I do think men and women can be friends, but I think the situations where that can comfortably occur are not common. It is true that the sex thing does get in the way, so it's probably easiest to be friends with a member of the opposite sex if you're both involved with someone else—seriously involved, like married. I think that makes it easier. Which isn't to say that two unattached people of the opposite sex can't be friends, but it's probably harder to maintain. And then, if either of them does meet someone, the new significant other will invariably have a hard time understanding the friendship. And then you get my two best guy friends ditching me after a decade and a half of friendship.
So, maybe.
Men have enough MALE friends, you see. And male friends are THE preferred kind of friend to have, don't you know. Women are kept around for sexual purposes and cooking. Surprised you didn't know that.
You see, once upon a time, there was a giant ladder. This ladder was fashioned by men and for men - kind of like The Hair Club for Men. This ladder was created before the earth even existed, when men floated in space, being friends with other men.
In it's most simplest form, the ladder says that MEN ARE WHORES. They want to have sex all the time, with as many people as they can, provided that the women are attractive (unless the man is drunk, in which case he will generously share his perfect penis with a less perfect specimen of female, on the condition that she promises to go away in the morning when he's sober and she promises never to contact him again), and they will constantly rank all women on the face of the earth and place them on their Ladder of Sex, based on a complicated formula that only men can understand, because it involves math.
Women don't really want to be friends with men either, they just want money for bonbons and shoes.
UPDATE:
Of course. Obviously, there's a problem if one party is always wishing that the relationship was more. But if both parties know what that it's just a friendship, I don't think it's a problem.
UPDATE:
Outlook not so good, but there are exceptions. I think the answer is yes, but it depends on your definition of "friend." For example, I know women whom I am attracted to, but have resigned myself to never landing, and I consider myself their friend. But I'm sure people would say that by virtue of my attraction, I can't really be a friend, only a wannabe-lover or something. I think it's dumb to assume that friendship and attraction are incompatible.
UPDATE:
That would be a big fat resounding no, except for very rare circumstances. I think that there will always be some sort of awkwardness there. Personally, I get more attracted to people by their personalities, so I end up being very attracted to my male friends which leads to weirdness.
The only way they can be friends is if there was awkwardness there, but it has been addressed and has disappeared.
I don’t think this is a black and white/yes or no issue. For me the answer is yes, but it can’t last forever. It will end when one has a relationship with another person they are serious about. Not just any relationship, but a special relationship.... I’m going to have to agree with Chris Rock’s philosophy and say that the man always wants to, uh... screw, the woman, and the woman keeps the man around as a just in case. Chris Rock speaks the truth. There is always at least a hint of sexual tension there.
I used to think so, but the answer is no, except in really extraordinary circumstances.... [M]en and women can only be friends if they live far apart, one of them gets married, or they work together. Or neither is attracted to the other, but that is rare.
Of course! I have lots of good guy friends, although most of them now are married or are the boyfriends or husbands of my friends. In the Air Force I had a lot more single guy friends and I can't say that every single one of those friendships was free from sexual tension, but it was never an issue really. It either got resolved or it didn't...problem solved!
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