My men\’s group has been meeting regularly since 1979. We began meeting when we all lived in Marin County, California and felt the need for a supportive environment to discuss the changes going on in our lives. We\’re seven guys who now range in age from 61 to 71. During the last 30 years, two guys have dropped out and two guys have been added. The last “newcomer” joined the group 19 years ago. We now meet for a 5 day gathering four times a year. It\’s something that we all look forward to and never miss. We met recently in Seattle were T lives now and during our time together, I realized something important about men that I had missed.

First, it struck me that our current cultural view of men is often very negative. Second, I had a flash of recognition of how truly wonderful guys really are. As a culture we seem to have accepted that (to some degree at least) women, gays, and racial and ethnic minorities are human and deserve care and respect. However, many believe it is still OK to put down men. There\’s a book (one of many) I saw recently called All Men Are Jerks, Until Proven Otherwise, by Daylle Deanna Schwartz. The book was published by major publisher, and Ms. Schwartz has appeared on

Jed Diamond, PhD, LCSW Boomer Male Expert

Jed is Founder and Director of the MenAlive, a health program that helps men live long and well. Though focused on men's health, MenAlive is also for women who care about the health of the men in their lives.