International Men’s Day – Jessie Jordan
Thursday 19th November marks International Men’s Day, but how many people actually recognise this?
I got this sent this video yesterday, showing an insight as to how overlooked International Men’s day really is. Some people may argue that this day is not valid, due to the historical oppression the middle-aged, middle-class white man has placed on many societies. However, the focal point of this day is not to celebrate patriarchy, nor misogyny.
The real reason we have International Men’s Day is to acknowledge the social stigmas surrounding ‘toxic masculinity’. With this mindset: men can’t cry; men can’t have social anxiety; men must be strong, and men must be aggressive. This is clearly not the case. Men can be fragile; men can be sensitive, and men can be skinny. The point is, mental health in men is massively brushed under the covers. In fact, men are three times more likely to commit suicide than women and are 1.5 times more likely to be a victim of physical assault. Surprising? Perhaps not, had we acknowledged men’s mental health earlier.
International Men’s Day was introduced thirty years ago, yet we are still unaware of its meaning and its importance to our community. A man is an umbrella term for a variety of people; it doesn’t consider age, race, social status, or sexuality. It’s just one gender. International Women’s Day, in contrast, is celebrated globally, exalting in the joys of girl power. I think this is wonderful and should be the case for all genders. We also have International Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, but again, this is not a day we celebrate as much as we should. Everyone should be proud to identify themselves how they desire, and these international days acknowledging this are a huge step forward to recognising gender equality.
International Men’s day is just as important as International Transgender Day of Visibility, and International Women’s Day, and so many other days in which we celebrate the identity of the community around us. The fight for gender is far from over, but by understanding the struggles one another face, we can understand how we can achieve this much better.
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