It Was International Men’s Day on Tuesday, But Few Brit Males Were Aware

It was International Men's Day on Tuesday, Nov 19, but few Brit males were aware there was such a day.

Although the day does not get much attention compared to International Women's Day, there are some questions if there really is a need for such a day since men generally hold power, despite Germany's tough female ruler, Angela Merkel.

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Glen Poole, UK coordinator for International Men's Day, said it is an important date for anyone concerned with quality. He pointed out that the world's most equal countries have residents who are happier and healthier, making the nation a safer place for everyone to live in.

Mr Poole said, quoted by The Guardian, "When it comes to gender equality in particular, we still tend to think of it is a one-sided, binary puzzle in which women have problems and men are the problem - and so our solutions generally focus on helping women and girls and fixing men and boys."

"In reality, gender equality is a much more complex and multi-faceted beast in which people of all genders can experience a broad range of different inequalities," he added.

He cited as examples men generally dying earlier than women, are at greater risks of suicide, are outperformed by girls academically in almost 100 countries, account for over 80 per cent of violent deaths and the lesser involvement of fathers in raising their children.

"We cannot and should not expect feminism and the women's movement to address these aspects of gender equality. Initiatives like International Men's Day are vitally important as they provide us with a global platform where people from a diverse range of perspectives who are committed to improving the lives of men and boys can get involved in the fight for equality," Mr Poole continued.

Mirror UK stressed that despite 6,000 years of patriarchy, males heading all major world religions and businesses, and only 6.2 per cent of national leaders are female, men are not happy.

It said the unhappiness stems from males feeling they're being discriminated against and women have somewhat gained the upper hand without them needing to run businesses, wars, religions or governments.

It added the world is still an imperfect place to live in, and equality could also benefit men.

"There can be no harm in recognising dads are just as useful as mums, that gender-specific diseases like prostate cancer need to be stopped, that men too can be victims of domestic violence and rape," the daily wrote.

The newspaper, at the same time, suggested that future International Men's Day celebrations could be tapped for males to campaign against sex trafficking, slut-shaming, domestic abuse and religious persecution, while at the same time addressing male woes such as prostates, educational attainment and car insurance premiums.

Incidentally, men are actually the minority since globally, there are 101 females for every 100 males.