Society seems to push the idea that women can’t be friends with other women for a plethora of reasons.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard women say they can’t be friends with other women because they are jealous, competitive, think they are better or any number of other well-worn excuses.  Maybe it’s because girls are taught once you have a disagreement with a girlfriend you can’t be friends with her anymore.  (Boys can fight with their friends and still maintain their friendships).  Whatever the reason, finding and maintaining female-female friendships seems to be very tough for women once they reach over 25 unless they cultivated the friendships earlier in life.

Yet, despite the obvious hurdles to female friendship, having close girlfriends is necessary and healthy. Who else will you share your relationship woes with??  Who will tell you when that outfit isn’t quite right and still spare your feelings??  Who can you laugh with in sheer abandon??  That’s why shows like Sex and the City and Girlfriends were so successful.  So where do you make great girlfriends once you pass the college years??

When you are a child making friends is as simple as walking up to another child and saying, “Do you want to play with me?”  But, once you get past college and even more so become a part of the 30 and over crowd, making fast friends, especially for women, is a bit trickier.

It’s best to find women who have similar interests as you.  Take a class, cooking, dance or maybe a night course at the community college.  This will give you the opportunity to meet some like-minded women.  If you are a mom it’s even easier.  There are plenty of places you can take your children and meet women with similar interests.  Sign your children up for marital arts, dance or music classes, for example.  Once there chat it up with the other mothers; you may find a really cool one.

Another option is social networking.  This is especially great if you are super shy because it will give you the chance to chat with people without the immediate pressure of face-to-face contact.  Sign up with a site like Facebook which will allow you to interact with many people, move at your own pace, and create your own circle of friends.  I’ve met a ton of great women this way!

Friendships are wonderful at any age.  Never stop building them.  The time and effort is more than worth it.