Men and women value different qualities in friendship, and have different expectations. Men are more likely to form friendships with someone they interact with, or share a similar interest with. Women develop friendships based on trust, and the ability to communicate with and confide in another. With this, “Distance tends to dissolve male-male relationships. Unlike women, who are able to sustain their relationships through dialogue via phone, letters, or email, males cannot play ball with someone who lives in another state (Gamble and Gamble, 152).
This fact regarding gender based friendship differences is very relavent to my life. My three best friends frequently are far away from me, yet we have maintained our friendship. My cousin is one of my best friends, yet she lives 7 hours away. We talk religiously, but only see eachother about three times a year. The distance has not changed our relationship, because we both still greatly value the trust we have in one another, and the pleasure we receive through talking. Though we do not share many activities together, the friendship is still worth it. My other cousin is a male, and we do not have the same relationship. When we see eachother, we get along fine, but with the distance, we do not maintain a close relationship. I feel this is because he feels the distance restricts the relationship, as face-to-face interaction is rarely possible. To me, this demonstrates that women really do value the communication aspects of friendship more, because if men also did, they would be better able to maintain relationships over a distance.
Gamble, T. K., & Gamble, M. W. (2003). The Gender Communication Connection. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company
