Earlier, as I was reflecting on the friendships I've had in this life, I thought about the miniscule number of female "friends" I've had. These were friends in the conventional sense, i.e., I was never friend zoned because I never tried to approach them in a non platonic way (they were either engaged or in a serious relationship when we met and always in a "don't defecate where you eat environment").

In every case, these female friends were vastly inferior to any of my male friends (in regards to selflessness, value, rapport, etc.), regardless of how casual those male friends were. This inferiority was so obvious, in fact, that when I had told one of those female friends that male friends were vastly superior to female friends, she paused and thought about it before agreeing. Also in each case, I observed that it wasn't just me that these female friends treated in a sub-par manner: they were subpar friends to their own female friends. They would show selfishness, jealousy, and/or deception to their female friends that would come and go with the seasons until many of them, ironically, only had male friends left who, like me, dealt with them at a larger distance as time went on.

Now, I've hypothesized that the beneficially based reason females make almost worthless friends is because how our society raises them. For the most part, if the average family has a daughter, it's considered a success if she makes it to her 20s without having a baby or catching an STD. As we all know, however, the bar for success for men is set much higher: financial independence and success, following a moral code, etc. Men are expected, for the most part, to abide by some set of principles. We all have seen the stereotypical father-son moment in sitcoms, dramas, etc. where the father teaches his son a valuable life lesson and a tenet of acceptable behavior. There are no female equivalents in mainstream media. Thus, because of the lack of high moral expectations, one can't be surprised that traits that make horrible friends are commonly found among females.

What I would like to know is if any of you think there's a biological basis for women being subpar friends, even to other women. I find it surprising, especially since females are typically more social than men.