So when I see men play the victim card, I’m amazed. It’s like bankers whining about not earning enough or buy-to-let landlords carping about the removal of tax relief. If you’re in a privileged position and you start moaning about how hard you have it, you look like a crybaby.
And yet on social media, I see this all the time, largely from groups and individuals who term themselves “Men’s Rights Activists”. Over the last few days we’ve had quite a bit about Muirfield Golf Club. Back in March, we had International Women’s Day. The MRA responses to that were predictable. Some whined, “Why is there no International Men’s day? It’s SEXIST!” Others tried to link IWD to men killing themselves: “We are living in an anti-men society. Happy Women’s Day. Dramatic Rise In Male Suicide?” Many were so vile I needed a shower after reading them.
What they all had in common though was that they were utterly ridiculous. Men’s suicide is problem, absolutely. But it has nothing to do with International Women’s Day. And, no, we don’t need an International Men’s Day. Why? Because, in the UK (which is one of the world’s most gender-equal countries outside Scandinavia) women earn 24pc less than men on average.
Perhaps you don’t think that’s a big deal, but I do. It tells me that women still get a raw deal compared to men. And what’s more, in countries outside the developed world, they get a deal that often borders on the medieval – and that is brokered entirely by men.