I think the way men are "meant" to have friendships (i.e., what biology suggests), is to bond over shared initiatives, organizations, or projects. This can look like working together on a job site for 10 hours, having two beers over 2 hours, and saying 5 sentences that are extremely meaningful. However, modern life doesn't really have the infrastructure for this. Most of us on this site are not engaging in woodworking, sailing, or warfare on a daily basis with the same group of men.
I've had some success in tweaking the female model to male friends, but it takes a lot of work on my part. I call male friends on the phone, which is something most Americans do not do. We either talk work, hobbies, or joke around, maybe 10% of tehse conversations would qualify as more intimate. Those, and they are many, who can't or won't talk on the phone I tend to drift away from, or only see occasionally.
> I think the way men are "meant" to have friendships [...] is to bond over shared initiatives, organizations, or projects.
I feel similarly, but I classify "life" as a project. And a very important one. I have friends with whom I can discuss various ways how to make our lives better (e.g. how to take care of health, how to learn, how to get rich, how to help others, how to live meaningfully).
I've had some success in tweaking the female model to male friends, but it takes a lot of work on my part. I call male friends on the phone, which is something most Americans do not do. We either talk work, hobbies, or joke around, maybe 10% of tehse conversations would qualify as more intimate. Those, and they are many, who can't or won't talk on the phone I tend to drift away from, or only see occasionally.