We’ve all met this type of girl: while she sits drinking beer with a large group of guys, she casually mentions that she doesn’t have as many girl friends as guy friends. As girls ourselves, why do we champion platonic relationships with men but condemn friendships with members of our own sex? Why is a girl considered so much cooler when she has a lot of guy friends?
As women, we need to start respecting our sisterhood. When a girl brags that she has “more guy friends than girl friends,” we shouldn’t be impressed – we should feel sorry for her. Her belief that her friendship with men is somehow superior to that with women is insulting, because it insinuates that there is something fundamentally wrong with women.
Why is the friendship with guys better, is it because guys are better than women? I love my friends. They are my confidants, my partners in crime, my support system, and they are mostly women. I don’t think that is lame or pathetic … I think that it is awesome.
Let’s show society that female friendship isn’t filled with drama, competition and bitchiness, but with laughter, support and incredible conversations. Let’s admire the television, movies and media that have shown us these healthy relationships between women. Watch “Sex and the City” and admire how well the show represents true female friendship. As Charlotte says in one episode, “the women are each other’s soulmates, and men are just something fun on the side.”
Let’s change the conversation and make “sismance” as common as “bromance,” because it should be. Find a female friendship like Christina and Meredith, and find your best friend. When you see that girl at the bar bragging about her lack of girl friends, tell her how you think that hurts women.
Let her know that she’s only perpetuating bad stereotypes. Tell her you feel sorry that she hasn’t found her sisterhood yet. If you are the girl at the bar bragging about your guy friends, do your fellow ladies a favor and stop feeding this stereotype.
You’re undermining all the incredible female friendships that we have. Also, do yourself a favor: find yourself a group of supportive, amazing sisters and be proud that you have mostly girl friends, because you might find that your girl friends are cooler than your guy friends.
Rachel Berquist is a junior majoring in English and psychology.
Featured image courtesy Flickr user Vladimir Pustovit.