International Men's Day - November 19

iptba

I thought it could be useful to have a thread for posting International Men's Day events and issues relating to it.

iptba

Event in Belfast

http://ukmensday.org.uk/mark-international-mens-day-in-belfast/

Mark International Men’s Day in Belfast

Belfast City Council are marking International Men’s Day at Belfast City Council on 19 November 2014.

Come along to international Men’s Day at Belfast Castle to raise awareness of the issues that affect men and boys and to celebrate their contribution to society.

More details can be found below:

http://ukmensday.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/International-Mens-Day-Invitation-Belfast.pdf

Extract:

Who can attend?

This event is perfect for you if you work in government, statutory agencies, community or voluntary organisations, or are interested in equality issues and men’s rights.

What is it about?

At the seminar we hope to reflect on the six pillars of International Men’s Day which are working together to:

1. promote positive male role models

2. celebrate Men’s positive contributions

3. focus on Men’s health and wellbeing

4. highlight discrimination against males

5. improve gender relations and improve gender equality

6. create a safer, better world

iptba

From last year but seems timeless:

Five dumb reasons people give for opposing International Men’s Day….
http://equality4men.com/2013/11/26/five-dumb-reasons-international-mens-day/

iptba

Here's some background info if anyone wants to organise an event of some sort.

http://ukmensday.org.uk/international-mens-day-uk-2014-theme-announced/

International Men’s Day UK: 2014 Theme announced

2014 INTERNATIONAL MEN’S DAY: WORKING TOGETHER FOR MEN AND BOYS

In 2014, Global and Regional Coordinators for 2014 International Men’s Day are inviting people all over the world to use International Men’s Day –Wednesday, 19 November 2014 – as an opportunity to work together to improve the lives of men and boys all over the globe.

This year’s International Men’s Day theme – “Working Together For Men and Boys” – is designed to encourage greater cooperation in addressing issues that affect Men and Boys all over the world such as men’s shorter life expectancy, the high male suicide rate, our collective tolerance of violence against men, and the struggles that boys can face in getting an education and the unique challenges of father-child relationships.

On International Men’s Day – Wednesday, 19 November 2014 – we are inviting people all over the world to host events and initiatives that involve:

•Like-minded people finding ways to work together for Men and Boys
•People from diverse perspectives finding ways to work together for Men and Boys
•People in different countries finding ways to work together for Men and Boys
•And most importantly, Men and Women finding ways to work together for Men and Boys

We look forward to people all over the world finding ways to work together that reflect the Six Pillars of International Men’s Day which means:

ONE: Working together to promote positive male role models

TWO: Working together to celebrate Men’s positive contributions

THREE: Working together to focus on Men’s health and well-being

FOUR: Working together to highlight discrimination against males

FIVE: Working together to improve gender relations and improve gender equality

SIX: Working together to create a safer, better world.

Founded in 1999 by Jerome Teelucksingh, Ph.D., a faculty member in the History Department in the University of West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, Thought Leader on Gender Issues, and author, International Men’s Day celebrates the contributions and selfless sacrifices that Men make to our families, our communities, and our world. Observed in over 70 nations throughout our global village on 19th November of each year, International Men’s Day shares a 48-hour partnership with Universal Children’s Day which is observed worldwide on 20th November of each year.

endacl

So.... Do we talk about football, or wha'? Cars? Boobies?

What do we need addressed on international 'ye lot got a day so we're having a day too' day?

tritium

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone who cares about this stuff used the day to send a (polite) email to the relevant ministers office (likely education/equality/health). Asking them to focus more attention and resources on one of the key issues affecting men. I'd suggest the following shortlist;

Male domestic abuse victims
Boys educational underachievment
Men's health funding
Fathers rights under law
Paternity leave rights

abbir

endacl wrote: »

So.... Do we talk about football, or wha'? Cars? Boobies?

What do we need addressed on international 'ye lot got a day so we're having a day too' day?

You could read iptba's post

iptba wrote: »

From last year but seems timeless:

Five dumb reasons people give for opposing International Men’s Day….
http://equality4men.com/2013/11/26/five-dumb-reasons-international-mens-day/

Skip to http://equality4men.com/2013/11/26/but-theres-already-a-womens-day-dumb-reasons-we-dont-need-international-mens-day-4 if you want.

iptba

International Men's Day website:
http://www.internationalmensday.com/

Seriously?

iptba wrote: »

International Men's Day website:
http://www.internationalmensday.com/

Funny you should post that site, I was going to also this morning.
But while the idea of a day celebrating masculinity as a positive is great I was a little put out by one of the main aims stated on the site.

“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. International Men's Day is an opportunity for people everywhere of goodwill to appreciate and celebrate the men in their lives and the contribution they make to society for the greater good of all.”

While it’s great to see the sacrifices men make for the betterment of society actually recognised. I can’t help but wonder if the idea that men should sacrifice themselves is actually something we should be celebrating.
Don’t get me wrong stoicism is one of the many great masculine attributes, but it shouldn’t be the defining one. Then again perhaps I’m reading a little too much into it.

Either way it’s great to see a positive image of men advanced rather than the usual feminist vitriol.

Though it’ll be equally interesting to see how this is portrayed in the media.

laoch na mona

who's it organised by? and who's hosting the seminar, the poster is quiet vague

iptba

Bumping this back to the front page with November 19 approaching.

iptba

(November 18 article)

Why Every Man and Woman Should Celebrate International Men's Day
by
Glen Poole
Author of the book Equality For Men, news editor at insideMAN magazine an UK co-ordinator for International Men's Day.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/glen-poole/international-mens-day_b_6178354.html

iptba

Here's an event in the Rep. of Ireland:

Pieta House is hosting its inaugural International Men’s Day event – With Men In Mind - next Wednesday and it promises to be a fantastic night celebrating the men of Ireland. We think it's about time too because we are world class men if we do say so ourselves.

http://www.joe.ie/fitness-health/with-men-in-mind-is-an-awesome-celebration-of-irish-men-taking-place-in-dublin-next-wednesday/474707

iptba

From an Irish website:

ReachOut.com is run by the Inspire Ireland Foundation which is a not for profit, non government registered charity.

http://ie.reachout.com/2014/11/18/international-mens-day/
International Men’s Day

Tomorrow is International Men’s Day which focuses on improving gender relations, promoting gender equality, and highlighting positive male role models.

It’s also an occasion for men to celebrate their achievements and contributions to the world community.

Men’s health

Men’s and boy’s health is also a topic on the agenda. There are a lot of campaigns to raise awareness about men’s health, be it about cancer in men, men’s mental health or about how we don’t talk about our problems.

Not for all

The stereotype that men don’t look after themselves or talk about their feelings is true most of the time, but not for everyone.

In some cases men may very well be up to talking about his feelings and problems but just may not know how to go about it. Learning how to communicate http://ie.reachout.com/2013/11/20/7-ways-to-communicate-effectively-with-a-friend/ your feelings better will help when you want to express frustrations and other problems.

A more open generation

Now I don’t know about you but I’m a 15 year-old guy and if ever I have a problem I would very easily turn to my friends for help. I know my friends would do the same too.

Maybe the past generation is strung up about appearing very “macho” in front of everyone. But, this generation is more open, which is great. Hopefully it continues to improve.

While we celebrate men and our achievements tomorrow don’t forget we’re not perfect. So, if you, or someone you know isn’t OK, just talk about it http://ie.reachout.com/2013/11/20/7-ways-to-communicate-effectively-with-a-friend/, it’ll help.

iptba

I saw this

Bray Family Resource Centre in Wicklow is holding an event for International Men's Day in the Community Centre.Bray, Republic of Ireland.
2014-11-10
http://loopcayman.com/2014/11/07/family-resource-centre-celebrate-international-mens-day/

I couldn't find anything more on a quick search.

iptba

Earlier tweet from: Pieta House

‏@PietaHouse 7 hours ago
The eve of #IMD2014 is as good a time as any to think about how we #MindOurMen in this country http://www.mindourmen.ie

iptba

Pieta House Installation at Powerscourt Centre for International Men's Day - see image here: http://www.powerscourtcentre.ie/pieta-house-installation/#.VGwCY_msV9o

Seriously?

Well IMD has come and gone.

But for those of you who followed it Paul Elam had a great video about it and the attempts by feminists to subvert the day and the message it delivers.

Well worth a look in my opinion (I've only just watched it).

Personally I found the reception in the media somewhat mixed, some good articles but a fair number giving the white knight message.

Its interesting what he had to say about the .co verses .com sites. The .com message didn't ring quite true to me but I had kind of assumed it was the more legit. Pays to dig it seems.

laoch na mona

only heard of it this year but if events such as this highlight issues such as male suicide and the gender distinction in issues such as child custody and paternal leave, or the broader issue of the potential negative effect of the traditional male gender role.

In short if it stays an event which is a celebration of men it can only be a good thing, hopefully this does not focus on a narrow definition of masculinity which excludes gay and transmen, or become a stupid whinge about feminism

ass hats such as Elam should not be allowed to hijack the event, he actually speaks against he for she like wtf?

but thats just my 2 cents feel free to ignore it

Wibbs

laoch na mona wrote: »

only heard of it this year but if events such as this highlight issues such as male suicide and the gender distinction in issues such as child custody and paternal leave,

Cool. I'd be well on board there, but there is more going on for many men. They're just the "acceptable" subjects.

or the broader issue of the potential negative effect of the traditional male gender role.

Again cool, so long as it doesn't ignore the potential positive effect of the "traditional" male gender role. Being a man is so awful you must change to accommodate new thinking ballsology.

ass hats such as Elam should not be allowed to hijack the event, he actually speaks against he for she like wtf?

As would I TBH. It reads like a crock to me and a continuation of more of the same crock with it. The name says it all. It's all about the "she" when we're trying to deal with issues surrounding the "he". I know, god forbid we should on international men's day, but there you go. IMH it's just another US based feminist trope masquerading as equality and trying to co opt men wanting to discuss stuff about being men. No? Flip it around and reverse the genders. I can see your third wave feminists having a lovely time with the notion of "she for he". Naw, thanks, if that's all the same to you.

DoYouEvenLift

laoch na mona wrote: »

only heard of it this year but if events such as this highlight issues such as male suicide and the gender distinction in issues such as child custody and paternal leave, or the broader issue of the potential negative effect of the traditional male gender role.

In short if it stays an event which is a celebration of men it can only be a good thing, hopefully this does not focus on a narrow definition of masculinity which excludes gay and transmen, or become a stupid whinge about feminism

ass hats such as Elam should not be allowed to hijack the event, he actually speaks against he for she like wtf?

but thats just my 2 cents feel free to ignore it

He's an ass hat simply for opposing something you support?...welp, won't be taking any of your posts in the future seriously

Laura Palmer

DoYouEvenLift wrote: »

He's an ass hat simply for opposing something you support?...welp, won't be taking any of your posts in the future seriously

There are other reasons for not being a fan of Paul Elam. Him merely opposing a view is the least of concerns when it comes to that individual.

I would agree with his condemnation of He For She though. It isn't an "equality" movement, it's a movement that focuses on one gender.

Seriously?

laoch na mona wrote: »

In short if it stays an event which is a celebration of men it can only be a good thing, hopefully this does not focus on a narrow definition of masculinity which excludes gay and transmen, or become a stupid whinge about feminism

A fine example of the point of the video, how feminists have attempted to defang the message by reframing it solely as a celebration of the masculine traits they approve of.