Six decades of experience across sports and exercise physiotherapy, sports medicine, men’s and women’s health physiotherapy and men’s health advocacy have allowed me to observe a fair amount of male behaviour in sport and in the community in matters of health, disease and social conduct.

In 1996, my involvement in men’s health took on a more personal dimension when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. 

Invasive radical surgical treatment left me struggling with serious side effects—incontinence, erectile dysfunction and reactive depression. 

Along the road to recovery, I founded one of the first support groups for men (and their partners) diagnosed with prostate cancer in Australia. 

I was also involved in the formation of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

Over the 20 years I convened the support group, the following questions were regularly asked. 

‘Why don’t men look after their health better? They die four years younger than women. 

'Why do many men feel the need to be in charge, to be invincible, to always be in the right and to never ask for help?’ 

I began to research the answers to these questions and unwittingly unearthed answers to another problem—one I wasn’t looking for. 

Questions such as ‘Why do men think it’s okay to violate their partners?’

Forty per cent of Australian women report violence over their lifetime—physical, sexual or coercive. 

In 2024 in Australia, 103 women—a staggering number—lost their lives to their partner. 

Through research spanning the prehistoric era to recent centuries, I looked at the cultural pattern of men considering women to be inferior and perpetuating male dominance and inequality, opening the door to domestic violence. 

I examined masculine traits like stoicism, independence and self-reliance and the three main roles dictated to men by the survival needs of prehistoric societies: to procreate, to provide and to protect, a pattern of behaviour that has been passed down through the centuries. 

In modern times, these male responsibilities impoverish and alienate men.

Peter Dornan.

We now have two serious, interconnected legacies. 

First, men have been held captive in an ivory tower of manhood, isolated from emotion and not allowed to cry or ask for help. 

If we show any signs of weakness, our tower—our castle—and all that is in it may be viewed as vulnerable. 

This affects our ability to look after our health. 

Second, women have been perceived to be inferior, leading in many cultures to male dominance and inequality. 

Changing this means accepting that a woman is a human being who should enjoy exactly the same rights as a man.

I ended up writing a book—essentially, a guide to better male health and lifestyle—in which I propose changes to male behaviour to address these issues. 

It explores climbing mountains, a balanced lifestyle, respect for womanhood, how to deal with a midlife crisis, burnout, psychosocial and mental health issues, suicide, prostate cancer and other men’s health issues.

I would like to convince men to take responsibility for their own health, starting with considering the value of appropriate exercise (there is never a wasted exercise session), diet (particularly a Mediterranean diet and lifestyle) and relaxation, including meditation and ‘going wild’ (getting into nature).

While domestic violence and abuse occur in couples of every race, religion, socio-economic status and sexual orientation, the risk factors for women and men becoming victims of abusers include having a partner with the traditional belief that they have the right to control their other half. 

In men, this often follows a belief that women are not equal to men.

We have to shed layers of stereotypes and myths, particularly our ‘macho’ mantle. 

Youngsters need good role models more than they need critics. 

Boys learn through how their father treats their mother, a waitress or a female colleague. (Adolescent boys’ access to the internet, social media and pornography also needs to be limited.) 

And we have to be prepared to ask for help. 

Asking for help is a sign of strength and a step on the road to becoming a good man.

>> Peter Dornan AM MACP FASMF is an APA Titled Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist, a foundation fellow of Sports Medicine Australia and a men’s and women’s health physiotherapist. In 2020, Peter was named Queensland Senior Australian of the Year for his advocacy in men’s health. He recently published In search of manhood: a guide to better male health and lifestyle, available here.