Can Men and Women Be 'merely Friends' ?

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CapTenn
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How are we defining "friends" here?

A female co-worker that you joke around with, and innocently chit-chat with at work -- nothing more? Then YES.

Your buddies wife that you hang around often -- in the company of her husband? Yes

Your neighbor that you catch in the driveway and gossip about other neighbors, and admire each others flower beds? Yes.

Something other than one of the the above? I say no (for me).

Am I going to call a girl 'friend' if I score 2 tickets to the big game? NO

Will I call my girl 'friend' to go fishing? NO

If a girl calls me to go catch the sale at Macy's and shop at the mall, will I go? NO.

Will I pick up the phone and lay my troubles off a my girl 'friend', or vice versa? NO.
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The Lady Scorpio
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Posted by CapTenn
How are we defining "friends" here?

A female co-worker that you joke around with, and innocently chit-chat with at work -- nothing more? Then YES.

Your buddies wife that you hang around often -- in the company of her husband? Yes

Your neighbor that you catch in the driveway and gossip about other neighbors, and admire each others flower beds? Yes.

Something other than one of the the above? I say no (for me).

Am I going to call a girl 'friend' if I score 2 tickets to the big game? NO

Will I call my girl 'friend' to go fishing? NO

If a girl calls me to go catch the sale at Macy's and shop at the mall, will I go? NO.

Will I pick up the phone and lay my troubles off a my girl 'friend', or vice versa? NO.



Goat men always know their boundaries more so than certain other men, admirable.

[grand applause]
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enfant_terrible
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Posted by Feistypisces777
Yeah I have plenty of guy friends. Idk what's going on in their heads but we can talk, pretend flirt with each other, advise one another, and are there for one another when we need it. Nothing sexual at all.



Ah but see, that's a way of disarming the sexual tension, even if it is "playful". You won't see 'pretend flirting' between that many guys , let's put it that way.

There are exceptions to the rule but there will always be one party willing to take it a step further given the oppurtunity. And not necesserily the male. Gotta watch out for the females these days aswell 😛

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TMV
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I'm a firm believer that 'friends only' relationships between the male and female genders are more than possible so long as the people in question are capable of thinking with other body parts than their loins. Some of my closest friendships are with males. To some extent I think I actually prefer them lol.

Posted by TheLadyScorpio
Where would your boundaries be, between keeping a (wo)man as friends and as more?



This feels like a bit of a trick question to me. If boundaries are necessarily required to prevent "mere" friendship from progressing into something else then it doesn't sound like a natural friendship to begin with.

To answer the question though, no flirting. No physical contact beyond the traditional handshakes, claps on the back or loosely embraced two-second hugs that would normally be shared among mates. No sleeping together, literally or figuratively. Basically, if two solidly heterosexual males wouldn't be entirely comfortable doing it together, it's probably out of bounds.
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aquapiscescusp
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Posted by CapTenn
How are we defining "friends" here?

A female co-worker that you joke around with, and innocently chit-chat with at work -- nothing more? Then YES.

Your buddies wife that you hang around often -- in the company of her husband? Yes

Your neighbor that you catch in the driveway and gossip about other neighbors, and admire each others flower beds? Yes.

Something other than one of the the above? I say no (for me).

Am I going to call a girl 'friend' if I score 2 tickets to the big game? NO

Will I call my girl 'friend' to go fishing? NO

If a girl calls me to go catch the sale at Macy's and shop at the mall, will I go? NO.

Will I pick up the phone and lay my troubles off a my girl 'friend', or vice versa? NO.



Wanna catch a movie? 😉
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CapTenn
@CapTenn
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Comments: 15 · Posts: 2575 · Topics: 9
Posted by aquapiscescusp
Posted by CapTenn
How are we defining "friends" here?

A female co-worker that you joke around with, and innocently chit-chat with at work -- nothing more? Then YES.

Your buddies wife that you hang around often -- in the company of her husband? Yes

Your neighbor that you catch in the driveway and gossip about other neighbors, and admire each others flower beds? Yes.

Something other than one of the the above? I say no (for me).

Am I going to call a girl 'friend' if I score 2 tickets to the big game? NO

Will I call my girl 'friend' to go fishing? NO

If a girl calls me to go catch the sale at Macy's and shop at the mall, will I go? NO.

Will I pick up the phone and lay my troubles off a my girl 'friend', or vice versa? NO.



Wanna catch a movie? 😉
click to expand




Not if you have a hubby or BF... 😉
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aquapiscescusp
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Comments: 33 · Posts: 13769 · Topics: 154
Posted by CapTenn
Posted by aquapiscescusp
Posted by CapTenn
How are we defining "friends" here?

A female co-worker that you joke around with, and innocently chit-chat with at work -- nothing more? Then YES.

Your buddies wife that you hang around often -- in the company of her husband? Yes

Your neighbor that you catch in the driveway and gossip about other neighbors, and admire each others flower beds? Yes.

Something other than one of the the above? I say no (for me).

Am I going to call a girl 'friend' if I score 2 tickets to the big game? NO

Will I call my girl 'friend' to go fishing? NO

If a girl calls me to go catch the sale at Macy's and shop at the mall, will I go? NO.

Will I pick up the phone and lay my troubles off a my girl 'friend', or vice versa? NO.



Wanna catch a movie? 😉



Not if you have a hubby or BF... 😉
click to expand





— pffttt details
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Aquarius09
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Posted by size zero superhero
Posted by aquarius09
Posted by size zero superhero
thirsty men & women can't be friends, for their dehydration will inevitably worsen & take over.



LMAO! So very true!! It's all about thirst!!! Whoever is thirsty will catch feelings easily and down goes the friendship.



I agree. Some folks are trying to frame their side of it like if they're friends with someone of the opposite sex, ultimately the other person wouldn't be able to resist their appeal or vice-versa (especially if one or both parties are attractive). I'm not fooled by those claims 😛

Single men that lack platonic female friends actually have less overall access to new women they can meet by way of pre-existing friendships with girls. Befriending girls means the guy inevitably gets introduced to HER single female friends through her.
Thought that much was already obvious, but...

click to expand




Yeah. Im not fooled by those claims either. In fact they irk me. In sync with your thoughts.

I also feel that if you are attracted to the woman/man friend in question physically or emotionally, that's not a friendship from a guy's standpoint more than the girl's because men are visual creatures.