“Friendship that flows from the heart cannot be frozen by adversity, as the water that flows from the spring cannot congeal in winter.” – James Fenimore Cooper
Have you got just a friend of the opposite sex? Do you think that it’s possible for men and women to be just friends without being romantic?
For many the idea of men and women being friend is very charming but it’s really improbable. It always leads to something else… blame the sexual tension that almost inevitably exists between any heterosexual man and woman. It’s also the picture of society. In fact, society has long pictured relationships between men and women has romantic because it difficult for women and men to have a platonic relationship. Another picture of the society is to see women keeping the children at home and men going to work. Do you remember the movie When Harry Met Sally? The first question that I asked myself is: are they really friends? They friendship seems so perfect.
I believe that friendship between men and women exists. But it’s really important to make a difference between some feelings, attitudes and behavior that it can exist in a cross-sex friendship.
Distinguishing between lovers, sexual and friendly feelings, are really important steps. You are enjoying having a friend, having someone that you can talk to, a confident someone from the other sex who can understand translate all the signs, the behaviors of the opposite sex for you.
Having a cross-sex friendship can be difficult sometimes because of the sexual tension between men and women. Men and women perceive sexual attraction from different perspectives a study published in The Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, shows that one thing women dislike in a cross-sex relationship is sexual tension when men respond that sexual attraction was a prime reason for initiating a relationship. That means that sexual tension will always exists between cross-sex friends. The only way to go over it is to ignore it even if sometimes is difficult to ignore.
Men and women can both benefit from the cross sex relationship. They both learn from the other. Men like talking and relating facts to the women, something sometimes they can’t do with their buddies. Women benefit from men opinions, they like the protective, casual warmth they got from men. Some others women are more likely to be friends with men than others because it’s easier for hers to get around men and their friendship because they find them more sincere than the others women. In a close cross-sex relationship men and women are extremely emotionally supportive; they continuously examine their feelings, opinions, and ideas. They are sometimes like brothers and sisters.
I think the most important thing to do in a cross-sex relationship and to succeed as friends, both genders have to openly and honestly negotiate what their relationship will mean whether sexual attraction is a factor and how they deal with it and establish boundaries. Fixing your limits and establish your boundaries we always remind you what is the benefit of your relationship or even shows you that you cross a line or not.