I saw that the Williams' sisters were up against each other in today's Wimbledon finals. Venus beat her sister Serena in two sets.

After, she talked about making sure to not celebrate too loudly or make a huge fuss, bearing in mind that her win meant her sister's loss. Their Mom watched but their Dad flew back to the States rather than watch his two daughters fight it out on Center Court! In concession, Serena said she was happy for her sister and at least one of them won!

Pretty nice for sisters - it can't be an easy time for either of them because one of them had to lose. And while their familiy want to congratulate the winner, they must also console the loser. A sticky situation, perhaps! But they seem to have a good balance.

The story made me wonder about sisters. And best friends. Is there always an underlying rivalry or is that just stereotyping women-friends as ultimately no more than competitive rivals? Many women I know have a sister as a best friend but many others tend to fight, compete or compare in such a way that the relationship is often uneasy. This may be also a bit of a generalization but men are portrayed as buddies - as allies, invested in the strenghthening of the brotherhood.

I'm a fan of Chris Rock, who thinks that women actually hate each other, underneath it all. Now I know he's joking but I also know his jokes have a ring of truth to them. I'd quote his jokes about women hating women but this is Chris Rock we're talking about and I don't have the time to do the amount of editing it'd take to make my point with on-line respectability!

Do you ever feel competitive with other women? Do you view the 'sisterhood' as a bit of a myth or do you see women as strong allies for each other? Do you think men strike a better balance in their relationships with each other?