Looking at boys still at a young age, one can say same-sex friendships come naturally to them.
However, as men grow older, you can argue that they mostly have associations they share a common interest with - associations they’ll likely still label as friends.
But digging deeper, you sense that such men have somehow replaced interpersonal bonds that arise from a relationship of mutual affection with a system of social hierarchy or activities that don’t require a deep sense of connection or conversation.
Maybe it's because society, by default, tends to breed men who are meant to be autonomous and emotionally stoic, and so this results in men who see and build friendships through the eyes of “markers of manhood” - like wealth, status, physical prowess, and sexual achievement.
We’ll leave you with two questions this week:
1. Why it is that men sometimes find it difficult to build friendships?
2. How do men build friendships amid social hierarchy?