Pop Culture dictionary
International Men’s Day
[ in-ter-nash-uh-nl menz dey ]
Is there an International Men’s Day?
Yes, there is an International Men’s Day (sometimes abbreviated IMD). Its organizers promote it as a day dedicated to raising awareness of and highlighting resources for issues that particularly impact men, especially those that are often less publicized, such as mental health.
The question “Is there an International Men’s Day?” is often asked in relation to the existence of the much more well-known and widely observed International Women’s Day.
Such questioning is often interpreted and criticized as intending to detract from a focus on women. The setting aside of a day (or a month, in the case of Women’s History Month) to focus on women’s issues and women’s history is based on the idea that it is important to give special attention to such topics because they are often erased, excluded, or ignored due to misogyny and the teaching of history in a way that has been historically dominated by a focus on men.
For this reason, International Men’s Day is controversial, particularly due to criticism that International Women’s Day is specifically needed as a way of addressing historical and ongoing inequality.
However, some organizers and advocates of International Men’s Day argue that it is not intended to be in opposition to International Women’s Day but as a day to focus on men’s health, to improve gender relations, to promote positive expressions of masculinity, and to raise awareness of issues that impact men who don’t fit the traditional male gender role or the societal expectations of masculine stereotypes.
⚡When is International Men's Day?
International Men’s Day is held each year on November 19.
Where does International Men’s Day come from?
International Women’s Day has been celebrated since the early 1900s, growing out of political and labor activism by women pursuing equal rights. Among the first proposals for an International Men’s Day came in the 1960s. The roots of the modern observance of International Men’s Day come from the 1990s. The date November 19 was proposed in 1999 by history professor Dr. Jerome Teelucksing, a leading promoter of the day.
Examples of International Men’s Day
Who uses International Men’s Day?
Did you know … ?
- A new theme for International Men’s Day is usually selected each year. The theme chosen for 2021 was “Better relations between men and women.”
What are other words used in discussion of International Men’s Day?
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of International Men’s Day like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of International Men’s Day that will help our users expand their word mastery.