“Why are men afraid? They live in a culture which terrorises them. They live in a culture which demonises them and which hides this under all kinds of pseudo-respectable and ‘toleration’ based ideologies… This is intentional. This is a constructed part of our culture – to demonise men and to banish men and to make men obsolescent… We are constantly being pummeled with images and ideas of men which destroy our sense of masculinity… It’s amazing how a trope can be adopted… I defy any of you to think of the word ‘masculinity’ without the word toxic coming one or other side of it, like a Google search. This is what they’ve done.” said John Waters in his opening speech at The Battle of Ideas debate, ‘Is masculinity toxic for boys?’, in 2016.

You may not have heard of John Waters, the Irish journalist and author (and champion of father’s rights and masculine values) but he is unequivocally one of the most compelling, and most challenging voices in the Men’s Human Rights Movement – and as I watched him deliver home truth after conviction after bombshell I knew that somehow I wanted to bring his unique message to a wider audience. I have finally managed to secure a keynote presentation for him at Messages for Men 2, in recognition of International Men’s Day, this month.

2018 is the second year that the Men’s Day March Committee have brought a march and conference to London to mark Men’s Day. It’s a highly important year for men, in the U.K. maybe more so than anywhere else, with not only the centenary of the First World War Armistice but also that of The Representation of the People Act 1918 which granted 5.6 million men the vote. We will also be celebrating the retirement of, feminist ideologue, Alison Saunders as Director of Public Prosecutions at the Criminal Prosecution Service. Her tenure saw the police dragged into a scandal in which pressure to increase convictions for sex offences led forces to withhold exonerating evidence. David Pattinson (who will be in attendance) is currently organising a Citizens Prosecution for her “crimes against British men”.

The marchers will meet at The Royal Courts of Justice from 11am, to be ready to walk at 12pm to Parliament Square. We will be raising awareness of issues facing men and boys, celebrating men and making a public declaration of our intent to contribute to the inception of a more just society.

Messages for Men 2 will take place at an undisclosed location near Leicester Square from 3-11pm. Also speaking at the conference are:

Doctor Randomercam: Honey Badger, YouTuber and comedic iconoclast, famed for his use of puppets & music – his hat is a cult icon in its own right. Ewan Jones: YouTuber (covering a range of areas but with a special and unique focus on U.K. gender politics). Will Styles: who has spent the past three years battling his university’s student union to create a Men’s Forum. Craig Sandiford: owner of online support group for alienated fathers, Equal Rights for Dads, with his partner (Lisa Chamberlain). Mike Buchanan: leader of the Justice for Men & Boys (and the women who love them) political party. Vincent McGovern: a leading voice for fathers and shared-parenting here in the UK. William Collins: esteemed blogger at The Illustrated Empathy Gap. Neil Lyndon: critically important journalist who consistently breaks ground with his articles, as with his book ‘No More Sex War’. Daniel Bostok: libertarian satirist and sometime comedy singer. Will Franken: politically incorrect and surreal comedian. The event will also feature exclusive videos from: Janice Fiamengo: antifeminist academic and host of The Fiamengo Files. Anthony Sameroff: host of the Be Yourself and Love It and Scottish Liberty Podcasts. Paul Elam: founder of A Voice for Men.

As I noted last year, these are all the days pertaining to females recognised by the United Nations: International Women’s Day, International Day of the Girl Child, International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, International Day of Women and Girls in Science, International Widows Day, International Day of Rural Women, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. There are none for men and/or boys. In fact, the unofficially recognised International Men’s Day is celebrated by the U.N. as World Toilet Day.

Apparently the contribution men and boys have made to the world are unremarkable and their issues are unworthy of being marked and struggled against. If you disagree, and can make it to London on Sunday the 18th November, please join us at the March for Men and Messages for Men 2 conference – if you disagree but can’t make it, hold on for our videos. And, while we’re here, please consider contributing to the social media hashtag project #MenAreAwesome, alongside #InternationalMensDay on the day itself (19th November).