Don't flame me for this...
First of all- I am in no way, shape, or form a female misogynist. Nor am I a lesbian, btw!
However- because of many bad experiences I've had with women being unkind to me in the past, I tend to find it much easier to make friends with and talk to men.
I think one of the reasons I've had difficulty connecting with my own gender is because I've not really been affected by most "women's issues", at least on the surface. I can't commiserate about, for instance, guys not calling, because in my case guys have never NOT called. Or I can't say I too would love to lose 5 pounds, because I'm just naturally tiny. I can't help that- my whole family is tiny. I've also been accused many times of boyfriend-stealing, when all I did was respond to a hello! I could go on...
Of course I've got loads of issues- just not the normal ones!
I do have female friends, but generally my very close female friends are people I've known since early childhood, or for at least 5-10 years. I probably have about 4 male friends for every female one.
I guess I tend to trust men more because I've found them less likely to have hidden agendas. With the straight ones, all one really has to figure out about them is if they are trying to get in your pants or not. And even if they are trying to do just that, they generally carry on being friends with you after you say no. The only thing that DOES make some fellows stop being friends with you is actually getting married! That's what REALLY sorts out the ones who are truly friendly towards you, because the act of tying the knot, no pun intended, is what causes all the ones who were hoping for some nookie to finally give up. But still, that's only one agenda, and it's not exactly hidden.
I'm not AFRAID of women, but it takes me much longer to trust them. However, when I get to know people (as several TMFers can attest) I'm extremely open and friendly. Just- if you are female and meet me for the first time, say at NEST, please don't be put off if I seem a bit reticent- it's just a question of many times bitten, twice shy!
Actually, at NEST, it's more likely that I'll talk a lot and very quickly, because when I meet many new folks at once, I overcompensate!
How is all this relevant to the OP? To sum up- I do not hate my own gender, but experiences have made me much more wary of it than I am of the opposite sex.