Can men and women be friends? Despite the fact that growing up I surrounded myself with a faithful group of girlfriends who managed to keep my sanity in tact through both grade school and high school, I’ve always actually considered myself more of a “guy’s girl”. I much prefer the typical male method of conflict resolution, ie. drop the F bomb, throw a punch and then never mention the incident again to the classic female way of dealing with aggression. In my vast experience dealing with argument after argument among my girls, I’ve seen it all. Stolen boyfriends, copied outfits,weight criticisms…YOU NAME IT… with all such offenses leading to a public flogging followed by days, months, or even years of the silent treatment.
Armed with this knowledge as I forged friendships throughout university and young adulthood, my method of selecting comrades focused not necessarily on gender, but on that ” easy breezy ” attitude I wanted to surround myself with. As a direct result, many of my closest friends are in fact men. Are they truly friends? Many would say they are either a) men who at some point wanted to hook up with me or b) men who at some point I wanted to hook up with.
I have friends who flat out refuse to hang out with members of the opposite sex when they’re in relationships, claiming that those friendships are detrimental to the health of their romance. On the opposite end of the spectrum lies those who, like myself, are adamant that their significant other not be able to impede on any friendship, especially those established prior to the relationship.
I can only speak for myself when I say that I would NEVER date any of my male friends. They’re my friends. Can you appreciate the magnitude of that statement? That means I’ve seen them at their absolute worst; their drunkest, their loudest, their most obnoxious…. and to top it all off, I’ve witnessed their past relationships. Even if I could overlook all that, I know what they know about ME and there’s NO getting past that!
So… back to the question, can men and women be friends? From where I’m standing…. it’s a yes. The men in my life have been privy to my drunken stupors, my heavy use of sarcasm, and yes all the love they can possibly handle from me. Not exactly the stuff dreams are made of!
The Zuf Truth 