10 Women on Female Friendships and their Importance
7 minuteRead
“I love my husband, but there's nothing like a conversation with a woman who understands you. I grow so much from those conversations. I need my sisters” – Beyoncé.
I’d like to believe men are from Mars and women are from Venus. Although scientifically both these sexes were made to complement each other, women are inherently different from men. We think, behave and act differently. If there’s anything that plays a pivotal role to my existence, it’s none other than my girlfriends or female friendships.
I went to an all-girls school where I was surrounded by women all the time. Like anyone else, I too had a girl gang who were my biggest confidantes and soul sisters. Well, I’m not going to pretend that everything was a “bed of roses”. Of course, we did have our share of petty fights and challenges to deal with. However, nothing ever stopped us from being there for each other. While most of them joined me in college, I have to admit that there were a few amicable partings and deserving additions too. I think every girl would relate to this. Though men find female friendships complicated, little do they know how unstoppable a group of strong women are. From college to high school, and through all the ups and downs, I finally found four like-minded girls whom I’m proud to call my closest friends. Now that I have them, I literally don’t know how I survived this long without them. From our hour-long conversations to our celebratory nights, I deeply treasure the bond I share with them.
5 Famous Women Friendships that Ought to be Celebrated
Though the patriarchal society we live in, tabloid stories and pop-cultural references have perpetuated the belief that women cannot be friends, the reality is so different. History is testimony to some of the greatest female friendships. Not just real life, in reel life too, Bollywood and Hollywood have shown us how female friendships are stronger than every other bond. Whether it’s Naina and Aditi in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani or Rachel and Monica in Friends, these fictional characters have surely set the benchmark for women friendship. Reading the stories of these #GirlGangs makes us believe that with your BFF by your side, anything is possible.
- Gayle King & Oprah Winfrey
Despite their vastly different upbringings, Oprah and Gayle’s relationship is something that will give you some serious friendship goals. It all started in their early 20s when both were working at a TV station as an anchor and production assistant respectively. They’ve been unstoppable since then. They’ve bonded over experiences of racism, shared dreams, funny moments, impromptu holidays and unparalleled support. In a 2010 interview with Barbara Walters, Winfrey expressed her love for King, and said "She is the mother I never had, she is the sister everybody would want, she is the friend everybody deserves, I don't know a better person". It’s been 45-years and the story of these two besties is something to be reckoned with even today.
- Farah Khan & Sania Mirza
They belong to completely different industries. One is a leading film director, the other is an ace tennis player. However, despite their widely contrasting professions, they’re great friends. Not only do they have each other’s back but also a collective witty sense of humour. Recently, on Farah Khan’s birthday, Sania Mirza even penned down a beautiful note wishing her. She referred to her as the “funniest person” she knows and the only person she can talk to for hours on the phone. Don’t we love such friendships?
- Maheep Kapoor, Seema Khan, Bhavana Pandey & Neelam Kothari
The tale of their friendship needs no introduction. They even had a whole reality series on their “Fabulous Lives” on Netflix. We’ve heard of the ‘3 girl best friends’ thing. However, these beauties defy every stereotype and have their own little girl gang of four. Though the web-series may have come across as pretentious, the truth is that these girls have been best-friends for more than 25 years now. From managing their lives to bringing up their kids and establishing their very own business empires, they’ve literally been through it all with each other. Kudos!
- Jennifer Aniston & Courteney Cox
Out of all the television shows through the years, if there’s one show that seems to be more celebrated than the rest is Friends. Though the fictional friendship of Rachel, Monica and Phoebe is celebrated and loved by everybody, the two stars of the show, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox, are friends in real life. They’ve been gal pals for over two decades and are still going strong. From having each other’s shoulder to cry on to vacationing to being Godmothers to their children, these two besties have seriously come a long way.
- Padmini Kolhapure & Poonam Dhillon
Padmini Kolhapure and Poonam Dhillon are two Bollywood divas that started their careers at the same time and have been friends with each other for almost three decades. Whether it’s being invited as chief guests for events to vacationing together, Padmini and Poonam’s friendship has been rock-solid despite the ups and downs in their personal lives.
5 Real Women Share their Thoughts on their Unbreakable Female Bonds
We asked five women their views and thoughts on female friendships and the impact it’s had on their lives, here’s what they had to say:
- “Conversations with husbands or boyfriends cannot top the ones you have with your girlfriends”.
“All female friendships begin with ‘I didn’t like you when I first met you’ only to share a much stronger and deeper bond later. I’ve had my fair share of ups and down when it comes to friendship with girls - the ugly fights, misunderstandings and the judgmental behaviour. However, despite that I thrive on strong relationships with my best girlfriends. It gives me an outlet to share my problems, thoughts, feelings and be expressive the way I want to be. After a day at work, I treasure the long phone calls with my girlfriends. When we are together, there’s absolutely no filter. We can talk about our work life, love life, family drama or absolutely anything. I don’t think I can ever survive without my strong independent girl gang! I can literally trust my life with these girls.” – Shraddha Jethani
- “My daughters are my best-friends”.
“For me, my daughters have always been my best friends. When I got married in another city, I barely had any friends. However, after I gave birth to two gorgeous girls, life changed forever. Now that they’re all grown up and successful, I really enjoy hanging out with them and learning new things every day. They are also my biggest support system. With them, I don’t need anyone. You can call us best friends, sisters or a girl gang but I love to call us three musketeers.” – Suman Gupta
- “My girlfriends are my biggest cheerleaders and I seriously don’t know what I’d do without them”.
“Throughout your life, friends come and go. This applies to my life too. However, today, I cherish the few friends I have. Whether it’s celebrating our successes or seeking advice on a life problem, I know my girls always have my back. They’re the ones who push me to achieve my dreams and are my biggest confidantes, cheerleaders and soulmates. They can tell when I’m having a bad day and will do anything to cheer me up. Even if that means sending me cupcakes. No matter how many guy friends I have, my girl gang will always be my go-to source for literally anything”. – Aarti Aggarwal
- “My best-friend and I have been inseparable since the age of 5”.
“I’m not the kind of person who makes many friends. I believe one true friend is equal to a hundred. I made my first friend at school and I’m happy to say that fifteen years later we’re still besties. In my mother’s words, we’re literally inseparable. She’s the one with whom I share my deepest, darkest secrets. When we talk, we have no filter whatsoever. I think it’s very important for every woman to have a female best-friend because they understand you in a way no man can.” – Tanisha G.
- “We’ve made a pact to travel together every year without our husbands/boyfriends”.
“I believe there’s nothing better than having a group of three girlfriends. When we are together even 24 hours seems less. My girls and I have been friends for many years now. When we were in our 20s, we made a pact to travel together at least once a year without our better halves. Though every year wasn’t really possible, we’ve taken a good number of vacations together. From those never-ending shopping trips to doing the most random things, my life would definitely not be the same without them.” – Sanam Malhotra.
To all the women out there, treasure your friendship with your girlfriends because they’re the ones who will truly be with you, through it all.
What are your views on female friendships? We’d love to hear any fun incident or emotional moment you and your girlfriends have shared.
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