Solitaire rings, diamonds, anniversary rings in diamond and other precious stones — these are not exactly a girl’s best friend. Sorry to contradict the song. It’s a sentiment right out of the sixties and one that, frankly, is a slap in the face to the wonderful relationships that women now enjoy with one another.

In the 1950’s and 60’s, women were depicted in film and on TV as catty, competitive with one another and definitely not “groupy.” I actually had a woman who was a kind of mentor to me in college say flat out that women were not “groupy people.”

That may have been true in decades past, but no longer. Women are bonding on a deeper level than ever before, finding strength, support and encouragement in their relationships with one another, and learning that those friendships can endure longer than some marriages.

TV series like “Sex and the City,” and now the movie of the same name, celebrate the bonds of friendship (and fashion). A girl’s best friend? Not diamonds. Another woman, of course.