I was going to write up something today about International Men’s Day, the me-too what-about-the-menz holiday that’s so meaningless that even Men’s Rights activists can barely remember to celebrate it. Do we really need a day to “celebrate [the] achievements and contributions” of men? Don’t we get quite a lot of that already? Do we need a day given over to “highlighting the discrimination against [men]” as if this is really a thing?
But then I discovered that today was also World Toilet Day, and realized it was probably more worthwhile to promote this event, as the lack of toilets and proper sanitation — a widespread problem in parts of the developing world, particularly in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa — can have devastating public health consequences.
Some disturbing facts, from the UN, which I clipped from this CNN story:
- 2.5 billion people — one in three people in the world — do not have a toilet or access to sustainable sanitation
- Diarrheal diseases are the second most common cause of death in young children in developing countries
- They kill more than HIV/AIDS, malaria and measles combined
Learn more at the official website. Also, Al Jazeera has a useful infographic.
And just a note to the MRAs who have somehow concluded from this post that I am comparing men or men’s issues to toilets (!?), let me try to make my point very clear: I am contrasting a sharply focused activist campaign aimed at a very real problem — lack of toilets and proper sanitation in large parts of the developing world — with large consequences — disease and death, of adults and children alike — with a badly thought out International Men’s Day that seems largely driven by jealousy that “women get a day so why can’t we have one too.”
How halfassed is International Men’s Day? Here’s a screenshot of the International Men’s Day website’s “resources” page.
Generally speaking, you would expect a “resources” page to list facts and figures and possibly link to relevant other groups. All you get at the International Men’s Day site are some posters made from stock photos.
What I found on the site’s “about” page was much more troubling. The site was put online by a group called the Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation, working with the founder of International Men’s Day, Dr Jerome Teelucksingh. The Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation, as I discovered with a bit of Googling, turns out to be a virulently homophobic and transphobic organization that is also behind a site called Gendermatters.com. A quasi-manifesto on the site titled 21 Reasons Why Gender Matters asserts, among other things, that:
Transsexuality signals a deceptively fierce disorder. Elective castration, mastectomy, hysterectomy, etc., are futile non-solutions. The cruel, permanent disfigurement of so-called gender reassignment is not the answer. Transsexuals need psychological and spiritual insight that frees them to celebrate the chromosomes they received at conception.
So, yeah, a halfassed men’s “day” that’s associated with transphobic assholes. Not exactly a winning combination.
Look, if you’re concerned about making a difference in the lives of men, pick the issue that matters most to you, and work on that. If you want to increase funding for prostate cancer research, work on that. If you want to raise money to help male victims of domestic violence, work on that. Actually do the hard work of activism. Don’t just have yourself a “day” and pretend that it means something.
EDIT: Rewrote part of the first paragraph and added all the stuff after the Al Jazeera link to clarify the point of this post, because clearly some people have missed the point entirely.
You argenti, you are the problem. Don’t like people talking back to the cliquey little herd you’re so used to hiding behind do you?Get over yourself. Its called a blog where people could have DIFFERING opinions and in ideal situations (which you are actively opposing) posters can have mature dialectics. If you’re going to accuse me of racism then you’d better back it up with something I’ve actually written, not just your delusions. This is a blog, if you don’t want to debate, then leave.
Erm, it might be an idea not to have a meltdown if you’re then going to talk about mature conversation.
You seem to have missed that this is a mockery blog.
Mind you you’re also starting to sound like a sockpuppet, losing your shit like that.
Plus, you don’t dictate who stays or goes, either. This isn’t a debate blog. There’s no terms of service saying commenters HAVE to engage with anyone, let alone people who’re showing their arses so comprehensively.
Funny how it’s only trolls we have to tell that.
kittehs – Sure. I’m really myopic though, so you’re probably going to need to borrow some frames.
@ Kittehs
I would say yes, but the problem is that I’m hungry and smelling lavender will just make me more hungry. Was going to run out and get some pad kee mao but there are 25 mph winds so I guess that’s such a good plan.
Kitty does look like a grown up version of your Hadji, doesn’t he?
What’s LOL about that kitteh? The poster presumed I was a guy. This is problematic on internet forums where the default poster is presumed to be a guy. Why is that? Other posters take care to use zie and or use both until the gender is known.
Who cares if you’ve been posting here for over a year this isn’t a system of seniority but of quality. You don’t dictate how worthy opinions are of being heard of how they’re heard just because you’ve been here longer. You.Dont.Own.This.Blog. Nor do you have the right to censor based on seniority. My voice is just as legit of being heard as anyone’s regardless of how long other posters have been here. You don’t have the right to dismiss an opinion just because I’m ‘new.’You’re being quite the cliquish bully. I’m actually thinking about writing to David about this. No one needs to be treated as a ‘newbie’ as if they’re opinions aren’t as developed as anyone elses. This is just a way of encouraging a herd mind and avoiding diverse voices from being heard.
Oh. My. Gods. Someone call the fire dept before I combust from the irony!
*scrolls up*
“In many parts of the world especially blond white women are heavily objectified. They have had rape riots happen in places in which they’ve seen blond women. The blond woman is stereotyped in a lot of cultures as being the ubiquitous American and they stereotype American women as being very sexually permissive.”
I’m dying to see you justify saying that wasn’t implying that blondes are sexualized in that context. Do you just intend to call everyone here racist and ableist and victim blaming until we go “oh no, you’re so right, whatever was I thinking?” Because that isn’t going to fucking happen. And as for this —
“Heteros are the population who have the majority of the AIDs population”
Stats check time!
But first…
“Get out from under your little rock and learn to take rape and the voices of rape victims seriously. Learn to put the issues above your petty problems.”
Guys, how do I word this gently? I don’t want to break Moma Sita’s brain, it’s clearly already suffering enough. Oh fuck it. It’s personal. My “petty problems” ARE those voices. I’m currently waiting to see if the gov’n certifies me as too nuts to work as a result. but please, do continue telling me how I should treat rape victims and acting like I have just a bunch of petty problems.
Well, I do have one. Anyone have any idea how to make a block figure look feminine? It’s for the Borg footer. I’m thinking corset.
Alice, if you’re only myopic, you’ll get the better of the deal! I’ve worn frames since I was sixteen*and these days I’m in multifocals, ‘cos of getting long-sighted as well, which needless to say doesn’t cancel out the myopia.
Oh, and there’s the glaucoma.
… Maybe you should swap with someone else!:P
Argenti – Ironic, the fact that we need gender identifiers to let people know that no, that borg is a female. 😛
(Seriously, everyone, add super obnoxiously happy pop music if you can, it makes the ranty screaming 200% more hilarious.)
kittehs – Eh, excuse to get a prescription for weed. 😛
If you feel like it and like happy chirpy pop, obviously. I don’t want to initiate a repeat of the “chicken thighs or gtfo” conversation.
I’m LOLing because you’re screaming about being called a man, when Alice made it clear zie uses “dude” for anyone. I’m also LOLing because you promptly referred to me as “he,” which I’m not.
You’re blathering about censorship (protip: this isn’t the government, it’s a privately owned site, and the term doesn’t apply). You’re screaming about regulars and telling them to go away and carrying on like you have the ownership you’re quick to tell everyone else they don’t have.
The irony, it burns.
Go on, write to David. Please, write to David.
AIDS predominately affects straight people? Well that was easy.
We need better quality statistical failures, that was boring.
(CassandraSays – I’m listening to electronica/post-industrial at the moment, but I’m still quite amused.)
You know, I’d be amused to hear what David has to say about this too. Would David be pleased that the reason that Mona Sita’s writing is because zir opinion wasn’t met with applause?
Oh, are we playing “Fun with Statistics”? US population demographics in detail – white people 79.96% of the population.
http://www.indexmundi.com/united_states/demographics_profile.html
“This is a blog, if you don’t want to debate, then leave.”
*dies*
You reall think you can come in here, spout shit, refuse to acknowledge you may have been out of line, and then tell people who’ve helped establish the culture of the blog to leave?
Please, write David, tell him Cassandra and I are the problem, I’m sure he could use the laugh.
My favorite part of this conversation so far is the idea that people who do not have moderation rights responding to someone’s comments with “lol that was dumb and racist” is censorship.
Idk, that bit about being told to listen to the voices of a group I’m fucking part of was pretty good too. Particularly since she’s got a 100% failure rate on that one having tried it with Alice too.
Here’s Mr Hadji as a grownup. On which note, I’m going – I’ve persuaded Mum to watch a Dr Who story!!!
CassandraSays – But don’t you know that people should have the right to say shit without criticism? It’s in the Constitution: you have the right to not be called out on for being offensive. Free speech yo!
If I don’t reply for a bit, it isn’t that you’ve driven me off Moma Sita, it’s that I have better things to do than argue with someone who makes a brick look intelligent.
@ Argenti
You know that just because I’m laughing my ass off at Moma Sita it doesn’t mean I’m not taking your feelings seriously too, right? Zie isn’t getting to me at all, hence the tone, but if my going LOL THIS IS HILARIOUS makes you feel like I’m trivializing what a jerk zie is being I’ll stop.
argenti,
You know what I think, I think will write David and I don’t think he’ll be laughing. If his blog gets a rep for being dismissive of opinions and that he allows a group of cliquey trolls to go around censoring, bullying and dismissing anyone opinion that isn’t there’s I’m sure his blog wont be so esteemed. Being a journalist I’m sure he sympathizes with getting your voice out there and having it understood. You DO NOT get to dismiss people because of some bullshit about ‘creating the culture of the blog.’ You DO NOT OWN this blog. Peoples voice IS NOT less than yours because you’ve been here a year longer than others. Get over yourself.