I’ve had female friends and I’ve had male friends but for some reason I’ve noticed that females are more intimate and close to there friends then males are. Is this true for all male friends?
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40 year old male here. My friends and I will hug each other if we feel someone needs a hug.
Just last week I was in a bad mental state and my friend came and picked me up to get get me out the house and meet other friends and then discuss what was up with me and told me to reach out more when feeling down.
Some are, I’m not a man but I have male friends and we’re very intimate and close, hug and cuddle each other, express our affection and our emotions openly
Ofc I have had the “bro” type of male friends, where it seems they feel like we can’t do that kind of stuff even if we do rly care for each other :(
It’s much better in queer and queer-friendly spaces ime
I’m in my thirties and when I compare my friendships to my wife’s, I must say that women are more intimate with each other. They hug and cuddle. My friends and I don’t really do that. I only hug my friends when I feel they need it.
Of course, hugging, touching, sensitive subjects. ima give a homie a kiss if we’re hyped up enough.
Their* than*
I’ll keep that in mind
IDK if it’s an easy way to remember or not, but the way I think about it is then relates to time, than relates to a comparison.
Their relates to ownership. There relates to direction. They*'re* relates to describing (that’s probably the easiest as the apostrophe tells you it is a shortened version of two words, “they are”)
To actually answer your question though I can only relate to my personal experience and say no, as a man the men I know don’t express emotion that well and we aren’t that “close.” The women I’ve known tend to be much closer to their friends, but my experience is limited there.
It kinda depends.
Men can be incredibly intimate friends, sharing everything, having deep emotional bonds, and doing so in complete stereotype breaking ways like not making jokes of things, or playing it off, and being fully present and supportive directly.
It is not, however, the most common way men express friendship. Like, I’ve had male friends that would be ready to kill someone with me, but wouldn’t even think to offer a hug. I’m not even exaggerating, I had a bad breakup once, and a very good friend watched me cry, and asked me if I wanted to go kill her. He wasn’t joking, he said he knew a place we could bury her where nobody could find it, dead faced serious.
Which, tbh, did shock me out of crying.
But you’d be surprised how supportive men can be. Most of my friends over the years were not afraid to hug, to listen, and talk. It isn’t all blank faces and pats on the back
Then again, I tend to develop friendships slowly and value people that are emotionally open.
I’m not knocking the kind of friends that will give you a listen, offer you a beer, and then take you into the game room to blow up digital enemies. Or the ones that’ll get you drunk and let you cry it out that way. Or any other expression of support. Because a lot of men, that’s the kind of support they actually want, and some need.
See, there’s a certain degree of the whole stereotype of men not wanting to show emotion that isn’t just patriarchal bullshit. There’s still a connection to that, but it isn’t the only reason we stay as self contained as possible. Sometimes, if you let shit out at the wrong time, in the wrong way, it gets out of control. So having a buddy that’s going to stay calm and by doing so help you keep your shit together as you process in a healthier way, that’s as valuable as someone that’ll hug you and let you fall apart.
A lot of men, they’re also going to be your biggest hype man. The same dude that will stone faced listen and then pat you on the arm can be the one that tells you you’re a fucking boss, so don’t put up with that shit job, he knows a guy that can recognize your potential, or will drive your ass around town finding a better job, or give you a couch to crash on while you’re broke in between jobs.
The expression of friendship may not always look intimate, and it may not fit the definition of it being based on communication of personal thoughts and feelings. But sometimes you don’t need that kind of expression because you just get each other and words would devalue the connection.
Me? I’m a lucky motherfucker. My best friend is one of those guys that can do it all. His husband is pretty much the same, and also someone that’ll wrap you up in his arms and hold you up when you’re falling apart, and they’ve both done that for me. The guys from my support group are also the kind of friends that if you call one of them, all five of them show up on your porch ready to get you through whatever it is.
I try to be a good friend to all of them too. I would literally kill for my best friend and his husband. No doubt, no hesitation, there would be bodies on the ground if anyone ever goes after them. Last time someone laid a hand on my friend, it didn’t end well for them as it was. I’m also willing to drive my ass across three counties in the middle of the night when someone is in crisis, just like they are.
Men can be very intimate, in ways you wouldn’t expect. The key is to accept them as they are, and to recognize their expression of intimacy, friendship and love. You do that, and as long as they’re a decent person, you’ll be fine.
The younger guys are usually better at the emotional openness than us guys from gen-x and earlier, but there’s never been a complete lack of that kind of intimacy from men, it was just rarer. But us old farts have learned too. My dad is much more of an emotional connection to his friends and family than he was twenty years ago. But, there’s the flip side that some of the younger guys push the emotional intimacy too much, they treat it as a kind of mandatory thing rather than as something offered freely.
You asked about men, so that’s where I’m leaving it, without comparing it to women, but there are differences there, as well as similarities.
Touching and insightful stuff, the double reference to killing is a little messed up though, especially your friend that went as far as suggesting a place to bury the body that guy sends a chill down the spine.
Well, tbh, the world is an ugly place. The kind of friend you would kill or die for, and would do the same for you, that’s a powerful thing.
And yeah, dude was pretty fucking chilling. Loyal as it gets, but definitely one scary motherfucker. Strangely, as broken as he was, a really great dad and husband. I once saw him whack a guy in the teeth with a bottle over a spilled beer, but he cried like a baby when his kid was born. Which is a whole story on its own tbh.
I find my queer male friends are willing to be intimate while straight male friends are very shut off and rarely open up. Generally. Of course there’s exceptions.
Straight people even today live with the fear of being perceived as gay so there very closed off and distant.
Careful spraying those broad generalizations everywhere, you’re making a mess.
everyone suffers in a global system of torture. even the beneficiaries
A system of oppression can only be a system of oppression and nothing else. It can oppress some less than others, but it can’t ever free anyone.
Relatable
I wouldn’t say fear has much to do with it, just how most are raised. Not that it’s a good thing that society is built like this mind you, just saying.
If a male friend starts touching me in a way that not even my own father did, I’m just midly uncomfortable. The last thing I’m thinking about is other peoples opinion on my sexuality. It’s more about just not being used to it.
Tbh, unless I’m sexually attracted to the person, I find contact uncomfortable regardless of the sex. Probably not exactly healthy behavior but anyways.
yes, we’re not all incels and taters and fundamentalist wannabe strong men
maybe 100+ years ago before gay panic really got going.
I’d wager the opposite. I’d say men hug more now.
Source: am secretly a Highlander
Not true for all but true for most.
However let’s make a difference between being close and being intimate; females are usually more intimate than males or at least open up more quickly on personal topics. Gay/bi males are also like this.
As for closeness though, I don’t think there is much of a difference between sex/gender/sexual orientation. I’ve found bros sticking together and backing up each other the same as girls do if not more.
I’m generally more open with female friends than male friends. There’s one friend that I’ve become more open with but that’s because we’ve been friends for over 15 years. Growing up taught me that showing emotion was weak and not what I was supposed to do. I was very sensitive as a kid and learned to hide and intellectualize my feelings rather than feel them
No. Not in my experience anyway. That said, furries are a whole different breed. Furries love sharing physical intimacy. Cuddle piles in the furry community are a real thing.
“furries are a whole different breed.”
I see what you did there
100% intended. But seriously, the furry community is the place where you’ll get guys being just as cuddly as gals, if not moreso, depending on your orientation.
Females
You gets it
Yet tbf, people usually say that’s a problem when it’s used alone as in “females and men” because “nobody says ‘males,’” but here she says “females and males.”
Personally, if I write a post like this I’d write “women and males” even though it’s clunky and awkward, just so the sanctimonious crowd doesn’t have shit to say, but she did the thing that people say is fine to do and yet still gets accused of being a ferengi. I know it’s exciting to feel like you’re better than someone and jump to correcting their behavior but it’s possible we’re jumping the shark here.
Edit: btw, as per OP’s post history, she’s a “23yo female with a 76 IQ.” Lay off man, jeez!
No. I think men and women express intimacy to each other in different ways.
I tell my boys I love them. Kisses on the forehead before we part too.
