The Strength of Female Friendships as told by a Female.

I had it once told to me that you don’t need friends, they are accessories until you get married or find “the one”. They are hyperboles of “companionship” lurking in the shadows, only meant to be taken seriously when you go through your next break up or need to vent about your current relationship problems. It’s not interesting to hear about female friendship stories, instead we are saturated with content on “13 ways he’s is still in love with you”, “5 ways you can win him back”, or numerous articles titled “A future without him”.

I can’t count the number of magazines that flashed one of those titles as a headliner to lure women in. Then we move on to music, how many countless love songs are there about heartbreak, and yet none about losing a best friend. We are a culture obsessed with love, but only the type of love that can exist in relationships.

As I moved through life, I met so many different types of women. I always felt like something was wrong with me. I didn’t care to spend hours dissecting the flaws of my relationship, or the patterns that bore me; instead I wanted to talk about goals, dreams, hobbies, and things that inspire us as woman, make us stronger. When I would veer towards such topics, it was met with resistance by fellow females. So here is the secret men want to know that I will openly share; women spend a lot of time talking about men. An obscene amount of time. An overwhelming amount of time, and no not ALL women, but quite a lot of them. You get the point. No detail is overlooked in the summarization of the relationship with him, with advice from fellow females, overpouring. It is the main story, front and center, and at times, the only story.

I want to clear one thing up, I don’t doubt the importance of love. I think it’s beautiful, but I also think the power of female friendships is unbelievably incredible and at times, taken for granted. It’s something that lives in a shelf behind the importance of romance, only to be used when needed.

There are things that I can share with my closest girlfriends, that I don’t share with my husband. My girlfriends empower me, teach me, and laugh with me through life. They are my backbone not only when my relationship isn’t well, but when I am panicking about my interview speech for grad school, or they are reminding how kick-ass I am on days I feel like I can’t handle anything.

I believe empowered women motivate other women to be the best they can be. I think a lot can be learned from the power and strength of female friendships. As Carrie from Sex & The City said, “Friendships don’t magically last forty years …you have to invest in them.” Sometimes one of your greatest love stories can be found in your best friend.

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