Today at work, I heard a young woman say, “I don’t get along with girls.” I’ve heard that often from women. “I don’t get along with other women.” In fact I have heard those words uttered no less than three times this week.
I have never once heard a man say, “I don’t get along with men.”
What is it with women/girls that we have such trouble connecting to each other. I have to admit that while I haven’t ever uttered that phrase…I may have thought it. I have heard my own daughter profess her preference for male friends over female ones. Why is this so?
Often I hear the statement followed up with one of he following..
…I can’t trust women, they say one thing to your face, and another behind your back.
…they’re so dramatic.
…they’re backstabbers
…women are jealous of me
…they’re so high maintenance
Are we the competitive, insecure, shallow, selfish people we label ourselves to be? Do we make lousy friends? Are we really untrustworthy and hard to get along with? Are men really better friends?
Perhaps the sting of betrayal is just harder to bear from a girlfriend? Perhaps we expect more from our female friends than our guy friends, and are disappointed in them more often. I don’t know. And it makes me sad. I have hope though. I have seen wonderful relationships between women…it happens, and happens often, perhaps we just don’t celebrate that enough.
I recall when my daughter was kindergarten, she was best friends with another little girl. They did everything together and adored each other. The teacher felt they were too dependent on each other, and so separated them the next year. My daughter and her friend drifted apart. I wonder what might have happened had their friendship been allowed to just be. What’s wrong with developing close relationships? I regret my silence…why didn’t I question this decision?
I have decided that it is not too late to change this for myself. I have slowly recognized my own culpability, and I have been working on nurturing and cherishing my relationships with other women. Perhaps I have just been lazy in the past, lacked effort more than intent. Perhaps the greater truth may be that I haven’t valued myself enough as a woman to see the value of other women. The tide is changing on this.