Jezebel 
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New York, 4:24 AM
Mon Nov 30
18 posts in the last 24 hours
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07/27/09
Now, going into my junior year at college I have mostly male friends, aside from my roomies who are girls.
For me at least, going off to college meant, among other things, seeing men as something more than a strange object of desire to be hunted down and "hooked up" with as my sexually pent-up high school self who associated entirely with women thought of them.
The best part now about having all of these guy friends is, obviously enough, that they're interesting to me, and help me grow as a person. they have completely changed the way I see men as human beings, and have bucked some of the more brutal generalizations I had always held to be true... and by the same token I've heard straight from their own mouths that being friends with me has helped them to view women in general differently and better, or at least with more understanding. So long story short, foster connections with men, they will teach you and you can teach them. simple as that.
07/27/09
07/27/09
"... 50 percent of men and women in Japan do not have friends of the opposite sex."
http://tiny.cc/7FK5L
*In point of fact, I don't know any women who'd want to date these guys. They're the definition of "unmarriageable."
07/27/09
07/28/09
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07/28/09
Also, pics or it didn't happen, right? People can't come out of stereotyped boxes, Liar McLiarpants.
07/27/09
I think the biggest issue with this article is the Salon writer is trying to force a certain type of friendship onto women. It's somewhat like how people think that most women should have a gay best friend or whatever. But, I think that nobody should put pressure on us or guys to have certain stereotypical friendships. If we're friends with guys and girls, great. If we only have guy friends or girl friends, that's great, too. What matters is surrounding yourself with people that you like and get along great with, regardless of gender.
07/27/09
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07/27/09
*secretly plots to coerce you into a relationship/sex later on*
07/27/09
Point being, a cool thing about having guy friends is that it's oddly comforting to me to see how a man struggles with the gender roles that he feels confined in, because he clearly believes there are social forces keeping him from opening up to more people about emotional topics.
07/27/09
07/27/09
I miss that too. Adulthood issues seem to complicate male/female relationships, although the issues don't have to.
07/28/09
07/27/09
I think that everyone needs friends of the opposite sex, for diversity and to dispel the notion that men and women just can't "be friends."
07/27/09
It really wasn't a big deal to have platonic relationships in the 1990s.
I hate to say this, but I blame hip-hop and it's influence on pop culture. It has pretty much defined our culture for the past 10 years, and promoted crass sexuality and materialism.
The counter-culture, I guess you call it 'indie' culture now, remains fairly strongly opposed to gender stereotypes.
07/27/09
There is as much sexist misogynist bullshit in "indie" culture as anywhere. El Scorcho, anyone? And there is a lot of socially forward, respectful pro-women hip-hop out there.
This feels to me like a strong case of blame-the-scary-black-man.
07/28/09
07/27/09
Anyways, good friends rule, no matter what sex they happen to be.
07/27/09
All of my good friends are women. It kind of sucks not having the male perspective.
07/27/09