International Men's Day

International Men's Day aims to promote men's and boy's health, improve gender relations, promote gender equality, and highlight positive male role models.

When people think gender inequality they immediately think women are being denied their rights. Yes there is still a lot of work to do in the area of women's rights but men are also being denied some things. Maybe not by law but by society. 

Men don't feel they are allowed to express emotion. This is not because the law says so but because society frowns upon men crying or discussing feelings and labels it weak. Feeling something is not a weakness. Feeling something is a sign that you are human. 

Often we don't even realise that we are limiting boys and men. From the time a boy turns two he is referred to as a "little man".They are told to "man up" when they are sad or upset. This creates the idea that men are strong because they don't express emotion. From the time men are toddlers they are taught this so really it is no wonder than this is the way our society has developed. But something has got to change. 77.9% of suicides in America in 2013 were male while 22.1% were female. This is a very big gap and it is directly related to men feeling pressured by society to be strong. Men are expected to be strong all the time and when they aren't able to be strong they won't admit it because they are afraid that they won't be a man anymore. 

We need to change this idea. We need the world to realise that a man can need help and still be strong just like an woman can. A man should be able to go to the doctor and not feel weak. Just because we need a little help every  once in a while doesn't make us any less. This International Men's Day I am asking you to "Be the change you wish to see in the world" and support men.