As a young man, I often learned life lessons from my father. Perhaps none have been as lasting as the lesson he inadvertently taught me about health as his own health took a downward turn. While I was in middle school—a time when most boys are navigating puberty—my dad was busy prepping for heart valve...Continue reading
Category: Masculinity
Depression Is On The Rise In Men, This Is How Women Can Help
While Men’s Health Month came to end this past week, it’s still important to talk about men’s health issues year-round. As a woman, men’s health might not be at the forefront of our minds but it is increasingly essential that women start talking about depression and suicide in men. Already nationally, there has been increased...Continue reading
Have You Hit Your Sexual Peak?
When do we hit our peak? Well that depends on how you define peak. Peak muscular strength in men occurs around age 26. In terms of smarts, Nobel Prize winners make their big discoveries at an average age of 40 years. And, as you might already know, men peak emotionally even later, at 50 years. But do...Continue reading
This Truth About Males and Females Will Change Your View of Sex, Love, and Life Forever
In my latest book, 12 Rules for Good Men, that will come out later this year, I explore what I’ve learned in the last fifty years doing men’s work. In it, I report on a new study that offers startling new evidence to support the reality that there are significant, brain-based differences between males and females. My...Continue reading
Talking About “Toxic Masculinity” – When Is It Okay to Be a Bigot?
Dear Mr. Dad: Have you seen that new television commercial that aims to get men to treat women better? I think it’s great and even recorded it and am playing it for my husband and son. What do you think? A: For those who missed it, the ad in question is from Gillette—a Procter & Gamble...Continue reading
12 Surprising Facts About Males That Explain Why Men Are the Way They Are
How to Live Fully, Love Deeply, and Make a Difference in the World, I hope to mentor men and help women better understand what’s great about men. I shared some of these important facts in my article, “The Single Most Important Fact About Men.” Here are 12 more facts about men that will help you improve your...Continue reading
14 Rules for Becoming Your Own Man: How to Be Wildly Successful At The Game of Life
Manhood today is maligned and misunderstood. Some believe maleness itself is inherently destructive and should be eliminated. In his book, The End of Manhood, John Stoltenberg says that the notion of manhood “is a sham, a trap, and those who would redeem it are kidding themselves, for manhood is a mask, incompatible with truly human selfhood.” Others...Continue reading
Boys Are in Trouble
The often-justifiable anger of women toward men has left boys in the lurch. In one of my earliest posts on Psychology Today, back in March 2010, I wrote of how stuck I felt being a liberal who cared about boys (and young men). While the data clearly showed that boys were struggling in school, and in other...Continue reading
Male Anger, Testosterone, and Depression: What Women and Men Need to Know Before It’s Too Late
Chronic and excessive anger causes the following problems: Increases a man’s risk for high blood pressure and heart-disease. Stresses relationships and causes women to withdraw. Is related to male-type depression. Creates separation between men, women, and children. Is linked to both high levels of testosterone and low levels. Is being played out on a national...Continue reading
Media Messages Affect Us
Dear Mr. Dad: I’m a new dad and have been reading to my baby. But I’ve started to notice that most of the parents in children’s books are moms. There are some books where dad is the main parent, but most of the time we’re not there at all. My wife says that the media...Continue reading