Wednesday 12 September 2012

Boy-Friends, Girl-Friends, Gay Friends

These are not my friends.  We never have this much fun.
Last week when out with my straight group of friends, I passed on the beer as I was exhausted, with only a couple of hours of sleep the night before.

Since I was in a weakened state, I took an unusual pounding in the verbal sparring that nearly always erupts when we're together.  You're not good at that, I know more about this than you, and remember that boo-boo you got for doing that dumb thing... the typical guy stuff, at least in my experiences living among the straights.

Being stone sober while they got a bit of a beer buzz might have made me particularly astute.  I think I figured out a simple truth, and I seek to learn how, if at all, this is different with groups of gay, instead of predominately straight, friends.

When girls get together, it's said they tend to drift into discussions about the girls who are not there.  This provides encouragement for each to go out with the girls as often as possible, if for no other reason, to avoid being the focus of discussion.

When guys get together, from what I've seen we aim to take each other down a peg.  Thanks to testosterone, most guys tend to strut with an inflated ego, and the get-togethers over beers or hockey are well-received because guys have learned that it's not only good to be taken-down a notch by people you trust now and then, but it's also great to take someone else down in front of everybody.

I don't yet have a group of gay friends, so I'm left to wonder -- is it the same for gay guys, and lesbian girls, as it is for their straight brothers and sisters ?  Is it the opposite ?

Or perhaps, depending on the mix of people, it's a bit from both.  I'm looking forward to finding out, but I'm also interested in hearing from you.

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