Dudes or "blokes" if you prefer : Do any of you find it much more difficult to establish friendships with men than with women? Why might that be?

For me, I can easily fall into friendship mode with women. Not that I want to, say, go shopping with them, but conversation comes effortlessly, my guard goes down and my heart opens up. Around guys, I have to muster my attention and remind myself to keep my guard down, and the ease of interaction suffers. I’m an introvert anyway, so social interaction is always a bit draining, but much more so around men.

The upshot is that I’ve had very few close male friends. Even in the abstract, the idea of hangin’ out with the boys really doesn’t appeal.

I’m not sure why this is. Thoughts?