Queen Bees and Wannabees iirc is a work of sociology that might have the kind of insight into the social lives of girls you're looking for (looks like it has a new edition, title is pretty dated though!)
https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Bees-Wannabes-3rd-Realities/dp/1101903058
"Queen bees and Wannabes" https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Bees-Wannabes-3rd-Realities/dp/1101903058
Wife bought it for me. We have 3 daughters. It explains a lot.
>we love that drama
Implies all. "We" means everyone involved, and if you're speaking on behalf of women, then "we" means all women.
To your other point, it depends on the maturity of people involved. Immature women find enjoyment in drama and back-stabbing, while mature men are usually more open. Mature women are equally open, while immature men rely on their friendship hierarchy to keep drama in check. There are books about this, such as Queen Bees and Wannabees which became the basis for Mean Girls, and Masterminds and Wingmen. Usually people "age out" of immature friendship drama, but TV will have people believing otherwise. Those 50yo women on The Real Housewives make people think that dramatic behavior continues across the lifespan.