But what about World Toilet Day

Muir wrote: »

Yeah, I had a feeling you'd just heard someone say it which is why I wanted to post the numbers. And like El_Duderino 09 said, it tends to be due to the difference in methods used.



It doesn't ignore genuine issues. There is quite a lot about the genuine issues. Richard Herring uses the day to tell men who ask when IMD is, and raise money for Refuge in the process. If you see things that are rubbish, it can be good to respond factually, even if you don't change the mind of the person posting it, someone else reading might not buy into the BS. If it's just bashing and people trying to get a rise out of others for the hell of it, it's usually best to ignore it.

Pay gap does exist. Maybe not because someone said 'well you're a woman so we'll pay you x amount less' but because there are underlying issues there that result in this outcome. Things have improved considerably, but those issues still need work.earning gap yes pay gap no. women earn less due to lots of facters that have nothing got to do with gender

There are plenty of people and organisations that set out to do exactly that, and still get the "when's international men's day?" other comments complaining about it. For some reason people see it as some sort of competition - and I say that of both men and women.
mens day is largly ignored or trivillised . you cannot discus issues that affect us like quotas and gender discrimination in the work force. god help you if you mentioned that 2 major companies have found that it was men that were under payed compared to women

For some reason when we talk of equality (in any sense), some people seem to believe it means something will be taken from them and get rather defensive, and then a percentage of people on the other side always seem to take things too far which alienates other people. But the majority are actually in the middle and would do a lot better if they just ignored those at the far end of the spectrum on whatever the issue is.

the problem is that we have gone past equallity in some areas and now women are getting preferential treatment.ths is at the cost of men. there are jobs where men cannot even apply for the job and lods where quotas mean that the best person cannot get a job if he happens to be a man.
as for portraying men as rapinsts a wife bashers , that has to hrm men somehow.

ovwe all it is bad for women too but some women still benifit from it . there are loads of women in jobs just because they are women and lots of men that should have gotten the job but were discriminated against.

its not alright to assume men are wife bashers but how often is domestic abuse portrayed as a man abusing a women even though all the stat show it closer to 50 ;50 and even more wmoen as the abusers

the_pen_turner wrote: »

ovwe all it is bad for women too but some women still benifit from it . there are loads of women in jobs just because they are women and lots of men that should have gotten the job but were discriminated against.

its not alright to assume men are wife bashers but how often is domestic abuse portrayed as a man abusing a women even though all the stat show it closer to 50 ;50 and even more wmoen as the abusers

It's not right. Women are and historically have been discriminated against for jobs, but I don't agree with bringing in quotas which is in my opinion just doing the same thing.

It's not right to assume that, because it's not the case. The numbers aren't close to 50-50 though. Women do suffer more domestic abuse than men, and more violent abuse and are far more likely to be raped and far more likely to be murdered by a male partner or ex partner. No, that doesn't mean all men are abusers or rapists, not even close. And it doesn't mean we don't need to address the fact that it also happens to men, but it is an issue that affects women more than men. In the same was that men are far more likely to complete suicide than women. Doesn't mean it doesn't also hugely affect women, or that all men will kill themselves and no woman will ever commit suicide. I'm not making sweeping generalisations here. Issues affect both, and some affect men more than women and some affect women more than men. Neither make it okay to make assumptions.

the_pen_turner wrote: »

those are reasons for an earning gap not a pay gap . there are lots of reasons for earning less . we need to sort out the reasons women dont go for the higher paid jobs or dont go for probotions etc.

the problem is that men dont talk about our problems . we are conditioned (similar conditioning to girls but in other ways) to not show weakness and to provide for the 'weaker' sex. that total BS but its reality
men dont talk about these things generally

i would like to see where you are seeing mens issues discussed because i dont see it. if anything i see the oposite where men are micked and belittled

It's still a pay gap.

I agree, men are conditioned not to talk about their problems and it's BS.

IMD was definitely in the media (newspapers, radio etc.) and every mental health charity I know of was raising awareness of men's issues (and reguarly do throughout the year). The Irish Times actually asked men to submit issues that face them (the downsides of being a man) so that they could highlight them (they gave examples like men being concerned about approaching women or walking behind them on the street). There were TED talks, father's right campigners, women's rights campaigners, sports teams. There's a website specifically for it and they had an image circulating with statistics that affect men like suicide rates, homeless rates, homicide victim rates etc. If you search social media for the date with the hashtags like #internationalmensday there are thousands of results. And from looking through myself I haven't seen a single negative one so far, which is quite a contrast to IWD. There's Movember for the whole month of November which I actually think has done an amazing job of getting men involved (particularly young men) in talking about and fundraising for issues affecting men.

There are specific groups and charities for men's issues too. I think most people will have heard of men's sheds, there's a national men's health program, there's amen for male victims of domestic abuse, men's health forum, a lot of research studies in the area. There's also a men's health week in June run by MHFI and supported by Healthy Ireland, the HSE and HSC Public Health Agency.

I couldn't possibly sit and list it all to you, but there's loads out there. And if there's something you feel strongly about, then get involved too. Maybe it's fundraising for a charity, maybe it's checking in on your male friends or relatives, or sharing the signs of prostate cancer, or links of where to get support. (that isn't just specifically at you the_pen_turner, I obviously have no idea what you do or don't do in relation to raising awareness of issues facing men). Just, if you are someone who thinks no one is promoting it or doing anything about it, ask yourself what are you doing, and if it's nothing then why not do something? Even if it's just a little thing. You doing something might inspire someone else, and all those little things add up.

Muir wrote: »

I was reading yesterday that international men's day is more talked about on social media and searched on google on the 8th of March than it is on any other day of the year - including international men's day. It's because so many people sarcastically ask when international men's day is on international women's day. It's been around since the early 90s, it's talked about in the papers and on the radios and promoted quite a bit, particularly by mental health charities with men being affected by such high suicide rates.

It seems like men aren't as inclined to talk about it or do anything to promote it or celebrate it, which I think is a pity because there are a number of issues that exclusively or predominantly affect men. Men seem to feel less able to talk about their issues (for example men are less likely to seek help with mental health). I wonder if that's what has an impact on them being less likely to talk about international men's day, or really even recognise it. It's been around a long time and yet so many seem to genuinely not know it exists.

I know this is AH, and there'll probably be a few thinking that we hear about international women's day because women never shut up or something to that affect. But I do think it's an issue that men aren't recognising a day that's all about raising awareness for issues facing them, and if you're a man who doesn't talk about those things, maybe it's worth considering why not.

International Woman's Day is celebrated by the UN. International Men's Day is observed in 80 countries. There's a bit of a disparity there that explains why there's get less awareness of the Men's day.

McGaggs wrote: »

International Woman's Day is celebrated by the UN. International Men's Day is observed in 80 countries. There's a bit of a disparity there that explains why there's get less awareness of the Men's day.

That's interesting but IMD is in this country and lots of men on boards will talk about how international men's day is a stupid notion.

Muir wrote: »

It's still a pay gap.

I agree, men are conditioned not to talk about their problems and it's BS.

IMD was definitely in the media (newspapers, radio etc.) and every mental health charity I know of was raising awareness of men's issues (and reguarly do throughout the year). The Irish Times actually asked men to submit issues that face them (the downsides of being a man) so that they could highlight them (they gave examples like men being concerned about approaching women or walking behind them on the street). There were TED talks, father's right campigners, women's rights campaigners, sports teams. There's a website specifically for it and they had an image circulating with statistics that affect men like suicide rates, homeless rates, homicide victim rates etc. If you search social media for the date with the hashtags like #internationalmensday there are thousands of results. And from looking through myself I haven't seen a single negative one so far, which is quite a contrast to IWD. There's Movember for the whole month of November which I actually think has done an amazing job of getting men involved (particularly young men) in talking about and fundraising for issues affecting men.

There are specific groups and charities for men's issues too. I think most people will have heard of men's sheds, there's a national men's health program, there's amen for male victims of domestic abuse, men's health forum, a lot of research studies in the area. There's also a men's health week in June run by MHFI and supported by Healthy Ireland, the HSE and HSC Public Health Agency.

I couldn't possibly sit and list it all to you, but there's loads out there. And if there's something you feel strongly about, then get involved too. Maybe it's fundraising for a charity, maybe it's checking in on your male friends or relatives, or sharing the signs of prostate cancer, or links of where to get support. (that isn't just specifically at you the_pen_turner, I obviously have no idea what you do or don't do in relation to raising awareness of issues facing men). Just, if you are someone who thinks no one is promoting it or doing anything about it, ask yourself what are you doing, and if it's nothing then why not do something? Even if it's just a little thing. You doing something might inspire someone else, and all those little things add up.

its great to see that. but if you leave out mental health out of it ( they do a good job with that), what other issues are raised.
fathers rights a small bit but they wont talk freely about it incase they ofend the permenantly offended.

wouldnt dare talk about gender quotas

etc
etc



as for the pay gap. it is total bs . there is a hugh diference between a wage gap and a pay gap. per hour men and women are paid the same for the same work. only cases to show a pay gap are google and bbc who both increased mens hourly pay.


there are lots of reasons women earn less but thats not the fault of sexism

Muir wrote: »

It's not officially recognised but the UN, which I don't agree with, but they also promoted it. I don't think that has anything to do with the awareness. People, for the most part, aren't listening to the UN. They're listening to the media and they're listening to the people around them. I think one of the main issues is that men are less likely to talk, and it's a problem.



It is the fault of sexism. There are women being paid less hourly in the same role as men. One big issue is that a woman is looked on unfavourably for asking for a payrise, a man isn't. There is sexism for both men and women, and it's an attitude and culture that have been around a long time and it takes time to change. It is changing, and that's great, but it doesn't change by people claiming it doesn't exist when studies show it does. There are studies showing that women are more productive than men in the workplace. They earn less per hour for the same work. Those are facts, research them if you like, or choose to to believe something else, it doesn't change the reality that it exists.

There are loads of groups for father's rights. They talk openly. The Irish Cancer society cover a lot on men's health, I don't just mean mental health. The health week in June is about all aspects of men's health. A lot of people talk about gender quotas. Movember focuses a lot on the cancers that only affect men. Many articles and talks are based around sexism faced by men, the fact that things like the #metoo movement can make many men feel afraid to even approach a woman. I know there are a lot of people who think Blindboy from the Rubberbandits is ridiculous, but whatever your opinion is, he reaches a large audience of people and addresses issues that face men.

I focus a lot on mental health because it's my area and it's what I pay most attention to, but there's loads out there if you look. And if there's a gap, why don't you (again not just you specifically, but anyone reading) fill it? You can't complain and hope someone else is going to fix it, or you can but be aware that you'll likely be a long time waiting. But usually when one person steps forward to do/say something, you find that there are a lot more people who agree ready to help too.

I would like to see one example where a women is paid less hourly for the same job but with the same experience and benefit to the company.

There maybe a few people raising mens issues but it isn't raised in mainstream media. At least not where I see it.
I wish more men would stand up but we can't for fear of being singled out and suffer a witch hunt from a few

Deebles McBeebles wrote: »

8/10 suicides in Ireland are men. I don't really get where you're going with this?

More women than men attempt suicide, but men have a higher "success rate" (I hate calling it that) at taking their own lives.

This is because women statistically choose slower methods that have a higher intervention opportunity, because it takes them longer to pass away. Overdosing on pills or cutting wrists is more common in women.

Men statistically are more likely to hang themselves, which means unless someone intervenes within a few critical minutes, they are beyond saving.

Its actually very sad when you think about it.