Male-Female Friendship - Myth or Reality?

There are two completely opposite opinions about the existence of friendship between a man and a woman. Someone believes that such a relationship exists in reality, someone claims that this is an illusion.

Such friendship usually arises as a result of joint activities - work, hobbies, same interests. People communicate in courses, learn foreign languages or play sports together. This type of friendship has its advantages and disadvantages. The main question is how people perceive these relationships, whether they see each other as friends or hope for more.

Psychologists have found that friendship between a man and a woman is quite possible.

However, the line is blurry and the communication may exist in certain circumstances:

- such friends have partners;

- there is no intimate interest. They’ve already had an affair and decided to remain friends;

- it’s a communication of married couples;

- there is a mutual desire to maintain communication as friends.

This is normal if a person is quite sociable and wants to communicate with a large circle of friends. But having a close friend of the opposite sex is an alarming sign for a couple. In case of difficulties with a loved one, such interaction can become much closer. Frequently there can be a sexual connection between friends, but they try to stay at the distance keeping the boundaries of their feelings.

It is also necessary to mention that the modern world has become more pragmatic, not everyone needs real feelings.

There are young people who are just interested in a partner for intimacy, but they don’t want to be in a serious relationship. This is why an expression like “friends with benefits” has appeared. Of course, such relationships seem vulgar, less sublime than love, but they do occur in modern society. At the same time, “friendship with benefits” is a big risk. It is difficult to meet a real friend and intimacy can spoil a wonderful friendship.

Read also: Why Friends with Benefits Relationship Is a Risky Affair

The psychology of friendship between men and women is a rather complex and controversial topic. There are many variations of relationships and their developments. Friendship can become the beginning of further love or the end of an existing relationship. However, opposite-sex friendship has a right to exist if there is a mutual desire to maintain and keep its fragile balance. Such communication, mutual respect, and help allow people to develop morally and have a better understanding of the representatives of the other sex.