5 Things Only Women Who Are ‘One Of The Guys’ Will Understand
By Ali Arnone
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been “one of the guys.” In high school, I often found myself hanging with the boys; there was never a lack of testosterone or machismo surrounding me. And it’s certainly not because I’m stereotypically “boyish” — all it takes is one gander at my looks/mannerisms/athletic abilities/hatred of sports/drinking habits, just to name a few. (Emphasis on stereotypically.) But for some reason, I’ve always gotten along with guys really well and never cared if there wasn’t another girl there when I hung out with them.
Don’t get me wrong: I adore my girlfriends and happen to have a lot of them. Nothing can trump ‘girl time,’ and I love spending time with my ladies in any capacity. But there’s something really different and great about my friendships with men — you won’t find a more unbiased, genuine friendship stripped of jealousy and ‘drama.’ Men don’t really get catty or sensitive and they’re usually not cliquey, either.
That said — you knew this was coming — being one with the boys ain’t always a walk in the park. I’ve realized recently that my bromance with men definitely has its drawbacks. Here are a few:
1. Expect brutal honesty.
I get teased for just about anything and everything and while I can certainly dish it back, sometimes it can be, well, too much. Men also won’t sugarcoat the things they say to you so prepare to hear the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
2. Expect blunt dating “advice.”
Sure, sometimes it’s helpful to get a guy’s perspective when it comes to dating/relationships but DAMN, do ya’ll need to be so harsh about it? I often feel like I’m in the real-life version of He’s Just Not That Into You when my guy friends give me their opinions about my single status.
3. Expect to be cock-blocked.
I was out a few weekends ago with a group of five guy friends and made the lethal mistake of talking to another group of guys in the bar. I was enjoying the conversation but the next thing I knew, I was being pulled away from the group by one of my dude friends who so eloquently told me, “We decided you were talking to them long enough.” Guy friends can be very overprotective of their platonic gal pals and yes, sometimes they ruin your game.
4. Expect that they may forget you’re a girl.
Heyyyyyyy guys, I’m glad you’re comfortable enough around me and view me as one of your own but do me a favor and refrain from talking about every disgusting, raunchy, vile detail of your life when I’m here. Almost every rendezvous I have with the boys results in me being disgusted/grossed out at least once.
5. Expect that you may be unapproachable to the opposite sex.
In all fairness, I’m a bit unapproachable to begin with. (I blame my chronic case of “Resting Bitch Face” that I’ve been rocking for most of my adult life.) But have you ever gone to a bar/club/party and found yourself surrounded by several (large) men? Yeah, good luck having anyone from the opposite sex attempt to breach that barrier. I mean, why would they? You basically look like a pop star with nine bodyguards.