Friendship between women is a special thing. Countless books and movies, such as Steel Magnolias and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, have tried to capture the magic of this singular bond. These stories beautifully depict the way female friendships can be both effortless and excruciating, how time and distance can both burden a friendship and, when it really matters, mean nothing at all.
Beyond the alliance forged by the shared experiences of being a woman, these relationships often hold space for vulnerability, prioritize open communication, and offer unconditional emotional support. This deep trust serves as a rock-solid foundation for years of love, laughter, and tears.
The friendships between women, though more seldom highlighted by society, are often just as precious and lasting as romantic relationships. These 15 quotes embody some of this charm by putting into words how valuable it is to have someone who truly sees, understands, and treasures the essence of who you are.
Friendships between women, as any woman will tell you, are built of a thousand small kindnesses … swapped back and forth and over again.Michelle Obama
Well, you know what they say: If you don't have anything nice to say about anybody, come sit by me.Clairee Belcher (Olympia Dukakis) in “Steel Magnolias”
We are everything to one another. We don’t need to say so; it’s just true. Sometimes it seems like we’re so close we form one single complete person rather than four separate ones … You know what the secret is? It’s so simple. We love one another. We’re nice to one another. Do you know how rare that is?Anne Brashares
I love my husband, but there is nothing like a conversation with a woman that understands you. I grow so much from those conversations. I need my sisters.Beyoncé
There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves; it is not my nature. My attachments are always excessively strong.Jane Austen
I don't know what I would have done so many times in my life if I hadn't had my girlfriends. They have literally gotten me up out of bed, taken my clothes off, put me in the shower, dressed me, said, “Hey, you can do this,” put my high heels on, and pushed me out the door.Reese Witherspoon
The love expressed between women is particular and powerful because we have had to love ourselves in order to live; love has been our means of survival.Audre Lorde
I have learnt again and again that whoever we are, wherever we come from, whatever our backgrounds, women share powerful bonds across language, culture, race, religion. Bonds that go deep, that are strong, that speak a universal language.Quentin Bryce
Any woman who chooses to behave like a full human being should be warned that the armies of the status quo will treat her as something of a dirty joke. That's their natural and first weapon. She will need her sisterhood.Gloria Steinem
I do think that women need each other in a way that men might not need each other … We do have a kind of intimacy. There is almost a kind of romance in female friendship.Claire Danes
Friendship between women is different than friendship between men. We talk about different things. We delve deep. We go under, even if we haven’t seen each other for years … It’s my women friends that keep starch in my spine and without them, I don’t know where I would be.Jane Fonda
Like a favorite old movie, sometimes the sameness in a friend is what you like the most about her.Emily Giffin
We're connected, as women. It's like a spiderweb. If one part of that web vibrates, if there's trouble, we all know it.Sarah Addison Allen
For many women, friends are our primary partners through life; they are the ones who move us into new homes, out of bad relationships, through births and illnesses. Even for women who do marry, this is true at the beginning of our adult lives, and at the end — after divorce or the death of a spouse.Rebecca Traister
Women — clearly it’s in our best interest to look after each other! If we don’t start helping ourselves and each other out, we can’t wait on the men to do it for us … I’ve always believed that the sisterhood, the idea of sharing women’s stories, understanding other women, knowing that you are not alone is very empowering.Kalki Koechlin
Featured image credit: Brendon Thorne/ Getty Images Entertainment
