I honestly thought this was a piss take.

[Cavanchezmode]

Menfest. I shit you not.

menfest.org/

ooh, post this in the fem section!

OP.

With respect

Men are not the enemy. Women are no longer repressed. At least not in any meaningful way.

The most senior UK civil servant (The PM) is a woman.

The First Minister of Scotland is a woman.

The most successfull author on the planet is not only British, but also a woman. JK Rowling.

The (arguably) second most successfull author, the whips and chains obsessed
EL James.

The most successfull singer/songwriter this side of reality is again British and a woman. Big shout out to Adel.

Current CEO of GSK is British and a woman.

Alison Brittain CEO of Whitbread.

I could go on and on.

Women are outperforming men in virtually every aspect of education, there were 100,000 more female than male uni applicants last year.

In short, your post is mocking and insulting.

Woman are also a massively overrepresented group really?! Where?!

The delivery suite perhaps?

What sort of men’s festival, if any, would get your approval, OP?

Wow.

So many biscuits. So little time.

puts out a biscuit buffet, where people can just help themselves

Men are not the enemy. Women are no longer repressed. At least not in any meaningful way.

Noooooooo, you can't say that. There would be nothing for the 'feminists' to talk about on the feminist threads. Lol.

As far as I can see it is exactly what the feminist section on here wants men to do.

Get together and talk about toxic masculinity, support each other, support male charities, get in touch with their feelings etc etc.

But no according to the eternally offended OP its "what about the menz."

I think this is a brilliant idea and from the looks website supportive of the idea that our societies current idea of "masculine" needs to change.

MH issues are so high in males, toxic masculinity is so pervasive...the event described sounds like it will look at these issues. I dont see it as taking anything away from me and presents some possible benefits to me by going ahead.

Can't see anything wrong with it.

The ones who whine about this kind of thing, are the same ones who will insist on a female-only gym!

Women are no longer repressed

I'd laugh but the two women a week who are murdered by male partners probably wouldn't find it funny.

Yeah, those damn women whining about single sex gyms. So what if they've been sexually assaulted and want to exercise without males there. So what if they're of a conservative faith and can't be around males who aren't family. Fuck 'em! Whiny feminazis aren't they.

It looks like a good idea. It’s not that they look like they want to be like hey we are rulers of the universe, but more like hey let’s get together so we can be better men and be better at being ourselves.
In a time when masculinity is changing I think this is great. I think men are stepping up to the plate and that the old version of men being jerks towards women, thinking women do all the child rearing, that women are merely sexual objects - that’s all in the past. If men want to rise up and be better at being men I think it’s great.

And I would say I’m a feminist but I support this sort of thing and see the good in it.

Oh FFS

@CalmDownPacino

Look at your own username and DO IT.

Women wanting equality when it suits them.

They throw women back DECADES!

What an outdated and dangerous attitude OP. Of course there's nothing wrong with it....

I follow a group on instagram that does something like this. Men getting together to support each other emotionally, talk about their deepest feelings and show their vulnerablility without fear.

If only there were more groups like this over the world. Maybe there would be less men running about with feelings they have repressed for years until they hit boiling point and start hurting women/other men.

I am a feminist. I believe part of feminism is trying to put an end to toxic masculinity, and this includes encouraging males from a young age to be open about their feelings with no shame.

Looks boring as fuck to me, but each to their own.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll Or do you think that men should be forced to wear sackcloth and ashes at all times, eat nothing but wild locusts and spend their days howling and flagellating themselves as punishment for having been born male?

Er...no...but full marks for incredible escalation! Here you go biscuit

Thanks for the biscuit - delicious.

It's called hyperbole and is often used as an exasperated response to a bizarre opinion that seems to bear no relation to reality or common sense.

If it makes you feel better, I'll amend my response below:

OP, I understand that you resent men organising anything for themselves. As a woman and apparent self-appointed arbitrator, could you please explain to me exactly which activities you believe men should be allowed to plan and do for themselves without requiring your approval and express permission?

Do you similarly believe that women shouldn't be allowed to organise events targeted specifically at females without the permission of a particular appointed man - or a consensus of men in general?

Finally, if you heartily disapprove of any opportunities that men might have to specifically address male concerns and maybe discuss and work together to fight and make a stand against negative male actions, is this your way of saying that you're happy with the current state of masculinity as a whole and that men as a class don't do anything at all that you would like them to change?

Sorry if that was quite boring....

This looks really good to me, I really don't understand the issue? Men are allowed to exist and be themselves you know.

Men getting together to talk about their feelings, explore nature/arts/self expression, make some new friends, support male oriented charities. What's not to like? How is it any different to race for life/ feminism groups etc.

I don't think this thread has quite turned into what OP was hoping for.

When people bring up the issue of men's MH and suicide (which is most commonly to try and detail some sort of discussion about women's issues) the answer is, quite rightly, that men are free to campaign and organise things to try and tackle that issue.

But when they actually do, like the event in the OP, people still moan! OP, I don't think you have thought this through. As others have said, patriarchy also hurts men, and whilst I know this wouldn't be my DHs cup of tea, I think events like this can only be a good thing.

Glad to see so many posters convinced that women are not repressed any more.

I’m still staggered that the most powerful sections of society see the need. And yes, male suicide is a thing, a terrible thing but there are already millions of male only echelons without having to create a festival about it. The parallel with “white lives matter” is very apt.

My friend was 18 when he took his own life. He didn't feel he could reach out to anyone after confiding in his best friend who told him to "man up".
I've no problem with a group of men wanting to hang out, have a good time and form meaningful and healthy relationships with people they relate to and feel that they can confide in.

Oh come on OP. The men attending this event are probably not the ones we need to be worrying about. Well not first anyway.

And I don't feel it detracts from women's issues, they aren't hijacking events and movements that are exclusively for women, that is when I feel its an issue.