International men's day

It was International Men's Day on the 19th of November.  When I first learned about this, I thought it was a stupid idea to have one, but over the years, my view on this has changed. 

I think that such a day is important to promote health changing behaviour, and also to challenge toxic masculinity, including what is and is not consent. 

We saw the need for change in the media in September when the failure of Dan Wootton to say Maaate to Laurence Fox resulted in both making the news for the wrong reasons. Since the original comments, Dan Wootton has been sacked by the MailOnline, and Laurence Fox has (finally) apologised for his comments.

I have posted before about the pressure on men to be toxic. We see those like Andrew Tate venerated by other men, but we also see people like Russell Brand being defended by some women. When it comes to toxic behaviour in men being tolerated, it is the 'right type' of man who is able to get away with this. While it is not with most woman, there are enough women who are attracted to bad boys which makes men see such behaviour as the right thing to do.

There are so many things that we can do to help society become better, but that includes addressing the issues that men face, not just to their own health, but how they affect others. Examples of this include teaching men how to act in relationships to reduce rates of domestic violence, ensuring that women do not have to fear being killed by men (or boys) due to an actual or perceived slight. And of course, reducing the numbers carrying knives.