I Write Letters

Dear Jeffrey Zaslow,

If you're going to write a retrofuck gender essentialist article about the unique golden specialness of male friendships, at least have the decency to admit you're not talking about "men," but about a specific cross-section of straight men.

Because, frankly, in the year 2010, this kind of bullshit is just unconscionable:
[I]t's a mistake to judge men's interactions by assuming we need to be like women. Research shows that men often open up about emotional issues to wives, mothers, sisters and platonic female friends. That's partly because they assume male friends will be of little help. It may also be due to fears of seeming effeminate or gay.
See what you did there? Gay men are thus defined as not actually being Men at all, but some other category altogether that Men fear being thought a part of.

Wow. I hope you are just a lazy writer and not a terrible person!

Love,
Liss

P.S. It's weird how your entire premise falls apart if you include the experiences, typically including strong friendships with women, of gay men, huh? I'm sure that's just a coincidence!

Cc. Anna N.

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