All-male gatherings making a comeback

The Seattle Times reports that guys are getting together on a regular basis for all-male outings and evenings.

Gee. No foolin'.

According to the article:

Guys-only gatherings -- from informal poker nights to organized Rat Pack-esque Vegas vacations -- are nothing new. But after years of being out of favor, they're finding a renewed respectability among younger men and businesses anxious to market to them.

Travel agencies have begun promoting guys-only vacations -- or "mancations" -- to places such as Mexico and Hawaii. Last summer, a few guys from Avedesian's poker night took their first all-male vacation together. Now they plan "to make the mancation an annual tradition," Avedesian says.

Last month, a Seattle group called "Guys Night Out" organized a steak-and-scotch dinner for men to raise money for charity. And Spike TV has successfully traded on the appeal of programming designed by guys, for guys.
. . .

Even when it seemed that fraternal orders would become extinct as their members died off, the organizations are now drawing a younger generation.

After male-only clubs and organizations went out of favor in the 1970s and '80s (some, such as the International Rotary Club and Lions Clubs, began accepting female members; others disbanded altogether), a cottage industry began to form around newfound "girl power." Books, party favors and board games all hit the shelves, encouraging women to form women-only groups. The girls' night out moved in just as the guys' night out moved out.

Today, all-female groups outnumber all-male groups. Dr. Warren Farrell, co-author of "Does Feminism Discriminate Against Men?" and one-time professor at the University of California and Georgetown University, says that ratio is as high as 100 female groups to every 1 male group.

Given those sorts of statistics, it's not surprising that the social pendulum is beginning to swing back, clearing the way for advertisers and a new generation of men to reclaim the guys' night out.

"The mere presence of a woman in a group of heterosexual men changes the entire energy," says Dr. Robert Glover, a Bellevue, Wash.-based therapist and author of "No More Mr. Nice Guy."
. . .

When you take out that X-factor -- or, rather, the XX-chromosome factor -- "there's suddenly no need to get approval. Men don't need to censor themselves around other men. It's freeing," Glover says.

It's also therapeutic, says Farrell, who has debated men's issues on CNN News, ABC's "20/20" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

"Most men rely on the women in their lives for emotional support," he says. "That's good. But there are some aspects of the male experience that women can't relate to. For those things, men benefit from talking with other men."

Brethren, the stars are aligning for us. Freemasonry is poised to make a big comeback.

Provided our lodges are ready for them.