Last weekend, sorority recruitment gave vitality to female friendships. Across campus and social media, girls painted a picture of togetherness that holds the potential to last past bid day.
Recruitment events aim to foster community, but what happens when they end? How can girls build on their budding connections to get to Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahome’s level of friendship status?
Fostering female friendships is a relatively new ideal. Recently, social media trends shed light on the benefits of having a BFF, ride or die, or twin flame. Girls are sharing photos of their friendships accompanied by quotes like “Oh, how I love being a woman” and “Everything I know about love, I learned from female friendships.”
This positivity regarding friendships between women has not always been the standard narrative. Typically girls’ relationships come with a negative connotation due to the circulation of gossip, jealousy and competition stereotypes.
Recently though — whether it be due to an uptick in Greek Life participation or a lack of support from romantic relationships — girls are recognizing the value of their friends during their college experience.
Reasons for Gaining Prominence
Female friendships foster unmatched feelings of belonging. Women feel a sense of loyalty to their friends due to connections based on the common feminine experience.
These relationships also offer emotional support. Women often score higher than men on emotional intelligence tests (National Institute of Health); this makes them more likely to harbor understanding and offer applicable advice for life’s problems.
Additionally, connections between women have been shown to be good for physical health. A UCLA conducted study discovered that female stress responses decrease when they are surrounded by girl-friends due to an increased release of oxytocin. Therefore, women are using female-oriented social support to relieve stress rather than create it.
As women begin to recognize these connections as valuable, they may wonder how they can get the most out of their feminine relationships.
Luckily, there are many ways that women can make sure to foster female friendships in their own lives:
- Join on-campus groups
- Being in college provides a multitude of opportunities to build social communities on campus. Whether this be through Greek life, athletic groups, or other niche organizations there are personalized social opportunities for every university student. Taking advantage of these opportunities can be intimidating, but these communities are invaluable.
- Be patient
- Any student’s first year of college is a turbulent one. Finding friendships in a new environment produces many outcomes; some are lucky and their friendships stick, but many connections from freshman year fizzle out. Reminding oneself that friendships take time and effort to maintain helps to reduce anxiety when thinking about one’s relationships.
- Building on connections
- Most friendships are built over common experiences and shared values. Finding shared values in popular culture, society and personal interests can be a great starting point for turning acquaintances into true friendships. Sharing a memory or experience is a great way to build on existing connections as well. Whether this be through going out together or simply trying out a new coffee shop, experiences create memories that last a lifetime.
- Being honest
- Relationships often crumble due to miscommunication or due to difficulty in being honest with one another. Establishing boundaries and understanding about different styles of existence is important in the beginning stages of a friendship.
Building lasting friendships is a difficult task. It requires an immense amount of effort, understanding and luck. Even if a connection fizzles out, don’t fret, there are many opportunities to make new friends or build on existing friendships.
Wherever you are in your female friendship journey, remember the value the women in your life hold and keep trying to find others who will bolster your spirit.
Share your favorite memory with your girls with VALLEY by tweeting @VALLEYmag on X!
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