As we all know, there tends to be a separation between boys and girls. The boys hand out with other boys and avoid the girls, and the girls do the same only the other way around. My question is, why? Why does this happen? What causes this?

One thing that I have noticed is that this separation only occurs in certain environments, such as schools. It usually occurs in places where there is a lot of people.

I have gone to the same summer camp for the past 8 years. Unlike school where there is a huge separation between the sexes, there never was at camp. Throughout those years I talked to everyone, regardless of whether they were a boy or a girl. We all hung out together. It was always like that, until this past summer. There were a ton of new kids, and instead of all of us having fun together, the girls only hung out with the girls and the guys only hung out with the guys, except for the 7 or so of us that had been going there for a while. We hung out with everyone. It was weird though. Same environment, but the addition of some people made us split from one group of people into two separate groups.

So what is the cause of this split in the first place, and why isn't it existent in smaller groups, only in large ones like school?

One theory states that it is caused by society. Society says that boys should only talk to boys and girls should only talk to girls. The reason that it goes away in smaller groups is because you are almost forced to talk to the other gender because there are so few of you. Once you do start talking to them, you realize that you like them even if the aren't the same gender as you and you become friends. I think that if society didn't make it seem like you should only chill with your sex, then this separation wouldn't exist.

You could definitely argue that this gap would still exist regardless of what society says, and that the gap is there simply because they have less in common. That is definitely a possibility.

What do you guys think about this? Why do you think that this split between sexes occurs?

While it does happen in some friend groups at school it doesn't with mine. I have more male friends than female but not too much more. 

I think any dividers are to do with the interests and how they conflict with each other. I really don't care about what some people think and vice versa. Men are very different to women and one would assume most tastes are different to each others. 

I'm in year 10 anyway (age range 14-15) so maybe some of the split is to do with certain age groups and levels of maturity and acceptance.

Like what MechaMento and tornadocam said, I believe that it largely has to do with interests. These interests have largely been cultured by what we see in popular entertainment. I generally like girls more, not because I'm sexist or gay, but because I have had more positive experiences with them. My brother is a bit of a jerk. My father is probably the kindest person in our family right now, but it didn't use to be that way. Mom used to be the one leading the family in every way. Although I admire her and respect her more now, I'm not entirely a "Momma's boy" now. I still hang out around guys more, though, since I'm pretty heavily attracted to girls that have a good sense of humor, and find it stressful to hang out with any other sorts of girls.

tgags123 :

Well, when I come to a group of strangers, the first people I want to talk to are guys.

Why?

Well, it's cause guys are more likely to have similar interests. I mean, we're both the same gender after all, and some things appeal more to guys, as other things appeal more to girls.

It's cause both gender's minds find different things appealing. I'd say it's only natural.


I look out for stuff like this too and it catches my attention.

It mainly has to do with gender and common interests. If you were to bump into someone who is the same gender as you, you are more likely to be similar in interests and personality in general. Also males and females communicate differently from others so if you were to be friends with someone from the opposite gender as you, the communication can be rather foggy, confusing, and misleading. Having lots of friends from your gender makes your life easier to manage and handle in general.
I used to be friends with mostly males in the past but now I have more friends as females. I think standards play a role in this as well because when one sees a male and a female together, one would most likely think that they're a couple and not good friends in general which is messed up. I have no idea what happened when I had a change in transition with my ability to make friends but I guess same sex friends are very common and natural.

I think I'm the only one that thinks that a tiny part of it is also instinct, or perhaps human nature. Some guys can only do or talk about things that is relatable to other guys, and girls do the same for other girls. Although genders mix, it's usually depends on the circumstances or environment around them.

I see this very often, but many times I see the opposite. I think some males are afraid that it would be too awkward for them to hang out with the opposite sex, and the same goes for females. I feel that this is most likely the cause for this split.

tgags123 : I think that there are a lot of reasons for this separation. In addition to culture and whatnot, guys and girls just often have different interests and things that the other gender is not interested in. Perhaps the separation would not exist without culture, but perhaps it would. I myself have a little trouble talking to any girl, usually I get more comfortable as I get to know them. The main reason that I generally will talk to them, is simply because she or they are in my path. It is common to talk to girls in smaller groups rather than larger groups simply for the fact that it feels odd to ignore the other gender in a smaller group and not so much in a larger group. I really think that that is about all there is to it.

At least with adults, it has to do with sexual dynamics. For all other occasions, it's simply culture and human nature.

For the record I don't really think the sexes are seperate at all, except for certain purposes like all-x schools.