It is a great shame that an overdue attempt to discuss important and sometimes life-threatening issues has caused a stir.

November 19 was International Men's Day, which saw MPs debate topics ranging from increasing male suicide rates to lower life expectancy.

But instead of a positive step forward, sections of the public and media read it as some kind of misogynistic attempt to recreate an episode of Mad Men.

Labour MP Jess Phillips opposed the debate because "every day is International Men's Day," meaning men shouldn't discuss their own gender issues because society has a long way to go before it's equal for women.

But I would argue she's missing the point.

Striving for a healthier male population does not mean you are abandoning the campaign for women to be treated equally, the debate was not part of a competition to gain one up the opposite sex.

Men are slowly beginning to shake off the idea they must earn more than women, that they should be the breadwinner.

Addressing issues among our own gender, I would argue, would actually create a far bigger outlet for men to support women's rights.

Ten years ago I believe men would have been laughed at for earning less that their wives, but in 2015 I like to think less eyelids are being bat down the pub when such a fact is "admitted."

Yet there's still a long way to go, starting with the debate on November 19.

From the amount of 0's on the end of a pay cheque to bedroom supremacy, men are pressured to perform and achieve.

Being a rich, muscular man is the male equivalent of being a slim woman.

In the way that teenage girls and women are unfairly bombarded with images of tiny waistlines, leading to unhealthy diets, picking up men's magazines is leading some to take steroids - others up to their eyeballs in protein shakes.

Unfortunate lyrics in mainstream music are abundant with rappers like Kanye West talking about perfect breasts and bums, while the likes Beyoncé sing, in one particular lyric, that "If you ain't gettin' money then you ain't got nothing fo' me."

Put at its most cynical, men in the modern world are walking ATM machines.

When men can't meet these unrealistic goals, it leads us to feel the E word - emotional.

How we deal with the E word is what contributes to spiralling into alcoholism at a higher rate and taking their own lives at a higher rate than women.

Women have perfected the art of consoling in each other on a Friday night over a bottle of wine to express emotional difficulty.

But when was the last time, if there was such a time, that you heard two men doing that?

Men are compelled to get down the pub and "shoot the sh*t" which, although has its benefits, is often done in chest beating style.

I hope points were raised at the House of Commons on how to tackle issues among men, and it could kick start the idea that it's completely possible to campaign for female and male rights without ignoring one or the other.