Girl talk

Thursday, October 9th., Cadogan Square, London

Friendships made between young women on the telephone - solely. I have come across more than one instance of this. They like the tone of each other's voices and the things they say. And the friendship grows. Then comes an invitation to tea, or another meal. "Do come." "I should love to." etc. I wonder what the results are but I never hear. This method of companionship (sightless) is very queer. My sense is that women, particularly young women who need to establish their social position, are necessarily more inclined to make friends than are men for reasons relating to the evolutionary development of our species. If social intercourse expands further as a result of technological developments, as it must, then we can expect to see casual "friendships" proliferating. 

One sees very frequently young women and girls together in the street giggling with much vigour. Whenever I have heard them talking in these giggles, the matter has been utterly trifling. They will giggle consumedly if crossing a road and in danger of death from a bus; or at some peculiar sight. They will cling on to each other while they giggle. In the male sex this phenomenon is practically non-existent. So the object is not to exchange information; the process is the purpose.

I am currently taking an interest in Oriental religions. An academic interest. I feel that I know very little about other cultures which distresses me. Yesterday and today I was finding out about Shintoism from Japan. I do not think it can really be called a religion at all. It is a system of belief, apparently widely adhered to in Japan, which is essentially animistic. It is puzzling to me why people in a modern, quite materialist, country should feel the need to propitiate "spirits" - they call them Kami apparently. Then again why do so many people in this country affirm a belief in a religion the central story of which would not convince an intelligent and objective 12 year old?