Today, November 19, is International Men’s Day. When I initially heard of this holiday, I was a bit put off and felt compelled to play Beyonce’s "Run The World (Girls)." However, after a bit more research, it became clear that this day is more than just celebrating and recognizing males in our society; it's a call to action to better our world.
The first International Men’s Day was in 1999, in Trinidad and Tobago. The day has become increasingly popular in the past few years and has spread worldwide—to 60 countries including the U.S., Canada, Australia, China, and South Africa.
The idea is to put men’s issues in a positive light and promote positive male role models—both “necessary in a social context which is often fascinated with images of males behaving badly," according to the Men's Day website. This year’s theme is health.
Like International Women’s Day, held on March 8, the ultimate goal is to promote basic humanitarian values. But International Men’s Day was born from very different circumstances than International Women’s Day, which has been celebrated since the early 1900s and began with a mission for gender equality and women’s rights.
On Monday, in celebration of IMD, many men and women will be talking about solutions to issues that affect all of us, calling us to stop and think about what we want to see change in our world.
On this day of inspiration and celebration, think of the positive male role models in your life and share their influence with the GOOD community.
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