Today is International Women’s Day!
If you’ve spent any time on the internet at all so far today, you’ve probably noticed that it’s International Women’s Day.
You’ve also probably noticed some men chipping in with a helpful “When is International Men’s Day?” in solidarity with their sisters. Maybe your mates are at it. Hey, maybe it’s a question that’s close to your own heart.
I’m not here to judge. I’m just here to talk. So, in the interests of all understanding each other better, let’s work through this.
First things first, International Men’s Day takes place on 19 November. Every year. Much like Christmas, it doesn’t change. It’s been around since the early ’90s.
That’s a start, right? If you were genuinely concerned that there wasn’t one, well, there is. It was less than five months ago. If you missed it last year then mark your calendar so that never happens again. And if your sole concern was that men don’t have a day for themselves, then… crisis averted! You can go now. You’re free.
But maybe your concern goes further.
Maybe it’s not just about the holiday. Maybe you’re using that question as rhetorical device to make a broader point. Maybe the point you’re trying to make is that life is hard for men too. That we get blamed for things we haven’t done, or that men are painted with a broad brush based on those worst among us. Maybe you’d go so far as to say that women have it easier these days.
By all doing something, we can make a genuine shift across the country ✊#ShowYourStripes – these girls deserve the best 🔊
@20x20_ie #InternationalWomensDay #IWB2019 #CantSeeItCantBeIt pic.twitter.com/fKYB8bu1zm
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) March 8, 2019
And if that’s your concern then I will level with you. It’s a bit weird that you would choose to wait until today, International Women’s Day, to bring it up. Those are pretty pressing concerns, after all.
But men don’t have it easy. They might have it easy by comparison, but they don’t have it easy. Life isn’t easy for anybody, really. 1% of the world owns more than half of the world’s wealth. The planet is heating up at a pretty alarming rate. You’re probably underpaid for the work that you do. Politicians are corrupt and they are in a permanent state of wasting our money. There is no shortage of things in this world to be angry about.
If you want to help with any of the above problems, that would be eminently welcome. Women will not get in your way. There is no version of feminism that seeks to undercut a men’s movement that actually helps. Life is not a zero-sum game where advancements for women mean regressions for men.
International Women’s Day should not be on your list of grievances. If it is, then you need to get a grip.
So now, with the time you’ve saved yourself by no longer asking “When is International Men’s Day?” maybe you could ask yourself some questions.
Now that you know when #IMD is…
Are you going to do anything about it? Are you going to devote your time and your efforts to contributing constructively to any of the problems faced by men in society? Are you going to do anything to combat drug addiction in Ireland? Homelessness? Mental illness and suicide? Road fatalities? Alcoholism? Prostate and testicular cancer?
And what about problems where men are more often the perpetrators? What will you do about those? Murder? Assault? Sexual assault? Domestic abuse? Will you do something about those? 87% of women killed in Ireland over the past 20 years were killed by a male partner or a man known to them. SAFE Ireland says that one in four Irish women experience sexual or physical violence at the hands of a partner.
Are you going to do something with your life to make this world a more liveable place for everybody else; men and women?
Or, alternatively, are you going to keep complaining? Are you going to keep campaigning in your own significant way against a society struggling towards equality all the time? Are you going to keep wasting your time?
If you are genuinely, truly, concerned for others — for their wellbeing and our quality of life — then you’d do something about it. Something real. Something beyond just trying to get International Women’s Day cancelled by moaning about it on the internet.
Start today. No better day for it.
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