November 19th is International Men’s Day, a day Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, a history lecturer at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago chose to celebrate the anniversary of a local soccer team that united the community in 1999. The theme for 2024 is Positive Male Role Models, and here are my top 7 favourite recommendations:
1. Treat every person with respect, including family members, friends and strangers.
2. Model empathy and compassion by listening to others’ perspectives and challenging
yourself to try to understand them.
3. Learn from your mentees by showing real interest in them – their thoughts, feelings and
activities.
4. Demonstrate that expressing socially less popular emotions like sadness is healthy and
normal.
5. Model ways to cope with frustration or anger, for example, through sports and
meditation.
6. Take pride in fulfilling commitments and responsibilities, including soft commitments to
your family.
7. Challenge gender stereotypes as they relate to physical ability, social popularity and
work status.
I have had the fortune of personally knowing great grandfathers, grandfathers, a father, brothers, husband, son, male cousins, friends and work colleagues, and the opportunity to recognise each of their unique accomplishments and share their challenges. Enjoy celebrating International Men’s Day with the boys and men in your lives – as the great mentor Mahatma Gandhi once advised, I guess the trick is to be the change you want to see.
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