A Guy's Girl

Written by Anika Henrikson

You wouldn't think my blog would be so late this issue. After all, I get to talk about one of my favorite things in the whole world: men.

And that isn't meant to sound sarcastic. I really do love guys. They're funny, physically and emotionally strong, and know how to change the oil in my car. A lot of my good friends are men.

In that regard, I consider myself a guy's girl: a girl who is just as comfortable (sometimes more comfortable) hanging out with the fellas as she is hanging out with the ladies. I love good beer, bad TV, and can rapidly dish out “bro insults.” You know what I'm talking about—they're insults intended to belittle or emasculate a dude friend. Just don't ask me what a carburetor does.

And a majority of my girl friends are guy's girls, too. That is to say, when we get together, we usually act like guys. Or, more often, we are with a group of guys. As an example, albeit an outdated one, I went with two friends (Ty and Jon) to see the bro-tastic movie The Hangover last year, and was 100 percent comfortable sandwiched between two cool guys watching a hilarious movie about a group of guys. No weirdness.

(Pictured above: Some of the coolest guys around!)

I'm lucky to have found a group of guys to put up with me and my shenanigans, and to come to my rescue when I need a little help, or a ride. But to be honest, sometimes I really don't understand them. As a whole, their gender causes problems as much as they solve them. Perhaps that confusion comes from me not having a y chromosome. Because as much as I do relate to guys, I'm missing that one element that would help me fully understand their motives.

So I, like all other guy's girls, get stuck somewhere in the middle. Guys aren't completely candid with us on certain topics (and we're thankful for that), but we're also hanging around the inner sanctum of Man Country, even if it is superficially. We're a strange breed. And I'm always interested to hear what other guys think.

It's one reason I'm thankful we put out a Man Issue every year. In addition to working on the man-centric stories that are published, I get to discover a few more secrets about the way guys think. Sometimes I'm scared by what I hear. Sometimes I'm surprised at the depth that comes from these dudes.

While the issue that's on newsstands now is laced with testosterone and motor grease, it also has a lot of insight into the loves of man: guns, grills, and big bikes.

And, personally, it's also a reminder for me that however much I like to think I fit in with a group of guys, I'll only get so far because I'm a girl. How do I know? Well, aside from the obvious, no guy would ever try and break down the inner workings and dynamic shifts of a male-female friendship. Or worry about what their respective guy friends might have to say about the topic.

Or have trouble describing what a carburetor does.