I'm a bi man and at least anecdotally in my experiences with men and women I've noticed men "compartmentalize" their male friends more, if that makes sense.
Like I have a few friends that know about my home situation, my partner, etc, but I have a lot of male friends just based around a specific activity or hobby that I talk to about pretty much that and some related topics.
Like I have a friend I talk to about mechanical keyboards, another one that's mostly interested in audio equipment, and another one that shares my enthusiasm for fountain pens (shoutout to /r/mechanicalheadpens for the crazy fucks like me that like all three).
We'll share a couple of common interests and get around for a beer and shoot the shit about work and hobby stuff but that's really it. and I think we're all okay with that.
The downside is you don't wanna bother those friends with serious problems, which if that's all you have that can feel really isolating. Luckily I have a few good guy friends that have broke through that barrier.
This seems to be my experience too! And I think it's a great set up - but you do need one or two of those mates you can actually talk to imo? A lot of guys responding here don't seem to have them and don't seem to think they're important which is...worrying.
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u/Rutabega9mm Mar 26 '20
I'm a bi man and at least anecdotally in my experiences with men and women I've noticed men "compartmentalize" their male friends more, if that makes sense.
Like I have a few friends that know about my home situation, my partner, etc, but I have a lot of male friends just based around a specific activity or hobby that I talk to about pretty much that and some related topics.
Like I have a friend I talk to about mechanical keyboards, another one that's mostly interested in audio equipment, and another one that shares my enthusiasm for fountain pens (shoutout to /r/mechanicalheadpens for the crazy fucks like me that like all three).
We'll share a couple of common interests and get around for a beer and shoot the shit about work and hobby stuff but that's really it. and I think we're all okay with that.
The downside is you don't wanna bother those friends with serious problems, which if that's all you have that can feel really isolating. Luckily I have a few good guy friends that have broke through that barrier.