international men's day, take 2

[darthfox]

I confess I had only heard of this thing from my former classmate on the Facebooks. And it was asked of me on LJ what this actually is and who organizes it and so on, and so now I read the following, courtesy of Uncle Wiki:International Men's Day (IMD) is an annual international event celebrated on November 19. Inaugurated in 1999 in Trinidad and

Comments

[ccr1138]

I see exactly where you're coming from, but as the parent of a teenage boy, I can tell you that it's pretty harsh out there for males right now. My child has done nothing to deserve the scorn heaped upon him simply because he was born with a penis. I don't minimize the historic and ongoing oppression of women, but would it hurt to let boys know we value them, too?

[ccr1138]

Another thought: does it denigrate or diminish men when we celebrate the accomplishments of women? Then why the resentment when it's the other way around?

Yeah, so every day is Male Day and Caucasian Day and Straight Day etc. I contend you get far better results with praise than you do with approbation. Setting aside a day to say, "See, guys? This is how you do it. These men have the right idea," is not a terrible thing IMNSHO.

[ccr1138]

Right. Unless we teach them, how will they learn?

I was having this discussion with my son the other night while we were watching The Taming of the Shrew (Elizabeth Taylor / Richard Burton). At first The Boy thought Katherina deserved to be kicked around. It took a while for him to understand that she (like all women of that time) had no rights, and was considered property of whatever man held her leash. While her sister was being sold off like a prize cow to the highest bidder, she was expected to marry an abusive stranger who didn't care anything about her except that her father was rich. Of course she was being difficult!

The play is misogynistic at its core, and ordinarily I wouldn't watch it, but it was a good conversation piece to get The Boy to see women as human beings with their own desires and goals, and not just objects for men to play with. Not sure he gets it quite yet; he's at that stage where Victoria's Secret models are still a bit of a shock to the system.

[ccr1138]

And even, you know, listen while they whine about how they suffer! Because I firmly believe that people won't listen to your side unless you listen to theirs, and getting them to think about their own problems might lead them to a better understanding of yours ... not to mention a bit of perspective.

I've been exchanging posts with a man who feels persecuted by women's power. LOL. In his microcosm, I'm sure it's painful. But his repeated assertions that "most women" are narcissistic, etc., is tiresome. It's those kind of guys that I'd like to knock upside the head with a 2x4.