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Things We Saw Today: Yes, International Men’s Day Is a Thing

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Every year on International Women’s Day, the internet gets flooded with men demanding to know when International Men’s Day is. Those men have apparently never taken the time to Google the question because the answer is today, November 19th.

The idea of a Men’s Day is complicated, since–much like the recent focus on Straight Pride Parades–a lot of the demand for one comes as a response to Women’s Day, without recognizing that International Women’s Day was born out of women’s marginalization at the hands of cis men.

It’s clear that when men demand to know about THEIR day on and only on a day dedicated to women, they don’t actually care.

So yes, many of those men are asking in bad faith and should be treated as such, if not ignored completely. What shouldn’t be ignored are the issues actual good-faith actors and organizations have put at the center of International Men’s Day–issues like mental health, toxic masculinity, making sure boys have positive male role models, and the distressingly high suicide rate among men and boys.

  • Here’s why there were psychics (and psychic squids!) in Alan Moore’s Watchmen. (via Polygon)
  • The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare gave away free Sailor Moon condoms last month. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
  • A record number of TV episodes were directed by women and POC this year. That record number, by the way, is half–meaning the other half were directed by white men. Happy International Men’s Day, everybody! You did it! (via Variety)
  • Bong Joon-ho coming in with the hot and perfect takes:

  • Ayanna Pressley is calling for the decriminalization of sex work. (via Vice)
  • Taking on white nationalism? Elizabeth Warren has a plan for that. (via ElizabethWarren.com)
  • Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

What did you all see out there today?

(image: Samantha Hurley from Burst)
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Vivian Kane
Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.