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?
I think your experience is extremely typical.
Not really. It’s been 70/30. I have some male friends and there pretty intimate. Always doing things like slapping my butt and giving me sexual compliments/wolf whistling at me. At first it was pretty awkward then I thought to myself “what’s the problem?” There only complimenting you and there not exactly wrong😏.
But now I don’t know if there just being friendly or if there flirting with me. I’ve had women say similar things to me before.
I say this in the gentlest way possible: you keep writing “there” when you mean “they’re” or “their” and it’s making it hard to read your posts.
So do you think my friends are flirting or just being friendly?
I have absolutely no idea.
Me either. Is this a normal thing among friends? Is it even normal for couples to do? I don’t know if my friends are interested in me or are just being nice.
I try to be that open with my good dude friends, but I only have a couple I’d consider good. Most are superficial friendships based on a single common interest.
I’m (m) somewhat “intimate” with my friends I’ll hug and stuff. But I’ll play it off as a joke half the time depending on who. I was fortunate enough to have made really great friends in high-school that I can be more friendly and am secure enough that if anyone said anything it wouldn’t phase me
Adding on to this, I’m more secure when we’ve had more to drink so a “drunken hug” is more acceptable
My friends’ humour is extremely homoerotic and we constantly simulate gay sex (as a joke)
You tell yourself that
Same here. But I wouldn’t call that intimacy in the same sense as he was referring to in females. Me and my boys don’t cuddle
Oh we also cuddle all the time and then someone tries sucking someone’s dick (cause it’s funny)
Remember to say ‘no homo’ before pulling out or it doesnt count
Women being intimate openly remains more socially acceptable than men doing it, at least presumed heterosexual men.
I have noticed a shift in the last five years and more of the (heterosexual) men in my social circles have openly hugged me more enthusiastically than they used to.
I have become more comfortable being affectionate in public in general, but that’s about becoming more comfortable with myself, rather than a matter of what’s assumed to be socially acceptable of the various genders. I’m definitely falling into the category of life’s too short and I’ll be dead sooner than I’d like to admit, so here I am, motherfuckers. Deal with it.
There are no universal truths about the behavior of “men” and “women” (nor other gender identities)
However, I believe men (at least in the US) are often socialized to more emotionally closed off. Like the only emotion allowed is anger. Other emotions are seen as weak or femme (which are viewed as the same)
There was a ~1.5 year old reddit thread that talked about this
Well, I hug friends to greet and show compassion. But it doesn’t really change anything, in terms of closeness or intimacy for me. Maybe others feel like that too and don’t really engage in physical intimacy. I do hug female friends in comfort too, but that’s very awkward for me. It seems to help them though.
I feel better when my personal space is respected, I don’t really want hugs when I’m feeling down. I do like hugs when I’m feeling comfortable though.
I think it would be hard to nail down the overall demeanor. Of course there’s the stereotype that men are closed up emotionally and sometimes male toxicity enforces that, but I think it really just comes down to how people develop emotionally and if they feel secure to trust others with those emotions.
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.
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.
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
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.
Girlfriends have naked bubble make out pillow fights. Guys do not.
You are going to the wrong parties
