Launched in 1999, and now celebrated in more than 90 countries worldwide, International Men’s Day is going from strength to strength. International Men’s Day celebrates positive male role models and the loving strength that men bring to their families and communities. We highlight the need to address the male suicide crisis and we often campaign for improvement in men’s health.
One of the six pillars of International Men’s Day is: “To focus on men’s health and well-being: social, emotional, physical, and spiritual.” All the other five pillars also aid men either directly or indirectly. In this light, our theme for IMD 2022 is “Helping Men and Boys”.
Dr Warren Farrell, co-author of The Boy Crisis — Why Our Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It, said: “Boys are declining in a dramatic way in virtually every key metric… that’s what the Boy Crisis is all about.”
Watch the IMD 2022 60-second video promo below.
Brenda Hafera, in a Heritage Foundation article, says this:
“The Boy Crisis… tells the staggering story of how our young men are being left behind. By the eighth grade, 41 percent of girls are at least proficient in writing, compared with just 20 percent of boys.
Men now earn 39 percent of college degrees while the median annual earnings of a man with a high-school diploma have dropped 26 percent in the past 40 years.
The consequences are dire. Fifteen- to 19-year-old boys commit suicide at four times the rate of girls. Ninety-three percent of those in prison are men, and, according to the authors, “more black boys between ten and twenty are killed by homicide than by the next nine leading causes of death combined.”
As civil-rights activist and community-development leader Robert Woodson says, ‘If you devalue your life, you’ll either take your own, or you’ll take someone else’s.’ Our young men, he adds, are ‘dying in acts of self-hatred.’
The absence of fathers — this includes the fact that they do not get equal time with their children — is the primary driver of the boy crisis. Both mothers and fathers are indispensable and contribute uniquely to raising children.
With 40 percent of children born out of wedlock and custody laws favouring mothers, more children are missing Dad’s, rather than Mom’s, influence. Just some of the effects of dad deprivation include higher rates of suicide, drug use, violence, hypertension, poverty, lack of empathy, and ADHD.”
Cassie Jaye, the director of The Red Pill, said in her TEDx talk with over 10 million views:
“After years of researching and fact-checking what the men’s rights activists were telling me, there is no denying that there are many human rights issues that disproportionately or uniquely affect men… Workplace deaths: disproportionately men. War deaths: overwhelmingly men.
Suicide: overwhelmingly men. Sentencing disparity, life expectancy, child custody, child support, false rape allegations, criminal court bias, misandry, failure launched, boys falling behind in education, homelessness… lack of parental choice once a child is conceived, lack of resources for male victims of domestic violence, so many issues that are heartbreaking, if you are the victim or you love someone who is the victim as a result of any one of these issues.
These are men’s issues. And most people can’t name one because they think, ‘Well, men have all their rights; they have all the power and privilege.’ But these issues deserve to be acknowledged.
They deserve care, attention, and motivation for solutions. Before making The Red Pill movie, I was a feminist of about ten years, and I thought I was well-versed on gender equality issues.
But it wasn’t until I met men’s rights activists that I finally started to consider the other side of the gender equality equation. It doesn’t mean I agree with all that they’ve said. But I saw the immense value in listening to them and trying to see the world through their eyes.”
See Cassie Jaye’s TEDx speech below:
Martin Luther King Jr, who is one of the world’s greatest human rights activists, said: “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.”
Our mission this year is to help individuals, families, churches, communities, small businesses and corporations, including NGOs and governments, to work together to help men and boys.
On the IMD website, we provide suggestions on how to celebrate International Men’s Day, and how to get your local community involved, create a community event and/or special award ceremony.
November is an important month for the masculine soul, because it celebrates several events that are important to men.
Movember is the month dedicated to supporting men’s health. The day following International Men’s Day, 20 November, is International Children’s Day, which forms 48 hours of celebration for men, children and the special relationship fathers have with their children.
We urge you to get together with some friends and celebrate International Men’s Day on 19 November.
Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, founder of International Men’s Day, from Trinidad & Tobago, said:
“International Men’s Day has the potential to become the global medium to heal our world. The concept and themes of International Men’s Day are designed to give hope to the depressed, faith to the lonely, comfort to the broken-hearted, transcend barriers, eliminate stereotypes and create a more caring humanity.
I and the team at International Men’s Day encourage you to plan to celebrate International Men’s Day and to wish everyone a happy International Men’s Day on 19 November 2021.”
Lovework
We would love your help to publicise International Men’s Day and to celebrate the day itself. Promote a post from the IMD Facebook, connect on the IMD Instagram or send the 60-second video to your friends.
What is really important is you get together with a few mates this Friday and wish everyone you meet a Happy International Men’s Day.
Yours for Helping Men & Boys,
Warwick Marsh
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First published at Dads4Kids. Photo by Anna Shvets.
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