“Salutations Australia and others. I’m Teejae Oates, and today I’m going to talk about the deafening silence of Men’s Mental Health Month.             

Every year June comes around, and in fact, it’s next month. But what do we see in June? Of course, Pride month. Rainbows, flags, face paint, and it’s huge parades. While normal to see in June, it potentially takes our focus from some other important issues that also need to be addressed. Speaking of, did you know that June is also Men’s Mental Health Month? Most people don’t even know that it exists! A clash of the months is here, people. Pride Month soaks up the spotlight in June, away from Men’s Mental Health Month.

Looking at the statistics, about 75% to 80% of all suicides in western countries are men. In the US, male suicides are about 3 to 4 times higher compared to females! This is a colossal difference, and personally I had no idea. It worries me.

 These were fathers, sons, brothers and mates who gave up on their lives, the people that lost their jobs, had their relationships ruined, felt alone, had outstanding debts and had the burden of the whole world whispering in their ears to ‘suck it up and be a man.’ Men find it difficult to share their mental struggles, although, for men, their actions speak louder than words. Anger, alcoholism, withdrawal and taking risks rather than just talking about it causes their problems to just be overlooked, which is a huge issue. The LGBTQ community has also had many mental health struggles. They’ve faced prejudice and been hated for ‘not being normal’ making them meet their breaking point, leading to higher suicide rates. Homosexual and bisexual men are more actually 2 to 4 times more likely to try to kill themselves than straight men which is absolutely crazy. Through this, it is clear that both of these months deserve their recognition, and both have high importance, but right now Men’s Mental Health Month is not getting the same slice of cake as Pride Month.

Men’s Mental Health Month would benefit being separated from Pride Month a lot, separated to a month that doesn’t steal the spotlight from Men’s Mental Health Month. If these months were separated, it would not only mean more attention toward Men’s Mental Health but also increased support and funding. Most companies are scared of boycotts, with these months separated,  companies can celebrate both months without fears of  accusations and boycotts.  It would make the most sense to move Men’s Mental Health Month to November as it already has a Men’s Health Awareness campaign called Movember. As a result of this, the suicide rate of males can be confronted, and people will be more aware of devastating suicide rates.

Companies play a huge role in why MMHM is overshadowed. Due to MMHM being smaller and less known compared to Pride Month, companies choose to participate in Pride month to generate more profit. Investing into something small and lesser known such as Men’s Mental Health Month would be a waste of their time and money.

Take Target for example. After receiving backlash for having ‘too much pride stock’, they pulled back, almost cutting all of their pride stock, yet still received backlash, now from LGBTQ+ organisations such as the Human Rights Campaign. People conjured up accusations of Target folding due to ‘extremist pressure.’

Another company, Ubisoft, didn’t change their logo to support Pride Month and concentrated on posting about Men’s Mental Health Month. Ubisoft then faced heavy criticism as they were accused of using Men’s Mental Health Month as a ‘safe corporate shield’ to ‘quietly distance themselves from LGBTQ community.’

Note, that this is only an issue for Men’s Mental Health Month, in June. Companies that celebrate Movember, which is in November, which doesn’t overlap with Pride Month, do not receive backlash, instead they receive positive feedback. This forces companies to celebrate Pride Month instead of Men’s Mental Health Month and also provides a valid point to how moving Men’s Mental Health Month would allow for both issues to be celebrated without any accusations or backlash from any community.

Media companies. It’s a division of my first argument. Sometimes people don’t know what they’re talking about. Even a blog by Stuart Tudor knows that Pride Month overshadows Men’s Mental Health Month with more ‘fanfare, flags, parades,’ and even agrees with me on moving Men’s Mental Health Month! Yet then he strays away from that argument and frames any public complaint as homophobia.

This blog assumes that thinking that Pride Month overshadows Men’s Mental Health Month must come from ‘either ignorance or wilful homophobia.’ LGBTQ visibility is valued so insanely highly that some people think that balanced attention between the two months must be a threat, as the author shows an attitude that treats male suicide like dirt, something important and believes that male struggles does not compete with pride celebrations.

Similarly, an article on Trillmag completely throws away the real issue by turning it political. Quote, ‘From these, it is clear that many conservatives do not care about mental health.’ Then the author goes on to question about why conservatives don’t care about Men’s Mental Health Month. Let’s not forget the title, ‘Men’s Mental Health Month vs. Pride: June’s Unnecessary Conflict’ The author begins to stray further and further away from the real issue before politics clouds their minds. They even get to the point where they start insulting the right wing of politics?  And at the end they promote checking in with trans and queer men more than straight men? Quote, ‘Check in with the men in your life, especially trans and queer men. Encourage them to seek help.’

This article must assume that the mental health of LGBTQ men is somehow more important than straight men because it shows an attitude that politicises celebrating Men’s Mental Health Month. The author thinks that concern for male suicide is some-what fake and lead by the right-wing of politics. Such beliefs place Pride Month above Men’s Mental Health Month

Politicising Mental Health has gone too far,  and I feel like it would be safer to just have MMHM moved away. Some people try to keep their lives away from politics and controversy, but with people having their minds fogged introduces those people and creates an unsafe environment. Everyone’s  mental health should be valued. Not one over the other.

Now, from a message from me to you – I urge you guys to have a voice in this. When people start talking, things start getting physical. People start getting aggressive. Altogether, let’s move MMHM away from politics, or at least make it politically correct to commemorate the men’s mental health in your life without the potential for backlash. No mental health should be overshadowed – so let’s move this month, and in doing so, start giving people to live for.

So, what can you do to help? Obviously, you feel incredibly moved by such a speech and have an undying urge to help me save Men’s Mental Health Month. Share my ideas with your family, friends and loved ones to express my message to you all. Check in with the men in your lives and make sure they’re alright. As of right now, I have made a petition on change.org, please sign this and spread the word out to anyone in concern. 
This has been Teejae, cheers.