It’s okay to be a man. That fact that it’s even controversial to say that, shows how far we’ve slipped.
And you are a man. Not a monolith.
A man of his own subtle creation and complex design, who needs only his own approval.
Because this path that you’re on, is drawn by you.
These pages of life, are yours to fill.
Nobody else’s.
You are defined by your own doing and the shape, form and purpose of masculinity, and its colours, are yours to paint.
And whilst the world may label you by your worst qualities, or by the privileges of a tiny minority, you ought to know – you are *not* toxic.
You are not problematic, broken, brainwashed or defective. You are not the enemy.
Yes, some will tell fairytales of how you all live like kings; sat around society’s high table, atop the bent backs of others. But the truth, and only truth, is that being a man, for most, is no easier than being a woman.
Although today isn’t for that. It’s not for the naysayers.
Today is to remind you of all of the wonderful things done by men; the breakthroughs, the broken grounds, the heroes, hard work, love and sacrifice made for a thousand years, by men.
For men keep the world going; they’re climbing the skyscrapers, they’re laying the brick, they’re on the high seas, icy roads and deep beneath the ground below.
They are good. Not bad. They are lovers and they are brothers, not tyrants.
For only weak people cannot admit to the strength of men.
So what are men to you?
Happy #InternationalMensDay to all men, and those who love them.