Day - celebrating men and boys and campaigning to help men live longer, healthier and happier lives - and tackling discrimination is a key part of this.
Every November, there are a number of events that not only celebrate the contribution that men and boys make to society but also raise areas where they face disadvantage. This includes Movember,
the national men and boys conference and also International Men’s Day on Monday. Momentum for these events continues to grow with the latter being celebrated and highlighted by groups of women and men across the UK.
As the article by Glen Poole (UK co-ordinator) on the IMD UK website shows not only is there now a UK steering committee, there are organisations up and down the UK now using this weekend or today to support men and boys across the UK. Two years there was a few students, now 14 organisations are behind it.
The ambition has to be treble that next year and if a company can get behind it (like Gillette and HP sauce amongst others have do so brilliantly with Movember) then it will go places.
And a key part is not just celebrating men and boys but breaking down the barriers they face. The committee have published a press release (Download) highlighting the top ten issues that men and boys face in the UK. The top three are not surprisingly male suicide, equality for fathers and mothers and ending violence against men and boys.
It will be interesting by the end of today whether the mainstream media has covered International Men's Day at all - or are they still ignoring this landmark, unlike International Women's Day which garners acres of coverage.
Let's all celebrate today!
Posted by Skimmington
Yes, it's great to be able to report on some real positives for men and boys for a change, instead of finding ourselves with our backs to the wall trying to fight off the negatives that assail us from so many quarters.
Interesting to note that the top ten issues identified by IMD are precisely those that have been the consistent focus of the Men's Rights Movement for many years already; and precisely the ones that have also been so badly neglected or ignored by our society. Indeed in many cases the knee-jerk reaction of the mainstream has actually been to insist that no such issues exist, and to vilify anyone who dares to raise them. Is the tide of misandry starting to turn at last?
Posted by: Paul | Monday, 19 November 2012 at 06:55
Happy International Men's Day to all! Not that the majority of men would ever know from the near zero media coverage. Still, as you say Skimmington, the tide is turning.
Posted by: Bob | Monday, 19 November 2012 at 08:15
Really good to see the growth in this. And thanks for the links. Found an event near me I didn't know about. So got to support the day.
Posted by: Groan | Monday, 19 November 2012 at 20:12