Welcome to the Month of Men

Here at HuffPost UK Lifestyle, we're great champions of women, from sexism to equality of pay, from motherhood to depictions of women in media. But what about the men? As the other half of our race, they are pretty important, right?
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Here at HuffPost UK Lifestyle, we're great champions of women, from sexism to equality of pay, from motherhood to depictions of women in media.

But what about the men?

As the other half of our race, they are pretty important, right? And just as young girls are imprinted with sensibilities and stereotypes of what makes a woman - often, what makes her attractive and successful - so are young boys.

Pigeonholes exist for men just as much as they do for women, and in the same way that we celebrate women trying to change the conversation or have a debate, we want to champion our menfolk in the month of May.

As Lifestyle assistant editor Brogan Driscoll says: "I want the section to reflect what men really talk about and the issues that really affect them, some of which bubble under the surface."

In this monthly campaign we're featuring men who have excelled in the field of sport overcoming serious health issues to get there. We've also got Nigel Thomas who is ex-Army and devises the obstacle course for the terrifying challenge that is Tough Mudder.

We've got Ralph Lauren talking about his achievements beyond fashion - he will have a ward at the Royal Marsden named after him in honour of his good work in the field of health. Patrick Moote, the star of Unhung Hero (he filmed a documentary about his tiny penis) will talk about body image. Then there's Mr Cake - the baker who quit his 9-5 job to pursue his dream career and wrote his resignation letter on...a cake.

But for us, the biggest legacy we want from the month of Men are all those voices talking about those issues that men are conditioned to not talk about.

Depression is a huge issue for men - interestingly, post-natal depression is not something that just affects women.

There are still groups of guys too scared to check themselves for testicular cancer or who won't go see a doctor about prostate cancer symptoms. And eating disorders don't just affect those with the XX chromosome.

To this end, we've got a sea of bloggers adding their voices to an increasing number of issues that affect men, asking the key question: what does it mean to be a man in the 21st century?

Let's hear it for the boys.