Describe the apparent differences between same-sex friendships among women and same-sex friendships among men. Explain how the homosocial perspective explains these differences. According to this view, do the friendships of men and women differ in degrees of intimacy? Explain why or why not.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Women’s same-sex friendships involve higher levels of shared emotions, personal disclosure, and social support. In contrast, men’s same-sex friendships tend to involve higher levels of shared activities and conversations about relatively non-personal topics such as sports or work. The homosocial perspective notes that men often organize their relational life by forming comradeships, or cohesive units characterized by shared goals, joint activities and teamwork, and adherence to group norms. For example, think of leagues that men form to play sports like basketball, flag football, or soccer. Within comradeships, power and status are structured hierarchically, and interactions often contain seemingly opposite emotional experiences such as competition and affection, aggression and humor, and homophobia and male-male intimacy. Through this interplay of opposing emotions, men form intensely emotional bonds with one another that meet their needs for affiliation. The homosocial perspective thus proposes that women’s and men’s friendships both allow for intimacy, but via different social dynamics. While men’s intimacy tends to stem from larger, hierarchically-organized groups and interactions containing opposing emotions, women tend to achieve intimacy in the context of dyadic relationships – with a few close friends – involving high levels of self-disclosure.