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Girl time/Female friends for Aspies

Lysander

Well-Known Member
Hey guys,

One thing that has continued to elude me as a woman on the spectrum is having meaningful connections with other women. It is more challenging in my opinion than getting along with the opposite sex. I confess to being quite terrified and reluctant to try. Yet very recently, it has occured to me that I might really enjoy the companionship of female friends! The thought of it, at least.

Have you guys ever wanted to, tried, or succeeded, at making friends with women? How do you guys feel?
 
I've never had many friends in life so far, mainly because I keep to myself

Not many of them girls either...
 
Hey guys,

One thing that has continued to elude me as a woman on the spectrum is having meaningful connections with other women. It is more challenging in my opinion than getting along with the opposite sex. I confess to being quite terrified and reluctant to try. Yet very recently, it has occured to me that I might really enjoy the companionship of female friends! The thought of it, at least.

Have you guys ever wanted to, tried, or succeeded, at making friends with women? How do you guys feel?
It never works maybe if they were autistic
 
Hey guys,

One thing that has continued to elude me as a woman on the spectrum is having meaningful connections with other women. It is more challenging in my opinion than getting along with the opposite sex. I confess to being quite terrified and reluctant to try. Yet very recently, it has occured to me that I might really enjoy the companionship of female friends! The thought of it, at least.

Have you guys ever wanted to, tried, or succeeded, at making friends with women? How do you guys feel?
Hi, I recently posted about feeling let down by friends. I must say I have had some beautiful Close friendships over the years but I'm at a stage where I don't feel at all satisfied with my friendships . It's partly because I'm changing a lot, and not masking but trying to work out which parts of me to share with people socially. Honestly, I would be happy with a close friend to hang out once a week, and simply be there for each other to talk about lofes ups and downs. That's what I'm hoping to come my way :-)
 
For the first time in my life, I have a female friend and as typical for me, she is in her early 70's, but she is the only one, I can go and see and not panic about it and can talk to her normally and when there is silence, not feel embarrassed.

Spent the day with her yesterday and I was worried that I had over talked and got a text today, to say: loved our convesation, but always frustrates me, because we did not have long enough.:)

We think she may be on the spectrum too. Way too many similarities between us.

Other than that, I am hopeless making friends with my own sex and this is because of the conditions that they rule by.

I am not a catty person and thus, just fail big time when it comes to female groups. I do not talk about hair or make up etc etc.
 
Hey guys,

One thing that has continued to elude me as a woman on the spectrum is having meaningful connections with other women. It is more challenging in my opinion than getting along with the opposite sex. I confess to being quite terrified and reluctant to try. Yet very recently, it has occured to me that I might really enjoy the companionship of female friends! The thought of it, at least.

Have you guys ever wanted to, tried, or succeeded, at making friends with women? How do you guys feel?
As a general rule, I don't like female company. They're back stabbing, gossiping bitchy people. I have a few girl acquaintances, but only one I would consider a true friend. Since I was a young child I've preferred to hang out with boys. Now I prefer solitude most of the time.
 
I sort of feel bad about this, but I literally cannot navigate relationships with other women so far. Their moods shift faster and less noticably, and they seem to need rapid-fire emotional responsiveness, which I have never been good at. By the time I've even registered what has happened, I'm already behind in the flow of the conversation.

I feel a bit guilty about this, but when I'm told that I'm being rude, or insensitive, because I can't keep up with where a person's changing mood is headed, I kind of resent their all-important feelings.

To be fair, I guess even as a woman myself, I would not be able to provide the sort of connection that most women expect from another woman. But I think if I could connect with someone who is moreso on our similar wavelength, I think I would really love that.
 
For some reason it's the opposite for me. I'm a dude though, so maybe that's normal in my case. In general I get bored easily with guys, they tend to have topics I'm not interested in and have no idea how to shop for shoes. The last time I hung out with a bunch of guys I ended up going to like 4 lame "Adidas type sneaker stores". It was horrible.

I get along a little too well with women, I have no clue why. I don't even like them as much as other guys seem to like them (or more like worship them) but for some reason I just like being around and talking with women more than guys. On the other hand, female co-workers have always been the bane of my existence. Which is pretty weird and contradictory...
 
Yes.
I have female friends.
I enjoy knowing intelligent, creative, well-intentioned people.
That describes the female friends I have.
 
I'm not someone who has a lot of friends to begin with, but I do have a female friend I met online. She's like me in a few ways where she's quiet and a bit of a tomboy. I'm not against the idea of having more female friends, but it's not something I'm chasing after. I find there's unspoken expectations female friendships have that I'm either not aware of or don't care enough about.
 
As a minor I can't really say I had female friends. Though as an adult, nearly all of my friends and/or acquaintances were female.

But in all cases for one reason or another they eventually evaporated with time, new employment, family and relocating. All the typical trappings of adulthood.
 
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One here, one there, but really, looking back, I can't say that any of them I really connected with on a deeper level. I'm not even sure I understand what that is. I long for a friend like that, but it just doesn't seem to happen. Friends, as in someone I enjoy chatting with, occasionally, a few. I'm older now, I figure those days are past. There's not really anything I like to go and do, and everyone likes to go here, do this, etc- not interested. I'd rather be at home, work on a project, or be with family. I suppose I've adjusted?
 
I don't have many friends or connect with anyone easily, male or female. If I get on well with a person, it is because of a similar outlook on life or interests, and this is independent of gender.
 
This is something I occasionally think about, then convince myself it doesn't bother me. Most days it doesn't or I'm too busy to think about it. It's incredibly rare that I can keep a stable friendship with another woman. I think my sister and female cousin are the only ones I can deal with and vice versa on a regular basis - my sister because we are polar opposites but grew up together and find each other entertainingly weird, my cousin because she's a fellow aspie.

I was treated like crap by most of the girls in junior school, plus two female teachers who were pretty sadistic and took a dislike to me (to be fair, they hated a lot of kids and really shouldn't have been teaching). So I learned to fear and distrust women at a very young age. Then my grandmother had schitzophrenia while I was growing up and would have severe mood changes that I took personally as I didn't understand mental illness as a child. And my mother, albeit a lovely woman, was never someone I could rely on when sh*t hit the fan as she just isn't that type of person. So by the time I reached highschool I was already actively avoiding other girls/women. In my mind they were either dangerous or exhaustingly needy.

In addition to that, I have a very 'male brain'. I have no desire to change sex or anything, but I'm very much a tomboy type and find men far easier to understand. I love very stereotypical male activities such as investing/economics, technology, politics, programming, cars, gaming, extreme sports and I'm not a very emotionally expressive person. I don't have time to get manicures, hairstyles, shop for pretty clothes or watch TV and I can't stand gossip or irrational behaviour. I enjoy working and completing projects/goals. So that cuts out 90% of conversation topics. I'm very direct and to the point, logical and have a very strong work ethic. Women say I'm cold, robotic, rude, overly aggressive, not complimentative enough (I've noticed women need and expect constant affirmation, which I generally don't) and we don't have much if anything in common to talk about. They also tend not to do 'banter'!

I'm now in the process of growing both a software company and an investment one and women look at me as though I'm some abnormal freak when I explain it. Men will give me pointers, share their own business projects, or, if they aren't business minded, cheer me on. Women take it as a personal attack and assume I'm trying to make them feel bad. I can be incredibly careful about how and what I say, and they will STILL try to read between the lines and find some way to interpret my words as an insult. This is despite the same women moaning about lack of female representation in boardrooms and other 'male dominated' areas. I'm not a feminist by today's standards, but you'd think women who make a point of telling everyone they are feminists would be generally supportive of one of their own waving the flag. But the ones I meet seem to despise it. The more outwardly feminist they are, the more they seem to hate that I'm trying to succeed. I've been told several times that I appear intimidating when I try to discuss what I'm doing (this is when they ask me directly - I NEVER make the mistake of starting these conversations), even if I compliment them on whatever they are doing and offer to help or motivate them to achieve things themselves.

With most women everything is made into a nasty competition, which I'm not interested in at all. People say men are the competitive ones, but women are insanely competitive with other women and get very emotional. Men will be openly competitive, but in a positive way and without any of the bitchiness, and they don't hate you as a person if you do better at something. They are competitive just within the boundaries of that specific activity. Women will hate you as an entire person if you do the same with them. There is no compartmentalisation. A man will get annoyed in a meeting, then have a drink with you afterwards. Women will never forgive you. I can and do openly admit when other women are better at me at something, and respect them for their skill and hard work. I try to learn from them so I can better my own skills in that area. I don't hate them and refuse to talk to them forever after. I genuinely want other women to be successful (I'd LOVE to have other women to discuss business and finance and other things with), but the majority seem incapable of having just (to me) a normal friendship. If you either don't play by their specific social rules or they perceive you as a threat, then you've got no chance!

Sorry for the rant! Had a long day!
 
I had a long dilemma where I wasn't sure if you were talking only to girls or if you were talking to guys too because you said 'guys,' but I thought maybe I was being pedantic so I didn't say anything. There's the result of people being unable to resist insulting someone for a life-time!

Anyway, I've had a lot friends who were girls, because then I have people to talk to about boys (being gay and all) and I think girls like being friends with a gay dood. And the cliche about their bitchiness doesn't seem to include gay guys, or at least not me, but I've heard them talking in that way about other girls! Ha!

And then guy friends like to ask me about girls because girls feel comfortable talking to me and tell me more than they would to a straight guy, so then I have "intel" for the straight guys that want to know about girls! :rolleyes: It's like a sitcom! :eek:
 
This is something I occasionally think about, then convince myself it doesn't bother me. Most days it doesn't or I'm too busy to think about it. It's incredibly rare that I can keep a stable friendship with another woman. I think my sister and female cousin are the only ones I can deal with and vice versa on a regular basis - my sister because we are polar opposites but grew up together and find each other entertainingly weird, my cousin because she's a fellow aspie.

I was treated like crap by most of the girls in junior school, plus two female teachers who were pretty sadistic and took a dislike to me (to be fair, they hated a lot of kids and really shouldn't have been teaching). So I learned to fear and distrust women at a very young age. Then my grandmother had schitzophrenia while I was growing up and would have severe mood changes that I took personally as I didn't understand mental illness as a child. And my mother, albeit a lovely woman, was never someone I could rely on when sh*t hit the fan as she just isn't that type of person. So by the time I reached highschool I was already actively avoiding other girls/women. In my mind they were either dangerous or exhaustingly needy.

In addition to that, I have a very 'male brain'. I have no desire to change sex or anything, but I'm very much a tomboy type and find men far easier to understand. I love very stereotypical male activities such as investing/economics, technology, politics, programming, cars, gaming, extreme sports and I'm not a very emotionally expressive person. I don't have time to get manicures, hairstyles, shop for pretty clothes or watch TV and I can't stand gossip or irrational behaviour. I enjoy working and completing projects/goals. So that cuts out 90% of conversation topics. I'm very direct and to the point, logical and have a very strong work ethic. Women say I'm cold, robotic, rude, overly aggressive, not complimentative enough (I've noticed women need and expect constant affirmation, which I generally don't) and we don't have much if anything in common to talk about. They also tend not to do 'banter'!

I'm now in the process of growing both a software company and an investment one and women look at me as though I'm some abnormal freak when I explain it. Men will give me pointers, share their own business projects, or, if they aren't business minded, cheer me on. Women take it as a personal attack and assume I'm trying to make them feel bad. I can be incredibly careful about how and what I say, and they will STILL try to read between the lines and find some way to interpret my words as an insult. This is despite the same women moaning about lack of female representation in boardrooms and other 'male dominated' areas. I'm not a feminist by today's standards, but you'd think women who make a point of telling everyone they are feminists would be generally supportive of one of their own waving the flag. But the ones I meet seem to despise it. The more outwardly feminist they are, the more they seem to hate that I'm trying to succeed. I've been told several times that I appear intimidating when I try to discuss what I'm doing (this is when they ask me directly - I NEVER make the mistake of starting these conversations), even if I compliment them on whatever they are doing and offer to help or motivate them to achieve things themselves.

With most women everything is made into a nasty competition, which I'm not interested in at all. People say men are the competitive ones, but women are insanely competitive with other women and get very emotional. Men will be openly competitive, but in a positive way and without any of the bitchiness, and they don't hate you as a person if you do better at something. They are competitive just within the boundaries of that specific activity. Women will hate you as an entire person if you do the same with them. There is no compartmentalisation. A man will get annoyed in a meeting, then have a drink with you afterwards. Women will never forgive you. I can and do openly admit when other women are better at me at something, and respect them for their skill and hard work. I try to learn from them so I can better my own skills in that area. I don't hate them and refuse to talk to them forever after. I genuinely want other women to be successful (I'd LOVE to have other women to discuss business and finance and other things with), but the majority seem incapable of having just (to me) a normal friendship. If you either don't play by their specific social rules or they perceive you as a threat, then you've got no chance!

Sorry for the rant! Had a long day!

I think society's gender roles and socialization have a lot more to do with that behavior than biology does. It's a common societal message that guys are more straightforward while girls are bitchy and gossipy and we see this portrayed through films and TV shows all the time. I think we tend to internalize those societal messages, whether we plan to or not.

This, of course, doesn't excuse bad behavior at all but it can explain it. It's no secret that men and women are raised a bit differently. It's not as socially acceptable for women to be direct and straightforward about their thoughts, while men are praised for doing so, so that's why women tend to shy away from that.

Me personally I am not really biased favorably towards either gender. I have been treated poorly by both on multiple occassions. Guys tended to be more overt about it, but still it was poor treatment. In fact I would say that throughout school, it was guys who treated me the worst. I think our own experiences really do color how we feel about a group of people, so that's why it's so subjective.
 

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