It’s an age-old debate: Can men and women truly, really, honestly just be friends?
Some people are categorical about it: No. There will always be ambiguity.
Others — usually those with lots of friends from the opposite sex — insist that platonic friendships between straight men and women can exist.
Here is the thing: Studies have shown differences in the way both genders perceive and experience opposite-sex friendships. If you’re a dude, you’re more likely to think that your female friend might be attracted to you when she is not. Women, on the other hand, tend to assume their lack of attraction towards their male friend is mutual — hence the existence of the dreaded friend zone concept.
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An anonymous AskMen reader voiced her concerns about the potential one-sidedness of male and female friendships on guyQ, AskMen’s Q&A platform.
