Lady Friends

There was an excellent article this past weekend in the Sunday Times Style mag by Jessica Brinton in which she speaks to Shere Hite (a renowned sex researcher) about platonic female-female relationships and how jealousy and mistrust can interfere. The article explores not only how we often let our competitive nature get in the way of friendship, but how we often put these sort of relationships to the side in favor of our romantic ones. Hite points out that while marriage is viewed as the ultimate consecration of romantic love, there isn't really anything to take special friendships to a higher level.

"The life cycle of friendships can be like that of a love affair. It surges and then it dies, because it doesn't know where to go. There is no such thing as a 'frienship party' and that's a shame. We need a word as beautiful as marriage."

She also argues that because modern society focuses so much on sexual love we do not express physical love towards our friends, and we are, as a society, starved for affection.

"Back in the days before a one-night stand was still eternal ruination, ladies were much more inclined to roll around in the hay together and call each other 'dearest one' without worrying about people getting the wrong idea"

read the article here.