Female bonding is the formation of a close personal relationship between women. Female bonding is a term that is used in ethology, social science, and in general usage to describe patterns of friendship, attachment, and cooperation in women; or in the case of ethology, associations between females of various species. The exact meaning of the term differs across contexts.
Famous quotes containing the words female and/or bonding:
“You know, whenever women make imaginary female kingdoms in literature, they are always very permissive, to use the jargon word, and easy and generous and self-indulgent, like the relationships between women when there are no men around. They make each other presents, and they have little feasts, and nobody punishes anyone else. This is the female way of going along when there are no men about or when men are not in the ascendant.”
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)
“Attachment to a baby is a long-term process, not a single, magical moment. The opportunity for bonding at birth may be compared to falling in love—staying in love takes longer and demands more work.”
—T. Berry Brazelton (20th century)