International Men’s Day:
Why This Conversation Matters For BrothaTalk
International Men’s Day (19 November) is a global call to look honestly at the lives of men and boys, their health, their relationships, their contribution and their pain.
What is International Men’s Day for?
International Men’s Day was relaunched in 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago by Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, who chose 19 November to honour his father and to celebrate a moment when sport united the country across race and class.
His vision was simple. A day to recognise positive male role models and to bring real issues facing men and boys to the surface.
The official objectives of the day include:
Focusing on men’s and boys’ health.
Improving gender relations and promoting gender equality.
Highlighting positive male role models and the contributions men make in families, workplaces and communities.
This is not an “anti women” day. It is a day to tell the truth about what is happening with men, especially with Black men and to ask what support, policy and resources are really in place.
The Reality Check
The data on men’s health and mental health is stark:
According to the ONS, in England and Wales, men continue to account for around three quarters of all suicides and the male suicide rate is now at its highest level since 1999.
Suicide remains one of the biggest killers of men under 50, which is why the government has just announced a dedicated men’s health strategy and funding for suicide prevention in high-risk communities.
For Black men, the picture is even more serious.
Black men in England are five times more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia than white men and are more likely to meet services in crisis rather than through early support.
Black people overall are 3.5 times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than white people.
Black men in England are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer and are less likely to receive life-saving treatment, even though they have roughly double the risk of developing the disease.
When we add racism, economic pressure, family expectations and the unspoken rules of masculinity, it is clear that many brothers are carrying a load that is heavier than anyone wants to admit.
Is There Political Will
There are signs of movement. England’s first dedicated men’s health strategy and targeted suicide prevention funding suggest that policymakers finally recognise that men’s health needs focused attention.
Parliamentary briefings on International Men’s Day now highlight the need for better prostate cancer screening for high-risk groups, including Black men.
However, inspection reports on mental health services show that crisis referrals have doubled in a year and services are overstretched. Black communities remain over-represented in coercive routes into care.
Although there is some political will, there is not yet the level of investment, cultural change and accountability that matches the scale of the problem.
What About BlackThink?
Across universities and community spaces, Black scholars and practitioners are pushing for a deeper, more honest conversation about Black men.
Professor Tommy J Curry, who leads Black Male Studies at the University of Edinburgh, argues that mainstream gender debates often see Black men mainly as problems or perpetrators, rather than as people who are also vulnerable to violence, trauma and early death. His work describes Black maleness as a site of racial and sexual victimhood, not automatic privilege.
Recent research on Black masculinities in the UK shows how African Caribbean men are constantly navigating stereotypes of hyper-masculinity, criminality and emotional silence, while trying to build careers, relationships and community leadership.
Community voices are echoing this. On International Men’s Day last year, the UK Black Comms Network asked Black men in their sector if the day is still relevant. Many said that it matters precisely because Black men are “visible as stereotypes but invisible as people who need care, mentoring and space to be vulnerable."
In other words, the academics and the brothers on the ground are saying the same thing. Do not use International Men’s Day to perform concern.
Use it to confront systems that harm men, while still holding men accountable for the way we show up for women, children and each other.
What should International Men’s Day lead to?
For BrothaTalk, this day is not about balloons and hashtags. The outcomes we want to see include:
More Black men accessing early mental health support, culturally intelligent counselling and peer groups that do not shame vulnerability.
Targeted health campaigns around prostate cancer, heart disease and diabetes aimed at Black men and boys, led by people who understand our communities.
Schools, workplaces, prisons, faith spaces and community groups engaging with research on Black masculinities, so that Black boys are not criminalised or silenced for simply existing.
Policy that listens to Black scholars, practitioners and lived experience, rather than recycling old stereotypes dressed up as “support for men”.
A BrothaTalk invitation
Today, International Men’s Day gives us a reason and an excuse, to ask different questions:
How are you really doing?
Where are you carrying pain in silence?
What would support, healing and brotherhood look like for you in real life, not only online?
Drop a comment, share a resource, or tag a brother who needs to know he is not on his own in this conversation.
Let us use this day to move from awareness to action, from stereotypes to truth and from isolation to community.
