Now that we have discussed both male and female friendship in class, I was wondering if we can classify the friendship among one of the gender stronger than the other. Female friendships were said to have a more superficial beginning but they then grow to have a deep emotional connection. Male friendships are more focused on competition between one another or achieving some goal together. The friendships are definitely different in what they entail, but is one better or stronger than the other?
Despite the very clear distinctions between the two friendships, I don’t think that one is better than the other. Both can be enduring and strong if they have the necessary component of love to the friendship. Love in both friendships can be manifested in different ways, but as long as the feeling of love is recognized and mutual, the friendship is ‘complete.’ Although an individual may prefer one dynamic over the other, it does not necessarily make the other friendship dynamic weaker. If love exists in both friendships and is mutually felt, the way the friends go about interacting and expressing that love for each other is ultimately up to them.
ReplyDeleteI think that the primary component of a successful friendship (both male and female) is reciprocity. If it is clear that both friends will always strive to provide both a friendship of utility, a friendship of pleasure, and a final component of reciprocal love and respect, I think that any friendship can be classified as a strong one. Despite gender differences which may cause people to express friendship in different ways, I think that all friendships with the aforementioned components can be very meaningful. I therefore do not that one gender specific friendship can be superior to the other in this capacity.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous comments regarding the equality of the two types of relationships. However, I would like to point out a different aspect in the friendships that seems to be present in any true relationship. This aspect is the ability to criticize your friend. I do not mean that being unkind or disrespectful to a friend is acceptable, but that constructive criticism is a key aspect of most real friendships much like love. Both males and females can form friendships with people that can then fall apart at the first sign of criticism. That being said, it seems that we are able to really tell how strong a friendship is through the reactions of someone after you make a critique. I do not think that either males or females are better at forming these strong relationships, but that criticism is certainly evident in any meaningful bond.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that men or women have a better or stronger relationship. Yes, they are very different from each other and yes, they have their own way of functioning, but when you boil it down to the lowest level, both go down to each specific friendship between two people. I think that you also can't say that men have one time of relationship and women have their own as well. I think we cross many different lines between the borders of men and women so it's not correct to say one of them is stronger then another. I also agree with Lexi's comment above that friendship really is about reciprocity. Two people in a friendship have to take each others feelings and priorities into account for it to be a strong friendship instead of a friendship of utility.
ReplyDeleteTo say that either friendship is necessarily better or more successful than the other seems rather close-minded. I agree with all the other comments posted. I especially agree with Maisie's contribution that friendship is between two people. Really what this comes down to is the agreement between two individuals whose piorities complement each other. Based on the examples of friendship that we heard about during our discussions, it's safe to say that we each experience friendships differently. So to put friendship into these general categories of "feminine" and "masculine" seems limiting. Furthermore, there are people that identify, in the sense of gender, as neither female nor male. So how do these people experience friendship?
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with Lexi here. I believe that as long as there is an element of reciprocity there is no reason that any friendship could not be strong. I don't believe gender has anything to do with it. I am positive that every student in class has a best friend who they can call in time of need. I truthfully cannot think of an example where a male friendship is stronger than female or visa versa. Men connect with men differently than how women connect with other women. We talked about this in class when Lexi referred to the communications theory regarding the interactions between boys and girls sitting in an empty room. Just because boys face opposite directions does not infer they are any less of friends than girls who sit eye to eye. They are simply just different friendships.
ReplyDelete"Strength" is a tremendously vague category. How do we measure it? Larissa says by time, i.e. "enduring". But lots of things endure, like concrete or radioactive waste. Then Charlie says, equality, which he claims despite, and this is confirmed by others, that these relationships are quite distinct. Equality seems equally vague. It's good in arithmetic operations, but it doesn't refer to human beings, or anything in nature (in which there is no equality). And then, stronger is linked/conflated with better or successful. In what senses?
ReplyDeleteIn the abstract, everything is equal, nothing is better nor more successful, anything can endure. In the real world, the opposite. The latter is where knowledge lies.