Happy “Why Isn’t There an International Men’s Day” Day!
This annual holiday, previously known as International Women’s Day, is traditionally celebrated every March 8 by angrily demanding “why isn’t there an International Men’s Day?” after refusing to Google “International Men’s Day” first, at which point you would discover that the holiday does in fact already exist. International Men’s Day is celebrated on November 19th, and every other day of the year.
Let’s check in on the “Why Isn’t There an International Men’s Day” Day celebrations, already ongoing on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/BrandonJCorreia/status/707246328556822529
How comes there isn't an international men's day?
— Matt Johnson (@MattJohnsonx) March 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/TokenSmartGuy/status/707253631049986048
https://twitter.com/KanyesTherapist/status/707254503771275264
https://twitter.com/ShingieMahachi/status/707121127966040064
https://twitter.com/ShingieMahachi/status/707121711909568513
Apparently it's international women's day today.
Is there an international men's day too? Cause I smell inequality. :^)— 🃏 Liam 'Jester' Kinne-Hall 🃏 (@JesterTCG) March 8, 2016
What a load, lol. I guess il respect it, but is there an International Men's Day? I doubt it. https://t.co/oZgDyr532B
— Zach Jividen (@KingJivi23) March 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/TDaze19/status/707235126632026112
Curiosity, not arrogance: is there an international men's day?
— Zeanenica (@Zeanenica) March 8, 2016
wait but is there an international men's day??? bc it's still gender inequality* if it's in favor of women lol
— steph ツ (@stephgilbert_xo) March 8, 2016
Is there an international men's day?im feeling the inequality🙃
— Darrin V (@darrinvarnum) March 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/Whataboutparis/status/706898417486864385
Oh, but the party’s only just getting started!
Whew!
Well, that’s enough partying for now. If you’ve got more stamina than me, don’t worry! There are literally dozens if not hundreds more celebratory “Why Isn’t There an International Men’s Day” Day Tweets on Twitter, and, as I write this, the day is only half over!
As partied out as I now am, I would feel remiss if I didn’t mention that there are some real party poopers on Twitter today, too. Like the guy who’s been responding to all those “why isn’t there an International Men’s Day” queries on Twitter with the boring answer that there is such a day, every November 19th.
Other party poopers are even meaner.
https://twitter.com/AllysonKoerner/status/707246877239091201
"Why isn't there an International Men's Day?…..why isn't there a hospital for healthy people? Why isn't there a cemetery for the living?
— Velvet (@velvet__venom) March 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/jeremysear/status/707021587191443456
https://twitter.com/truffel_shuffle/status/707247638589136896
"why isn't there an international men's day???" – jean-jacques rousseau, probably
— mar (@itsmariannnna) March 8, 2016
But I have to admit, this gal knows how to party:
I'm planning on spending International Men's Day on 19 November asking Twitter why there isn't an International Women's Day. Who's with me?
— Joanna Abena Fianu 🇮🇪🇬🇭 (@Ranavalona111) March 8, 2016
Well, now I know what I’m going to be doing on November 19th.
At least if I’m not too tired out from celebrating World Toilet Day, also on the 19th.
It’s actually a legit holiday, pushing for better sanitation worldwide on behalf of the 2.5 billion people on planet earth who do not have access to adequate toilet facilities, leaving them vulnerable to diarrheal diseases that, CNN notes, cause more deaths “than HIV/AIDS, malaria and measles combined.”
Half of those deaths are men and boys, so World Toilet Day will actually be of far more value to men that whatever nonsense the International Men’s Day bozos come up with.
EDIT: Ok, new plan for November 19th: “International Male” Day.
@FilthyRichmond when is international male day? pic.twitter.com/9SnreTvvA0
— Andrew Freiden (@WeatherAF) March 8, 2016
@DavidFutrelle there are soooo many amazing pictures out there. pic.twitter.com/2apLlmfojp
— Erika with a K (@imaginaryerika) March 8, 2016
@imaginaryerika Ok just one more. pic.twitter.com/SJXm6JRhHk
— David Futrelle (@DavidFutrelle) March 8, 2016
RE: “Maternity Wards”
‘Maternity wards’ at every hospital I’ve walked through are actually called “Obstetrics” or “OB”. The nurses sometimes use the shorthand of WW (short for “Women’s World”) among themselves. That shorthand will probably die a gradual death as more old nurses retire and younger nurses take over.
The only other department that might fit under the umbrella of “Maternity Ward” would be NICU, (pronounced nick-you), but that’s really more of a ‘babies in incubators’ floor.
http://www.whydontwehaveaninternationalmensday.com/
This made me laugh. “Fuckwomble” is my word of the day.
Happy Birthday Robert, and hallo Kupo.
@ tricyclist, yes indeedy. The men and women who work hard to address the issues men face as a class are going to be not the ones whining on the internet “What about the menz?” and “How come we don’t get a day?”
They’re too idle or self-satisfied to google it, so they certainly aren’t going to organise their own party, but at the same time sure as hell not to let us enjoy ours. Well, stuff ’em. Happy International Women’s Day to everyone who celebrates it.
I think an International Non-Binary Day would be a great idea, too.
About naming a Delivery Ward after Mary – I think creepy, indeed. After all, she gave birth in a stable, without ever having had sex, and – if the Pope is to be believed (and frankly, if you don’t believe the Pope when it comes to the subject of the baby Jesus’s tiny cranium passing along the Blessed Virgin’s birth canal, what can you believe?) Mary went through the whole process without any pain or groan.
Kind of an impossible standard there, no? I have no direct experience, but I gather it stings a bit.
@ vikki p
If they were really trying they’d deck the maternity ward out like a stable.
Trans people exist. :/
I got halfway through the “is there an international men’s day?” tweets and was groaning “stahp!!!” out loud. On the train :/
And that was just David’s list not the whole of twitter.
Happy birthday Robert 🙂
For those who didn’t know, NICU is the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. I don’t know anyone who’s wanted to be there. 🙁
Also, pedantry alert: NO one pushes a baby out of their urethra! This is serious. If you think that’s how babies come into the world, you should go to remedial sex ed classes.
And you are probably having sex all wrong.
@Moggie – I didn’t find it creepy so much as weird, but then, I come from a long line of Anglican heretics, so I didn’t grow up with the whole Blessed Mother thing.
I did find the statue rather off-putting, especially since the plaster had broken off one of her hands, so the Virgin Mary’s beneficent gesture lost a little something.
New Game of Thrones trailer!!!
That is my International Women’s Day gift.
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7a408e8yx1qm2bs4.gif
Way off topic. I know. I’M EXCITED OKAY!?
@ Alan
Funny you should say that, ‘cos around Christmas time, there did seem to be a bit more straw piled up around the statue….
I love all of the sort of hot babes pouting lusciously in their photos and tagging “What about Men’s Day?”
Because, you know, boys.
My fave labor & delivery tidbit is that when the PA announces a woman going into labor somewhere she might prefer not to be (like in the parking lot), they call out a code lavender.
So cute!
I’m glad I’m not the only Richard Herring fan (rhlstp!) in the comments here. He spends every women’s day replying to as many of these tweets as he can with the date of international men’s day. It’s one of those things that starts out funny, then gets tedious and finally gets really funny again.
Also, I would be fine with using international men’s day to highlight something like testicular cancer (OK, i accept there’s a non-binary issue there) or encourage men to share with each other about their mental health etc. Men do have specific problems and just because the patriarchy is vastly more oppressive for women,I can still care about men without losing sight of the big picture. A genuine men’s movement would tackle these issues too, bit as we all know, the people who profess to care about men’s issues don’t give a fig for anything that might benefit men at all.
@ scaly llama
Hyenas have a pretty unusual birth process.
Hah, I was looking at that list of people asking about men’s day, so I started replying to them with ‘Nov 19th’ and a link to the wikipedia page.
and then I come back and read your post a bit more, and
“I would feel remiss if I didn’t mention that there are some real party poopers on Twitter today, too. Like the guy who’s been responding to all those “why isn’t there an International Men’s Day” queries on Twitter with the boring answer that there is such a day, every November 19th.”
<_<; whoops
According to my Mr, “internacional man’s day” is a real and even important holiday in germany. They even get an off day at job. And its celebrated the way you would expect: they get ridiculously drunk, go to the streets en masse, break every thing up, make a lot of noise, and get into fights. Its basically a day off to celebrate toxic masculinity. I believe the same stupid thing would happen in the rest of the world if it belonged to the culture.
While women don’t get a day off and spend the day receiving roses, passive or agressive misogynistic comments, and “what about the men?!” comments.
But equality, amirite? We need a day to try to fight for our rights to walk around freely and not be treated like unpaid house/sex workers(while 0 shits are given), they need a day (or several) to fight for their right to get drunk and wreck shit up.
By the way, if anyone here is aware of my Mr’s quite “equalitarian”/” humanist” line of thought you may wonder what is his opinion on “women’s day”.
He didnt ask ” is there a man’s day?” because its very well celebrated in his country.
Instead he went into the next option and said “I don’t think men’s or women’s days are justified, because you are celebrating people for something that they simply ‘are’, and not an achievement”. The naivety of privileged people is so frustrating, but also fascinating. How can he think its all it is about?
Then I explained the importance to him and he understood and agreed. We didnt even fight!
He also agrees the ghostbusters trailer is freaking racist but he is still looking foward for the movie.
He also hates men’s day and doesnt go out to make a mess ^^
I have been really proud of him :3 Seems like he is really starting to open his mind and understanding. Best women’s day present ever ^^
And to clear up something, I am aware men (and testicular human beings as a whole) have unique problems too and am in favor of a day to acess them.
At one of my local hospitals, they play the first few bars of “Rock-A-Bye Baby” over the PA system every time a baby is born. You know there’s a baby boom going on when you’re in the ER with a screwed-up knee and hear that like seven times over about three hours. 😉
@Nikki the Bluth Wannabe
Me too. Thanks!
@Robert
Happy birthday to you!
The trouble is that while International Men’s Day is a great opportunity to raise awareness of testicular cancer, unnecessary circumcision, stigma about mental health and so on, what these people actually use it for is whining about feminism, the same as every other day of the year. If the only examples I’d seen of grown men were those that I saw posting on Twitter, I wouldn’t think terribly highly of them as a gender.
And mister “I want a Paternity Ward” can have that when he has to force a living baby out of his genitals! I for one am happy doing neither.
They think Buzzfeed is feminist cause some feminists use it as platform to publish feminist texts.
They don’t usually understand how things works, you see. ANYTHING.
Trans men and non binary people do get pregnant, and should not have their identities ignored like that.
Even though, sadly, I really doubt they said this out of concern for trans people.
Well, there IS a “trans awareness” day/month. At least in my country. It sadly is not too big outside of feminist circles. And tends to erase non binary trans.
@theladyinsomnia – That’s awesome 😀
(And katz’s joke was funny, too! I got busy explaining it and forgot to thank you.)
@Robert: HBD!
I share my birthday with the Girl Scouts, so I know that feel.
re: maternity wards: All of them I’ve visited and given birth in were called Labor & Delivery.
I thought the point of International Women’s Day is that traditional progressive holidays like May Day failed to give women’s issues adequate attention.
I am racking my brain here as the why there would be ANY NEED AT ALL for a “paternity ward”
Dude, it’s not there because YOU’RE NOT DOING ANYTHING!