Alexis Senge JohnsonIs there such a thing as being a “guy’s gal?” It’s like a “guy’s guy,” but…well…I think we’re all intelligent enough to figure this one out. There are those guys that all guys want to hang out with. They have common interests, hold up their end of the conversation no matter the topic, and are the guy that everyone seems to want to know. What happens when it’s a gal instead? A gal with the same interests as the rest of the guys, who can hold up her end of the conversation no matter the topic, and every guy seems to want to get to know her.
Does this gal exist or when the tables are turned do guys want to get to know her just because in theory she’s the gal they want to be with? What guy doesn’t want a gal that shares common interests like sports and cars while also being able to point out a fellow attractive woman to them? I’m going to say that most guys wouldn’t dislike having that gal by his side. The question at hand is can a “guy’s gal” be just one of the guys or does it not work that way?
A friend of mine and I were discussing this and were unable to come to a conclusion without playing devil’s advocate with each other at every turn. There are several times in life when being a “guy’s gal” can be difficult. The raging hormones of the teenage years and, for some, even college years too can make this a struggle. However, I’m not so sure that is the last time in life that there could be problems in this arena. In my younger years I would dispute until I was blue in the face that it was possible for gals to be close friends with guys and for nothing to come of it, but now in my older years I want to smack my younger self in the back of the head for being so closed minded.
I can’t help but thing that the societal pressures to be married younger and younger every year is contributing to the inability for most guys and gals to remain close friends. I say this as someone who has almost always gravitated to friends that are male instead of female as they are easier to get along with. I also think that if you put the societal pressures aside that there are many other variable that come into play if either or both of the friends is considered to be attractive by some standard.
Most gals are on a hunt for their future husband and therefore looking at guys in a different light for most of their twenties. By the time they get into their thirties, if they are unmarried, the search becomes a bit more forceful as usually they are dealing with the pressure from their fellow friends and family to settle down like everyone else. However, many guys aren’t on that same search and therefore it makes friendships between the sexes into a scientific experiment at times.
Does it take removing the societal pressures, social stigma of friendships between those of the opposite sex, and the hormonal tension for a “guy’s gal” to just be one of the group without someone having thoughts that would ruin the friendship? I wish I had the answer to this question, but honestly I know of several friendships that have been broken over the years due to friends that suddenly had a problem with one of the three issues I mentioned above. I’d like to think that in a perfect world a “guy’s gal” can exist without problems, but I believe that’s left in the hands of the those who are involved.
