Published 2011-05-03T19:57:00Z”/>
August Walsh
Men and women can’t be friends. There, I said it.
When my male friends and I interact, the bulk of what we talk about is sex, video games, cartoons, food and more sex. Sound slightly stereotypical? That’s because it’s true.
What do women talk about? Like men, women talk about sex and gossip, but from my own observations, the similarities end there.
How are those two types of conversations supposed to mesh? It’s like mixing oil and water or trying to fit a triangle into a circular hole.
There are so many boundaries and barriers that go up when men and women interact that make it virtually impossible for each to have that camaraderie that two men or two women share.
Out of politeness, we put on masks to make sure not to offend the other. Let’s say I go out one night and get lucky with an attractive female. I would immediately call one of my guy friends to tell him of my triumphant victory, but I would never consider letting my female friends know about how amazing or unlucky my sex life has been. The same probably goes for women.
Now let’s hypothetically say that a man and a woman become comfortable with each other to the point where they consider themselves as “friends.” They hang out all of the time and talk to each other about everything. The majority of the time, one of them will probably become attracted to the other.
There have been too many “friendships” that have ended because of sexual tension and unplanned crushes, because once that comes up, somebody is going to want a relationship and the other person isn’t.
Someone is going to try and tell the other, “But we’re just friends,” thus killing the friendship with what I like to call “the friend dagger.” If a friendship can be killed that easily, then it was never a friendship to begin with. Two male or two female friends rarely have to worry about this, which leads to a more holistic and honest friendship.
Whether we want to admit it or not, we’ve all probably been in the dreaded “friend zone,” and it’s close to impossible to get out of it. The worst part about the friend zone is how much of a negative connotation it has, usually because one person feels forced into it.
So, what’s the solution? Are males and females never supposed to be friendly with each other when they’re not trying to court each other? Well, that’s preposterous. If I really had an answer to this dilemma, I’d make sure I’d do my best to at the very least try and make some money off that idea.
While there are plenty of women I enjoy hanging out with, I’d like to call them my friend unless I suspect there might be some unnecessary
chemistry.
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<strong>August Walsh can be reached at</strong>
<em>[email protected]</em>
