Wing (Wo)Man
Gisselle Killian-Sears
February 19, 2013
Comparison Essay
Wing (Wo)Man A girl’s best friend is the keeper of secrets, the advice ATM, the shoulder to cry on, and the person to share happiness with. It’s a perpetual trend throughout the world, but there is one interchangeable aspect: is it a best guy friend or a best girl friend? Does it make a difference? Around every corner, in both the physical and virtual world, there is a girl that claims, “I hang out with guys because there’s less drama.” Whereas it’s true that guys typically stay away from drama, the lack of drama disallows the emotional connection that occurs when drama gets stirred up in the world of girls. Drama ultimately results in an openness of expression, emotion, thought, and opinion that cannot be achieved in a similar scale with uninvolved male friends. However, the trust built up between girls during drama is similar to that of a friendship with a guy, whose friendships’ tend to be naturally built more like a team from the beginning. Perhaps having a female best friend is just taking the long route of building trust; meanwhile there is a shortcut which can be taken with a male friend. In parallel, it’s feasible that friendship truly is made or broken by drama, and guys simply avoid it to evade the strain that, in the end, only makes friendships stronger. Leonardo DiCaprio’s famous depiction of Jack Dawson in The Titanic is a popular form of bonding for female friends. It’s common for a group of girls to sit together on the same small couch in a tangle of arms, legs, heads, and torsos, making it impossible to get up to use the bathroom or to decipher whose limb you’re crying on. For whatever reason it may be, the physical closeness of the limb network and the outpour of emotions that escapes when Jack dies, despite the fact that you know it’s coming, seems to only strengthen the bond shared between girl friends. A guy wouldn’t be caught dead in such a situation; not for his girlfriend, not
February 19, 2013
Comparison Essay
Wing (Wo)Man A girl’s best friend is the keeper of secrets, the advice ATM, the shoulder to cry on, and the person to share happiness with. It’s a perpetual trend throughout the world, but there is one interchangeable aspect: is it a best guy friend or a best girl friend? Does it make a difference? Around every corner, in both the physical and virtual world, there is a girl that claims, “I hang out with guys because there’s less drama.” Whereas it’s true that guys typically stay away from drama, the lack of drama disallows the emotional connection that occurs when drama gets stirred up in the world of girls. Drama ultimately results in an openness of expression, emotion, thought, and opinion that cannot be achieved in a similar scale with uninvolved male friends. However, the trust built up between girls during drama is similar to that of a friendship with a guy, whose friendships’ tend to be naturally built more like a team from the beginning. Perhaps having a female best friend is just taking the long route of building trust; meanwhile there is a shortcut which can be taken with a male friend. In parallel, it’s feasible that friendship truly is made or broken by drama, and guys simply avoid it to evade the strain that, in the end, only makes friendships stronger. Leonardo DiCaprio’s famous depiction of Jack Dawson in The Titanic is a popular form of bonding for female friends. It’s common for a group of girls to sit together on the same small couch in a tangle of arms, legs, heads, and torsos, making it impossible to get up to use the bathroom or to decipher whose limb you’re crying on. For whatever reason it may be, the physical closeness of the limb network and the outpour of emotions that escapes when Jack dies, despite the fact that you know it’s coming, seems to only strengthen the bond shared between girl friends. A guy wouldn’t be caught dead in such a situation; not for his girlfriend, not