International Men's Day: Being Co-Opted? + P.S. November 19 Was International Men’s Day!

"It was intended to be a celebration of men. ...Sinn Fein support heforshe. ...The writing is on the wall!" Paul Elam

Sinn Fein Motion: http://i.imgur.com/0pajmj6.jpg

Washington Post Article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteve...

Six Pillars of IMD: http://ukmensday.org.uk/about-imd-uk/...

AVFM IMD: http://internationalmensday.co/

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It’s November 19, International Men’s Day!

By Joe Wilson: This is the first year I will be celebrating International Men’s Day (IMD). It’s the first year because frankly before I joined the Men’s Human Rights Movement I had never heard about it.

• Never saw any article about it in the newspaper, or at least I’ve never noticed one.
• Never saw a Google Doodle about it, but I’ve seen them for International Women’s Day (IWD).
• I’ve also seen countless videos celebrating IWD but never for IMD.
• Even Sesame Street has a Facebook page with an accompanying video celebrating International Women’s Day … they don’t have one for men.
• Presidents, prime ministers, yes, they, too, have celebrated International Women’s Day, but you won’t get them to do anything for men.

The Feminist Perspective on International Men’s Day
Feminist will always argue with you that it’s International Men’s Day each and every day of the year … like this one article that pokes fun at the concept of an IMD. Or this recent one from The Boston Globe, which again minimizes the contributions men have made and the discrimination that they still face.
What amazes me is how virtually all dissent for International Men’s Day observance always originates from feminists. They are the first ones to poke fun at it and marginalize it at all cost. Yet, they wonder, “Why is feminism seen as man-hating?”
For an organization that purports to also be about “freeing men” from the “patriarchy” and that relentlessly explains that men are not guilty —”it’s the patriarchy!”—they do little to show their support to these supposed casualties of the system. They should be the first ones in line to raise awareness of men and to the issues they face (as they contend), yet they do worse than nothing at all—they scream bloody murder and attempt to derail the whole concept of a men’s day.
Are Men Really Celebrated Each and Every Day of the Year?
If so, please point me to one piece where men (as a group) are celebrated? However, you’ll be hard-pressed not to have a day go by where you don’t see an article praising women or how their contributions help society.
Why, we even have articles trumpeting girls’ achievements … yet how many times do we celebrate something boys do? Girls also have their own day of celebration … boys, it seems, are the only ones we’ve left out. What effect does this discrepancy have on the brain of a developing young male child when twice a year the homeroom teacher announces a day for girls and women … and the boys ask what about the boys? the men?
But enough with the complaining. Let’s just celebrate today. Let’s celebrate:

• the men who risk their lives fighting and protecting our liberties against tyrannical foes
• the men who risk their lives running into burning buildings to help save those inside—while most people would have the sense to run out
• the men who build everything from bridges to jet planes and who maintain them so that they are safe and effective for us
• the brilliant men who border on the edge of insanity to invent, discover, and compose to expand the human experience—all men, from Mozart to Albert Einstein to Thomas Edison
• (and one for us) the men who care about all human rights—not just those of women—and who venture against the natural tendency of society’s marginalization of males to bring truth to the reality of male discrimination.

So let’s make today a special day. And who knows, maybe one day Google will even have a Doodle for us!
And to leave you with a Tom Golden quote: “Men are good!”
Happy International Men’s Day!

About Joe Wilson

Joe Wilson is a healthcare executive living in Toronto. In his spare time he runs a blog on men's rights issues. He is particularly concerned with the challenges boys face, especially with regards to education. Today's men's movement is giving him new hope in humanity.

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