Male Bonding

Males don't normally get together to have bonding sessions like women. I find that there are a few occasions when males do bond. Here are my experiences on when guys feel a unified bond.

The first and most obvious time when males bond is playing in a sport team. I have to say that it is cliche but the fact that you have to play as a team means that you do have to bond. Last season, our soccer team all really pulled together towards the end of the season and there was a real sense of unity as we strived towards our first ever premiership.

Outdoor trips such as camping also causes men to bond together. Toughing it in the wilderness and having to be self sustaning (or close to it) tends to bring people closer. Unlike the sport scenario where you are all working towards winning, camping ignites our survival instincts and the need to cooperate to survive. I remember one time when we were trying to put up a tent and everyone really pitched in to help.

At uni, the times where male bonding was greatest was when we were doing assignments and studying for exams. The late nights at the library where a whole massive group of us would be studying and helping each other out on assignments really meant everyone bonded. There was the fast food dinners and snacks everywhere, the telling of jokes and stories, and just aiming to finish something that required everyone's input.

At work, I have recently had to work weekends and late nights with my group. I have found that on those occasions, I have really gotten to know them a lot more as people. The atmosphere is much more relaxed after work hours and people are more themselves and that generally means they are a lot sillier. We are geeky engineers after all. There was a lot of joking going on and I saw personalities of people that I never see during work hours, especially from the more senior members. I guess there is an expectation during work hours to act a particualar way, but outside of work hours and in the company of people you can trust, true personalities come out. The bonding was again due to striving to achieve a common goal and finish the project. Everyone chips in where they can.

With all these activities where males bond, it doesn't mean there aren't arguments and disagreements. That also occurs since people have different ideas on how to do things. In the end though, those arguments are usually resolved so that the common goal can be achieved.