When it comes to friendships between men and women, many people hold the belief that there’s always a potential for something more than just friendship. But how does this belief change when the woman in the friendship dresses or behaves more like “one of the guys” rather than someone who might be a romantic rival?
A recent study published in Personality and Individual Differences explored this intriguing question, revealing that women who prefer male friends are generally perceived by other women as less trustworthy, more sexually promiscuous, and greater threats to romantic relationships. However, these perceptions might shift depending on how the woman presents herself.
Friendships between men and women (cross-sex friendships) have long been subjects of suspicion. Previous research has shown that women who prefer male friends are often viewed as less trustworthy and more sexually promiscuous, which can lead to social aggression and ostracism from other women. However, researchers had not explored how a woman’s gender expression — how masculine or feminine she appears — affects these perceptions.
“My interest in this topic came from my undergraduate mentor, now colleague, Dr. Hannah Bradshaw, who had recently published work on this topic,” explained study author Julia Hurwitz, an experimental psychology PhD student at Oklahoma State University and member of the Oklahoma Center for Evolutionary Analysis (OCEAN).
“I had just joined her lab as an undergraduate research assistant where she had us read her paper as an assignment. When we met during our lab meeting, I asked her if she had ever thought of manipulating the gender expression of the target (the ‘guys’ girl’) and seeing how this influences women’s perceptions of other women who prefer men as friends. I was thinking that women with more masculine interests might be characterized as less threatening than feminine women, and thus might be seen as ‘one of the guys’ over a potential mating threat.”
To explore how gender expression impacts the perception of women who prefer cross-sex versus same-sex friendships, the researchers conducted three separate experiments, each focusing on different aspects of gender expression. Across all experiments, heterosexual women were asked to evaluate female targets based on manipulated profiles or images. Each target was described as either preferring male or female friends.
Study 1 focused on interests and hobbies. The researchers created social media profiles for a fictional female college student and manipulated her gender expression by assigning her either masculine or feminine hobbies and career aspirations. For example, the “masculine” profile might feature interests like sports and a career goal of becoming an engineer, while the “feminine” profile might include hobbies like dancing and a goal of becoming an elementary school teacher.
Study 2 shifted the focus to clothing. Participants were shown social media posts of the same fictional woman preparing for a wedding. The key difference was in what she planned to wear: a masculine suit or a feminine dress. Study 3 examined facial characteristics. The researchers used images of the woman’s face that were digitally altered to appear more masculine or feminine.
In all three studies, the participants were asked to evaluate the target’s trustworthiness, perceived sexual promiscuity, sexual orientation, masculinity/femininity, and their own likelihood of mate guarding behaviors — actions taken to protect a romantic relationship from potential rivals (e.g., “How likely would you be to introduce the target to your boyfriend?”).
Across all three studies, the researchers found consistent evidence that women who prefer male friends are generally viewed more negatively by other women. Specifically, women who had more male friends were perceived as less trustworthy, more sexually promiscuous, and more of a threat to other women’s romantic relationships. These findings support previous research that suggests women who prefer male friends often face social aggression from other women.
However, the impact of gender expression on these perceptions was more complex. In Study 1, where gender expression was manipulated through interests and hobbies, the researchers found that while participants did recognize the masculine or feminine nature of the profiles, this did not significantly change their overall perceptions of the woman’s trustworthiness or sexual promiscuity.
Study 2, which focused on clothing, provided the most compelling evidence that gender expression can moderate negative perceptions. Women who dressed in a masculine way were seen as more trustworthy and less sexually promiscuous than those who dressed in a feminine way, especially if they preferred male friends.
In Study 3, which looked at facial characteristics, the results were less clear. While masculine faces were recognized as more masculine, this did not significantly change the participants’ perceptions of trustworthiness, sexual promiscuity, or mate guarding behaviors. The researchers speculated that the subtlety of the facial changes might not have been enough to elicit strong reactions from the participants.
Interestingly, in the first and second studies, women who presented themselves in a more masculine way were also more likely to be perceived as homosexual. This perception might explain why these women (in Study 2) were seen as less of a romantic threat — if other women assume a masculine-presenting woman is not interested in men, they may feel less need to guard their romantic partners from her.
“Overall, the findings suggest that women tend to dislike other women who prefer male friends regardless of gender expression. However, there is one caveat to this. Sometimes, when women present themselves masculinely (i.e., through clothing like in Study 2), same-sex attraction is inferred. This inferred same-sex attraction may explain why women appear less wary of masculine ‘guys’ girls’ preferring male friends.”
However, as with all research, this study has its limitations, which open the door for further exploration. One caveat is that the researchers did not consider the participants’ own friendship preferences or how they perceive their own gender expression. This is important because women who themselves prefer male friends might perceive the targets differently than those who favor female friendships. Exploring these individual differences could provide deeper insights into how personal experiences shape perceptions of others in social contexts.
The study, “One of the guys: Are masculine women less of a mating threat?“, was authored by Julia F. Hurwitz and Hannah K. Bradshaw.
