Probably most of us at least once have discussed with our friends or partner if there is a possibility for just a friendship between a male and a female. And while there are different opinions, instances and probably no right or wrong answer, it is time for a new discussion – do male friends develop romantic feelings more often?
Recently, one Reddit user shared a question online asking for community members’ opinions on whether women are just not romantically interested in their male friends, which created quite a discussion online.
More info: Reddit
There is a common discussion whether men and women can be just friends, with no right or wrong answers
Image credits: Bethany Ferr (not the actual photo)
Man online started a discussion regarding the meme that shows how male friends ruin friendships by confessing their feelings
Image credits: Wordroots
He noted that he has never seen this meme in reverse and wondered if women just don’t have romantic feelings for their male friends
A few days ago, a Reddit user started a discussion online in the feminist community, which is dedicated to asking questions and discussing issues with feminists. The man pointed out a popular meme “POV: Your male friend is about to ruin your friendship” and raised the question of why it’s always men. The post collected over 1.2K upvotes and almost 1K comments.
The original poster (OP) started his story by explaining the whole meme that raised his question, which is why there is no reverse version of this meme. He asked if women don’t have romantic feelings for their male friends, or are just less likely to confess to them.
However, after quite a few Redditors pointed out that the question isn’t about feminism and shouldn’t have been posted in this exact community, OP shared that he thinks the gender disparity involved in this phenomenon makes it relevant to feminism.
Now, community members in the comments shared their thoughts: “I think the difference is that men will often not even befriend a woman unless he’s attracted to her. There is typically more motive than to just be friends,” one user noted. “My opinion is that men see ‘friendship’ as a fair hunting ground for women, whereas women are more likely to value the friendship,” another pointed out.
Image credits: Min An (not the actual photo)
So let’s come back a little bit to the discussion – can men and women actually be friends? So despite very common opinions that it’s basically impossible – that somebody will end up falling in love – relationship experts actually note that it’s wrong.
“The belief that men and women can’t be friends comes from another era in which women were at home and men were in the workplace, and the only way they could get together was for romance,” explained Linda Sapadin, a psychologist in Valley Stream, New York.
Now, looking at the research, it implies that although we might believe that we can be “just friends” with people of the other sex, opportunities for “romance” are frequently present and waiting to seize at the most inconvenient times.
Finally, Bryan Reeves shared a post stating from the men’s side that mature men can be authentic friends with the women they are sexually attracted to. They can do just as much with them as they would do with any other friend. So mature males are capable of feeling sexual attraction to women while maintaining appropriate distance from them.
So it is clear that there are different opinions, different situations and examples about opposite sex friendships and whether men really only have female friends who they like romantically, but what is your take on this discussion? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Redditors shared their personal views regarding this phenomenon
Image credits: Jopwell (not the actual photo)
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
