When is International Men’s Day 2019 in the UK? How does it compare to IWD? Do we need one?

It seems the same question is always asked in the run-up to International Women’s Day – is there an International Men’s Day?

Every year on March 8 thousands of people take to social media to express their outrage that female achievement is being celebrated over male.

Yet despite it being not as well known as its female counterpart, International Men’s Day has in fact been celebrated for more than two decades.

When is International Men’s Day 2019 and where is it celebrated?

Falling on November 19 every year, IMD is celebrated in more than 60 countries worldwide including Singapore, Australia, India, the UK, the US, South Africa, Haiti, Jamaica, Hungary, Malta, Ghana, Moldova and Canada.

Why is International Men’s Day controversial?

Having only been inaugurated by Dr Jerome Teelucksingh in Trinidad and Tobago in 1999, IMD is not currently recognised by the UN and debate exists as to whether it is needed.

IMD in its current format began in the UK in 2010, with a conference discussing the issues facing men and boys taking place in Brighton & Hove.

It has garnered a lot of controversy in the past with many arguing that “every day is IMD” and leading male feminists have called on people to boycott it.

However, calls for an IMD date back as far as the 1960s and according to organisers its purpose is to “encourage men to teach the boys in their lives the values, character and responsibilities of being a man.”

Some see IMD as a very real and important catalyst to opening up discussion around the unique struggles facing men. With suicide being the biggest killer of men under 45, IMD provides an opportunity to address problems like these.

Each year IMD has a different theme, with last year’s being “Positive Male Role Models”, and events taking place up and down the country.

Comedian Richard Herring takes it upon himself to remind Twitter users that the day exists, replying to questions and raising money for domestic abuse victims through the charity Refuge.

He said: “I thought this year it would be nice if we raised some money along the way, to turn stupid or negative comments by people who don’t understand how to google something that will be positive and helpful.”

How does IMD compare to International Women’s Day?

International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on March 8, with the first ever gathering being held more than a century ago in 1911, according to the organisers.

The day celebrates the “social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women” and also acts as a call to action for accelerating gender equality.

No one organisation runs IWD – instead, it acts more as a “collective day of global celebration” with different organisations adopting different themes which support their cause.

Some argue that IWD gets more recognition than IMD, and dislike the fact that it is recognised as a public holiday in some countries and was adopted by the UN in 1975.