Hi everyone and Happy International Men's Day (IMD) to all the men and boys of the Caribbean.
Yes, November 19 is observed as a day to celebrate men and boys, and highlight issues and challenges faced by them.
Unlike most dates observed globally, IMD is inextricably linked to the Caribbean in that it's main proponent since 1999 has been a university lecturer at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus.
Trinidadian Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh has been advocating for the cause of men and boys for 22 years and has helped take IMD to more than 80 nations.
Recently, he was interviewed on a Jamaican radio program in which he lamented that masculinity is no longer what it used to be and is now entangled with crime.
Referring to the global attitude that masculinity had become toxic, Dr Teelucksingh said "in the last five years, the term masculinity might mean something negative. When we hear masculinity, the next word pops up, is it toxic masculinity? We don’t hear about the good masculinity, we don’t hear about the good men. Suddenly masculinity has become a bad word. It has become corrupted.”
Dr Teelucksingh opined that the macho image is no longer present in society. "We no longer see masculinity on that pedestal. What we have now we have the zesser coming in. The zesser has taken over.”
“That zesser is associated with a man who does not need education. He gets rich quick. A man who maybe has many girlfriends, has maybe an outside woman, so that the link between masculinity and crime, the link between the zesser and the crime is now entrenched and crime and masculinity has become entangled.”
To the fathers and mentors, Dr Teelucksingh said the role was a 24-hour role and a job that the world was depending on and admittingly was underappreciated.
For more from this interview, please visit https://azpnews.com/masculinit...ntangled-with-crime/
We endorse this sentiment and urge men in society to exemplify positive values and live responsibly. Many have experienced traumatic events and live with the effects of personal and intergenerational Trauma.
Rather than ignore those realities and pretend they are "Okay", we hope men will acknowledge they are not proverbial "islands", seek counselling and to support one another in the face of life's challenges.
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