I read a post on Reddit today about a man who was asking why women were super cold with him until they found out he was gay. The comments were eye opening. Essentially, women were saying that in general they really don't like it when straight men try to be friends with them. Now, I have certainly had a few women turn down friendship with me and there were signs that it was because they incorrectly believed I was romantically interested, but before reading that thread I could not have guessed that such a sentiment against us was that universal.

Realistically, as men we have to look at the reality of how women see us. FIrst, they are already on guard and generally don't want us apporaching them as prospective friends. Secondly, women have made it clear that they feel safer with bears than us. There will be some debate over whether men should just accept it or if we need to actively work to convince women otherwise here. While I am in the former camp, either way, one thing is clear, and that is you generally probably should not try to be friends with people who would rather be stuck with a vicious 500 lb natural killer animal than you.

What should men do now that half the population has told them that they absolutely do not want to be approached for friendship. The solution is clear. Men need to try and form strong friendships with the other half of the population (ie other men). It's up to us to form strong bonds within male groups and to leave women alone unless we're interested in them romantically (of course making sure to leave them alone if they say no). Of course, you could say that the same rule could apply with forming a platonic friendship there, but the difference is that women have made it clear that they don't want us approaching them for friendship generally speaking.