Women with sisters and women without sisters - do you really notice?

[Anonymous]

PP again - wondering if those with sisters don't have as strong a need for female friendships. Most of my closest friends don't have sisters they are close with, come to think of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could tell the ones in college who had sisters. Down to share clothes, makeup, whatever. Growing up with a sister, you're used to it.

I love my sister so much. I have many girl friends- but nobody comes close to my sister and never can. I also have a brother but he is MUCH younger than I am (19 years younger) so I don't have a brother-sister bond with him. More like cousins, or an aunt/nephew. It's definitely not as tight as my bond with my sister. She and I went through life together. We're the only ones who get what it was like to grow up with our parents and why we turned out the way we did. I think losing my sister would almost be worse than losing my spouse, and possibly as bad as losing my child.

In what way was the hair and makeup of girls with sisters different? I have a sister and I never noticed a difference. I suppose if someone had an older girl advising them about fashion and stuff it might show, but that's not limited to a sister and it wouldn't apply if the sister was younger or not into that stuff (which--gasp!--some girls aren't!) I have an older sister and a younger brother and I actually have the relationship you are describing with my brother more than my sister. My sister's great and I love her, but we're pretty different. I talk to my mom and my 2 best girlfriends at least a couple of times a week and my brother probably once a week, but my sister maybe once or twice a month.

[Anonymous]

I never noticed it until recently at my work. The women I at work with brothers can be more "matter of fact" and "tell it like it is" -- i.e. they'll say what they need to say without a whole cute story. The women with sisters tend to have more "drama" and cute stories to go with everything. I mean that in a really good way -- they come across really kind and friendly because they don't just say "it's raining," they say "I went outside, I had no umbrella, I can't believe I'm all wet etc." Of course if it was true drama or neediness or whatever, it wouldn't be cool but I have not found that to be related to having brothers v. sisters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP again - wondering if those with sisters don't have as strong a need for female friendships. Most of my closest friends don't have sisters they are close with, come to think of it.

I'm a PP with a sister I'm close with. I also have a very tight bond with four other women who are my best friends. We all live far apart, but see each other 1-2 times a year and keep up with emails and texts almost daily. Only one of the five doesn't have a sister- the rest of us do. I have other friends and acquaintances who live near me who I see much more often and are good for "daily life" but those four women are just as good as sisters to me. And I have always loved girl friendships.

[Anonymous]

Never had any problems with forming friendships or bonds with women, not sure if it is because I tend to be bi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could tell the ones in college who had sisters. Down to share clothes, makeup, whatever. Growing up with a sister, you're used to it.

I love my sister so much. I have many girl friends- but nobody comes close to my sister and never can. I also have a brother but he is MUCH younger than I am (19 years younger) so I don't have a brother-sister bond with him. More like cousins, or an aunt/nephew. It's definitely not as tight as my bond with my sister. She and I went through life together. We're the only ones who get what it was like to grow up with our parents and why we turned out the way we did. I think losing my sister would almost be worse than losing my spouse, and possibly as bad as losing my child.

In what way was the hair and makeup of girls with sisters different? I have a sister and I never noticed a difference. I suppose if someone had an older girl advising them about fashion and stuff it might show, but that's not limited to a sister and it wouldn't apply if the sister was younger or not into that stuff (which--gasp!--some girls aren't!) I have an older sister and a younger brother and I actually have the relationship you are describing with my brother more than my sister. My sister's great and I love her, but we're pretty different. I talk to my mom and my 2 best girlfriends at least a couple of times a week and my brother probably once a week, but my sister maybe once or twice a month.

No, I meant, the girls who had sisters were willing to share their clothes and makeup. It wasn't even a spoken thing, it was just a given- before going out, we'd all rifle through each other's closets and use each other's makeup. The ones with sisters did this just out of habit and instinct. But I had a friend once whose roommate didn't have sisters and was highly confused when my friend started suggesting them swapping clothes to go out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an only child. I am a teacher and am around a lot of children. I can tell with 90% accuracy when I meet (and interact with) an only child.

In a good or bad way?

They tend to be outgoing; good at entertaining themselves; good at making the best of face-time with other kids; and good at interacting with adults because they do so much of it. I have 3 sisters; none of us are close in nature nor proximity. Having a sibling doesn't guarantee you a good time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like I have always been looking for a sister ( had 2 brothers) so might over share or have been needy at times. Not sure but just a feeling I get occasionally. I always had one best friend - grade school , HS, college, work, new mom. I am pretty self- aware so realize there have been times when I needed them more than they needed me. Never any bad situations and still friends with all but realize they all have sisters and have good relationships with them so as much as they are dear friends their real sisters always come first. It has always saddened me that i did not have that special bond. I don't think you can replicate it. Come close, yes, but never exact.

I could have written this post. I have one brother (no sisters) and have always had the need to have 1-2 very close female friendships (at every phase of life) and sometimes i think I hold on to them much tighter than they hold on to me. I can be needy because I just really long for a strong female bond.
I have 2 daughters and a son and am a INCREDIBLY happy that my daughters will each have a sister. Sure, they might not get along (they do so far at ages 5 and 7) but at least they'll have the opportunity.

I'll pile on here - me too. One brother similar in age (we were never close) and I've always needed close girl friends. I have two boys and I realize how different things are with men vs. women. My mom was also raised with brothers so we both struggle with wanting female friendships and being disappointed when people can't put in as much time/effort; or, on the other extreme, being overwhelmed when our close friends have too much drama.

[Anonymous]

Most of the women in STEM I know are either only girls or onlies.

[Anonymous]

I have one brother and one sister.

I have had the same best girlfriend since I was 4 (really became close around 5th grade). I have always been a low-drama 'guys girls'...though had great college girlfriends. My best friend and I split from the 'pack' in HS because the drama and back-stabbing was so intense. We hung with the guys pretty much after that. I tend to gravitate towards women like me---no-nonsense, no drama, not needy, etc. They are also the type that don't freak out if you don't immediately email or call back. We can not talk or email for awhile when we are busy and pick right up where we left off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of the women in STEM I know are either only girls or onlies.

Boy--do you have your head up your a**. You have never been to a genetics or biotech class then. There are plenty of hot girls that are BIO majors. One of the girls that was a biology major with me was pulled out by Playboy when they came to our campus (stem girls are smart enough to keep their clothes on in the college edition, btw).

FWIW, I can tell you are a nitwit by the use of "STEM'. That is a recent educators term that has been bandied about. Most real scientists wouldn't know wth you are talking about with your 'stem' language. It is now the elementary school buzzword.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the women in STEM I know are either only girls or onlies.

Boy--do you have your head up your a**. You have never been to a genetics or biotech class then. There are plenty of hot girls that are BIO majors. One of the girls that was a biology major with me was pulled out by Playboy when they came to our campus (stem girls are smart enough to keep their clothes on in the college edition, btw).

FWIW, I can tell you are a nitwit by the use of "STEM'. That is a recent educators term that has been bandied about. Most real scientists wouldn't know wth you are talking about with your 'stem' language. It is now the elementary school buzzword.

Why are you talking about hot girls when we are discussing women with and without sisters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could tell the ones in college who had sisters. Down to share clothes, makeup, whatever. Growing up with a sister, you're used to it.

I love my sister so much. I have many girl friends- but nobody comes close to my sister and never can. I also have a brother but he is MUCH younger than I am (19 years younger) so I don't have a brother-sister bond with him. More like cousins, or an aunt/nephew. It's definitely not as tight as my bond with my sister. She and I went through life together. We're the only ones who get what it was like to grow up with our parents and why we turned out the way we did. I think losing my sister would almost be worse than losing my spouse, and possibly as bad as losing my child.

In what way was the hair and makeup of girls with sisters different? I have a sister and I never noticed a difference. I suppose if someone had an older girl advising them about fashion and stuff it might show, but that's not limited to a sister and it wouldn't apply if the sister was younger or not into that stuff (which--gasp!--some girls aren't!) I have an older sister and a younger brother and I actually have the relationship you are describing with my brother more than my sister. My sister's great and I love her, but we're pretty different. I talk to my mom and my 2 best girlfriends at least a couple of times a week and my brother probably once a week, but my sister maybe once or twice a month.

No, I meant, the girls who had sisters were willing to share their clothes and makeup. It wasn't even a spoken thing, it was just a given- before going out, we'd all rifle through each other's closets and use each other's makeup. The ones with sisters did this just out of habit and instinct. But I had a friend once whose roommate didn't have sisters and was highly confused when my friend started suggesting them swapping clothes to go out.

Please. This is a total stereotype. I have one brother. I've got lots of very close girlfriends from childhood, college, camp, etc. As a kid I loved having sleepovers and I was definitely a sharing makeup type of girl in college (in my sorority house). I'll change my clothes or pee in front of a girlfriend or spend hours on the phone talking about very intimate details. To this day I still keep in close touch with my BFFs and I have plenty of newer local mom friends too. I guess we don't share clothes that much anymore, although I have swapped maternity clothes or something like a special occasion purse, and we share a lot of ourselves in other age-appropriate ways. I'm the complete opposite of the "girl who doesn't get along with other girls." DH is my best friend but my girls are a close second, along with my brother (my only sibling). I'm close with my mom too. But other than DH and my brother all my closest people are women.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the women in STEM I know are either only girls or onlies.

Boy--do you have your head up your a**. You have never been to a genetics or biotech class then. There are plenty of hot girls that are BIO majors. One of the girls that was a biology major with me was pulled out by Playboy when they came to our campus (stem girls are smart enough to keep their clothes on in the college edition, btw).

FWIW, I can tell you are a nitwit by the use of "STEM'. That is a recent educators term that has been bandied about. Most real scientists wouldn't know wth you are talking about with your 'stem' language. It is now the elementary school buzzword.

Why are you talking about hot girls when we are discussing women with and without sisters.

HILARIOUS!!! Must be the wine talking...I read 'ugly or onlies'. I got a bit defensive of me and my STEMS. But---also incorrect on this count too. I am thinking of my 3 closest friends in my major and my closest work friends...and, ironically, all of us came from families of 3 or more children. No--we weren't all the firstborn or 'all girls'. It is a gross generalization to assume that. (also to assume we aren't hot---just drunks )

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never noticed it until recently at my work. The women I at work with brothers can be more "matter of fact" and "tell it like it is" -- i.e. they'll say what they need to say without a whole cute story. The women with sisters tend to have more "drama" and cute stories to go with everything. I mean that in a really good way -- they come across really kind and friendly because they don't just say "it's raining," they say "I went outside, I had no umbrella, I can't believe I'm all wet etc." Of course if it was true drama or neediness or whatever, it wouldn't be cool but I have not found that to be related to having brothers v. sisters.

My mom and sister and I are so the cute story type, it drives my husband's all boy (beside his mom) family crazy.

I also notice that I tend to collect needy friends that are my baby sister's age. I think I am such an alpha big sister that I tend to end up with a lot of baby sister type friends that want guidance.