Lifestyle

A Brutally Honest Account Of Why Women Keep Their Friends Close And Enemies Closer

by Michelle Burnwell

The female species is often considered an enigma, doing things that just baffle the male mind. There is no scarier game like those played amongst girls. But why are we this way? Why do we compliment others when we secretly loathe their existence?

Only a girl can one second say, "Oh my god, Maria, let's grab a latte soon!" to turn around and utter her hatred for Maria to her best friend. Female friendship is complicated.

You have your genuine friendships, acquaintances, and then the bitches you hate. Depending on how catty you are, those categories determine the level of trash talk. Whether a woman wants to admit it or not, any woman she perceives as competition will definitely be on her sh*t list.

Why do women act like this? We keep our friends close, but will always keep enemies closer. If you keep your arch nemesis close, you have the chance to be a step ahead of her.

Befriending your enemy not only gives you convenient social media privileges to creep, but also connects you to her movements and weaknesses. Friendship --whether it genuine or faux -- provides the illusion of civility and makes girl world a much scarier place to be.

A girl will become close with another girl for many reasons. Here are some:

Eliminating Competition

This situation can arise if female B is hitting on female A’s man, or if female A’s man shows casual interest in female B. When seeing that the object of your affection is in jeopardy due to your worst enemy, you must take action.

A female will attempt to play nice with another female in order to discover her intentions (if she is also into him), establish her territory and learn her dirty little secrets.

She can persuade the frenemy to go for another person or simply provide false information. By keeping her enemy close, she has all of the tools she needs to make sure that guy remains hers. She can also casually hook up female B with someone less hot and out of the way.

Obtaining Insider Information

This situation arises when the enemy does not know she is the enemy or does not suspect foul play from the befriender. Information ranges from job opportunities, getting notes for class and finding out if any of the girls in her circle are plotting or hooking up with persons of interest.

Either way, females will attempt to gain as much information as possible, while still conveying the image of a civil, classy individual.

If the victim perceives the befriender to be sincere, she will unknowingly spill info about herself and others of interest. In turn, the befriender will be a step ahead and can prepare properly for events that may occur.

Deferring Attacks And Implementing Secret Suffering

This kind of stuff goes back to high school behavior. Girls will act like they are friends in order to prevent potential embarrassment or personal attacks. A lot of girls are evil.

The undercover assassin will befriend her enemy and then secretly try to bring her down, “Mean Girls” style. This ranges from uncovering her deepest secrets and using them against her, sabotaging her or something as little as telling her she doesn’t look fat in her LBD when she looks like a whale trapped in a cage.

Prevention Of Public Knowledge

This case occurs when a once-close friend becomes an enemy. Every girl knows that there is no worse enemy than a scorned friend. Prior to the falling out, the period of friendship entailed numerous details about hookups, habits and other dirty little secrets.

An event then occurred that made one friend hate the other or mutual hatred arose. Either way, a girl — once she has cooled down but still wishes ill upon her ex-friend — will play nice so that her secrets remain confidential. This will prevent sh*t-talking and other impending doom associated with best-friend privilege, as no one needs to know that you lowered the standards one night.

By keeping her enemy close, a girl can make sure she is at an advantage. The whole point of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer is to ensure loyalty while evoking manipulation to get your way.

Acting nice and civil to someone will make her believe that you mean well and that she can confide in you. For others, it ensures that girl code is followed. Either way, all girls can agree that the devil you know is better than the one you don’t.

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