I've come, even as a feminist, to dread the phrase 'female friendship,' because it tends to signal overdetermined relationships.
Interpretation
The phrase 'female friendship' can imply preconceived notions that may limit the authenticity of women's relationships.
In this quote, Michelle Dean expresses her concern that the term 'female friendship' carries social expectations and stereotypes that can undermine the genuine nature of women's bonds. She suggests that labeling friendships in such a way can lead to a narrow interpretation of these relationships, causing them to be viewed through a critical lens rather than appreciating their complexity and individuality.
In practice
During a women's conference discussing the dynamics of female support networks.
I feel wicked sleeping in a warm bed, while my dearest friends have been knocked down or have fallen into a gutter somewhere out in the cold night. I get frightened when I think of close friends who have now been delivered into the hands of the cruelest brutes that walk the earth. And all because they are Jews!
A man must have a good share of wit himself to endure a great share in another.
Even though people may be well known, they hold in their hearts the emotions of a simple person for the moments that are the most important of those we know on earth: birth, marriage and death.
The worst cliques are those which consist of one man.
All too often we think of community in terms of being with folks like ourselves: the same class, same race, same ethnicity, same social standing and the like..I think we need to be wary: we need to work against the danger of evoking something that we donβt challenge ourselves to actually practice.
Enjoy everything. Need nothing. Needing someone is the fastest way to kill a relationship .. The greatest gift you can give someone is the strength and the power not to need you, to need you for nothing.
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