International Day of the Boy

This Sunday, October 11 will be International Day of the Girl.  On December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

Who can argue that girls are not unfairly disadvantaged in non-Western regions of the world?  In many of these places sex selection abortions favor boys over girls - especially in China where boys are selected based on their later-in-life obligation to care for their elderly parents. Some girls are also denied education with reasons stemming from a simple lack of girls' washrooms at school, or as complex as issues related to poverty and social expectations.

So we get it.  Having a day dedicated solely to girls is important and the western media and Ms. Obama are unrelenting in their pursuit to ensure the public doesn't forget that any time soon.

So, what about boys?

The government of Canada's "Status of Women Canada" branch provides information and resources to ensure International Day of the Girl is effectively taught within the Canadian school system.  On their website's educational resources you can find a link that addresses boys.

The government’s post asks:

What about boys? Of course, poverty, violence, discrimination and lack of education do not just affect girls. Boys around the world also face these barriers and they too need help to overcome them. While the issues themselves may appear similar, the causes are quite different. Many of the challenges and injustices experienced by girls are directly related to their gender.

But is that correct?  Are only girls discriminated on because of their sex?  Or more simply stated are there any issues that affect only boys because of their sex?

Problems that (only) Boys Face

Boys face problems in today's world that girls simply do not.  Unlike the issues that girls face many of the problems that boys face are not limited to third world countries but instead have spilled over to the west.

Here are just a few:

Education

By far the biggest driving force for an International Day of the Girl is the large number of girls who are uneducated.  According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Institute for Statistics, 63 million girls in the world are uneducated.  To put it into perspective the entire population of Canada is about 35 million – so this is no small number.  However, again according to UNESCO statistics, there are ALSO 61 million boys who are uneducated. A better campaign could address education for all children (not just girls)...but that's for another time. 

Nevertheless, the educational basis for an International day of the Boy wouldn’t be based solely from lack of education.  Instead there is a more well-known reason that affects more boys than girls and which is a world-wide phenomenon and is more prevalent in western nations. I am of course referring to the worsening literacy rate for boys.  The problem which has also been called the “boy crisis” stems from boys' nature to learn differently than girls.  The problem may be based on the boys’ mechanism for taking in and learning from the information provided in schoolroom environments.   This is a disturbing trend that progressively worsens each year.  Despite the problem very little has been done to combat let alone recognize it as an issue altogether..  Each year more boys (than girls) drop out of school or fail to move on to college. 

Suicide

The high rate of suicide is not only a man’s issue, in the US boys are five times more likely to take their lives (than girls).  Despite this, very little impact has been done in helping our sons.

Circumcision

Baby boys are routinely mutilated in the name of tradition or religion without any anesthetic, and with high degrees of pain and risk of infection, with no (or very little basis for) medical benefit or reason. On the other hand female genital mutilation is outlawed and aggressively monitored for compliance.   

War

In developing countries boys are  forced to fight wars. In many cases they are kidnapped for the sole purpose of having them indoctrinated into military exercises.  Though girls are also recruited, boys make up the vast majority at 70-90% of child combatants. 

Gangs

The growing lack of a family father figure has many boys forming or joining gangs in an attempt to bond, explore themselves and society, and release energy. This activity leads many boys (especially minority boys) to die in gang fights or eventually end up in prison.

Rape and Sexual Assault

A CDC study in 2005 showed that 1 in 6 boys experienced unwanted sexual contact by the time they reached the age of 18. The number for girls was a bit larger at 1 in 4.  This appalling statistic wouldn’t in itself justify an International Day of the Boy.  What does qualify them is the double standard in both identifying the problem and helping boy survivors.  Female-centric media has focused the problem solely on women and girls while simultaneously avoiding the recognition of the issue for men and boys.  Recent trends on the news often hold female perpetrators of such crimes against boys as insignificant and unworthy of jail sentences for the perpetrators.   Very often boys are perceived for “wanting” it and are deemed "lucky".

Health

In the US 1 in 7 boys (almost 20%) will be diagnosed with ADHD before they reach high school.  Shockingly, many of these boys are wrongly diagnosed.  The growing movement to demonize normal boy behavior is causing clinicians (who act on the concerns of parents and educators) to incorrectly render a diagnosis of ADHD.  Even more troubling millions of these boys are given powerful stimulants (like Ritalin) in an attempt to make them “normal”. 

Despite the specific problems that boys face a day dedicated to them to specifically raise awareness doesn't appear in the works  . With an International Men’s Day coming up this November 19 and a Women's Day in the Spring, boys are the only group left lacking in a special day they can call their own.  This week (maybe next week) boys all across Canada and the US will be hearing about the International Day of the Girl from their teachers and asking when is it boy’s day? Only to hear there isn't one.