Having a pair of testicles hanging between our legs gives men something basic in common, something more than the physical presence of their balls. Perhaps it’s the sense of vulnerability having these delicate male parts endow us with, perhaps it’s commonality we share in the way we view life, perhaps it’s sense of brotherhood and the mutual recognition of what it means to be a man.

It’s a mindset of sorts, an ability to have a friend, to understand him, appreciate him, even love him in a way and with a kind of love reserved and shared with only another man, a friend, a guy you know will be there for you no matter what destiny throws your way. It’s a love with few if any conditions, a kinship understood by all men, of any sexual persuasion, a bond that’s valued beyond all material considerations.

With many men, perhaps more than most people would imagine, it’s a kind of love that comes with a sexual attraction. For some the attraction goes no further than a daydream, a private notion shared with no one else. For others it may be a mutual attraction that’s acted upon in secret, kept from a judgmental world or one’s children or wife. For a few, it’s a love celebrated in the open and shouted from the rooftops, a marriage in every sense of the word, a commitment, a union.

For most it is simple a friendship, a special friendship indeed, having someone to trust, to lean on when sympathy and understanding is needed to get through trying times. Though women are not without friendships of their own, male friendships are inherently different. And don’t ask me to explain, I can’t, perhaps no one can … it doesn’t have to be explained because you know what I mean. Different because we’re men. Different because we understand each other in ways we can never understand women, or be understood by them. Different because we have those testicles hanging between our legs.

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