Cieri says her firehouse friendships have confirmed some stereotypes about men. Yes, they tend to be more assertive than women, she says. Yes, they will challenge and provoke one another, just for the fun of it. Some experts say men and women are bound to adopt one another's trademark behaviors, the more they interact. Women of Cieri's generation are more apt to boast, interrupt, even swear, than their parents.
Men are more apt to negotiate, console, cry.
Cieri says she is no more reticent to confide in her close male friends than her women friends. It's a different angle. As those differences are leveled out, men's and women's points of views overlap. Social status, more than gender, emerges as a key influence on values and goals. But if you look at people who have similar experiences, you find a lot of similar beliefs, similar values.