Valentine’s is around the corner and over the years how it’s celebrated has changed, but one thing remained constant – Valentine’s being celebrated by couples and spoiling each other with gifts as a show of their affection and appreciation. For years everyone thought everyone was happy, but contrary to popular belief many men weren’t happy. This didn’t surface until 2019, when the ‘men’s conference’ was born.
What is the men’s conference you may ask? The men’s conference is a three-day imaginary event that helps men avoid celebrating Valentine’s Day. It was so imaginary in 2019, women didn’t know it even existed as an idea. But the event was more than just a joke and a hashtag, it was a push back by men to women for treating the day as a day just for themselves. Men felt it was unfair for them to buy all these luxurious gifts and to get socks and ties in return – much like Father’s Day, but that’s another story.
Men somehow came together on Twitter to create this ‘conference’. It spread like wild fire and everyone believed it was real. Big Twitter accounts and influencers actually said it was and there were screenshots of confirmed venues and pick up points – the nail on the coffin was the confirmed list of speakers and the agenda. The conference was as real as it could get, and women who are in heterosexual relationships took note on what was on the agenda and the type of gifts that were there that men didn’t want. Another big deal was lazy gifting, there’s a certain notion that men have a one size fits all for gifting. Men who had been gifted cologne, a watch or a picture of the couple wanted more. They wanted thoughtful gifts that said, “I know you love this so I got it for you.” They wanted gifts that meant something to them, not just something for the sake of gifting.
The men’s conference worked and the idea has since given birth to other types of push backs, like the Stingy Men Association. These may be small, jokey and somewhat crazy things, but they are giving us some power to speak up and be heard.
As a man who has never celebrated Valentine’s Day with a partner before the men’s conference, I’m glad it came and made women think more about us when gifting so that I can get more meaningful gifts – and I have.
Read “Indoda must’ here.
***
Tell us: What do you think of the ‘Men’s Conference’?