Jean Miller Essentialism In Relationships

Traditionally, young men and women preferred friends of their own sex and engaged in sex-specific activities with them. Male friendships centered on shared activities such as sports, cars, and contests (sometimes fighting with words, not weapons). Women’s friendships were more intimate and emotional, involving self-disclosing talk about health, romances, and relatives (p.437)

In the modern age friendship comes in many different shapes and sizes. There's the good and there's the bad. You might even find some types of friendships surprising, for example an "entrepreneurial relationship". In the book "Of Mice and Men" Lennie and George are friends, but not very good friends. George is unfortunately friends with Lennie for the wrong reasons.

People need companionship to help them in times of hardship. Women tend to confide more in their same sex friends rather than men who, most of the time, find competitiveness in their friendships rather than telling them things that may show signs of weakness. People who have friends of the opposite sex at this time in their life, usually share some sort of romantic bond. These types of friendships normally come from school or work, but decline after the person is married. All friendships often decline after marriage because the people involved in the relationship find the closest bonds between themselves and spend most of their time together. During marriage people find friendships with their siblings to be closer than most.

Friendship is often underrated, considering the tremendous impact it has on our well being. Early-childhood friendship is something that is frequently overlooked as a positive developmental influence. Preschool friendships are helpful in developing social and emotional skills, increasing a sense of belonging and decreasing stress. People who feel lonely or socially isolated tend to be more depressed and have more health issues. Both boys and girls form strong attachments to others need social and emotional support. It is human nature to attach to certain people and to want closeness and support from others, regardless of gender. There is no one size fits all formula for friendship; people thrive socially in different ways. There are,

1.1 Key principles of relationship theories - Stage theories in general describe how we go through distinct stages as we develop. Thus, rather than gradually changing, we typically make sudden shifts to different plateaus of perception and behaviour.

Family relationships and society play fundamental roles in how a child grows and makes their own choices. How they are seen and treated by society can influence how the child acts. From how they are raised, to what values and morals they are taught will determine the child’s reactions to obstacles that come up in life. I will be discussing some major events in the book that stood out to me as to why two men who basically grew up on the same block, ended up on very different paths.

In “Friendship in an Age of Economics” by Todd May, friendship is defined as different types of relationships. Todd May starts the article off with a story of him being in the hospital. A friend of his had come by and sat with him for some time. May then goes into the different types of relationships and friendships. He finishes off the article with this quote, “To be able to sit by the bed of another, watching him sleep, waiting for nothing else, is to understand where else we might be”. This quote is very meaningful because it reflects on one of the true meanings of friendship. You should be able to be with that person regardless of the situation, you should always be there for your friend, and supporting

Barbara J. Risman (1998:2) defines gender essentialism as “the assumption that basic differences in orientation and personality between men and women are rooted in biology and nature.” Gender essentialism is found in many different aspects of western culture or more specifically American culture. One way gender essentialism subtly sneaks its way into our culture is through music. An example of this occurrence would be the song “God Made Girls” by RaeLynn.

Often times women’s studies are overshadowed by topics pertaining to other matters. Because of this, Steve Duck of University of Iowa calls women’s studies “understudied relationships”. In his book, Under-Studied Relationships: Off the Beaten Track, Steve delves into the complicated world that is friendship between women. He reveals that even the best of friendships, more often than not, will dissolve due to geographical distance, especially during the transition from high school to college. However, Duck claims that this occurrence is more detrimental to male friendships than female friendships. According to Duck, “…men’s inability to maintain distal friends may be due to a lack of awareness about and skills to utilize effective strategies that maintain a [friendship]” (184). This argument implies that men simply do not put as much emotional value into friendships as women do. While distance may seem challenging for women to overcome, they put more effort into preserving their friendship. Duck further instills this concept by explaining that “women’s same-sex friendships tend to be based more on intimate and emotional discussions than men’s…” (186). Men, Duck argues, lack the depth in their friendships that women possess and for this reason have difficulty sustaining a friendship that is met with the strain of distance.

It takes two friends actively being friends to each other for the relational good of friendship to occur (Fowers, 2005). In real life there is no taking turns in “doing” friendship between friends because it is a shared good.

One of the most marvelous types of relationships that anyone can have is Friendship. A majority of people today can say that they have many friendships, however not many know the meaning of true friendship. A true friendship is a relationship among people who will be there for each other in times of need, are usually the best company to be around, and provide the best advice in a certain situation.

Friendship is not simply a "relationship", knowing someone, conversing with that person, or dealing with that person in business, school, or in casual acquaintance. True friendship is not just a "relationship", but self-sacrificing love. A friend is also one who supports, sympathizes, and is a person in whom you can confide. There are unique qualities that a person must have to be considered a friend.

In Society, people are classified according to many aspects whether it is by gender, race, or class. People are treated differently depending on these identities in their everyday lives. An Essentialist approach argues that people are born to fulfill these different statuses, that it is a natural order from their genes that classify them into these different groups. On the other hand, a social constructionist would argue that through society and the interaction with other people these statuses are created.

Friendships and romantic relationships makes our lives go round. Without them our lives would be dull and lonely. Unlike family members, we are allowed to choose our friends and lovers. There are various levels of friendships and diverse forms of romantic relationships, and they can all lead to being close, intimate, and loving. Both friendships and romances considerably enrich the well-being of our physical and mental state. Friendships can lead to romantic relationships, and romantic relationships can lead to just being friends.

By friendship, I mean true friendship, or close friendships. I believe that true friendship is very different from causal friendships. True friendships involve a level of emotional intimacy that you do not find with causal friendships or acquaintances. If you look in the dictionary, it will define friendship as the relationship between friends, or the state of being friends (Merriam-Webster.com). I do not find that the