Can Men and Women just be Friends?

This question I believe is an ageless one. If you ask ten different people for their opinion on the subject you will likely get ten different answers and reasons for why they believe what they believe. My opinion – it depends on the people involved.

I think there are some people who can form friendships with the opposite sex and have it remain a friendship and nothing more. They are aware of their own personal boundaries and have the ability to enforce these boundaries at will. Most importantly, they are also able to distinguish the difference between friendship and a romantic relationship, which may be the key to their success.

There are others, however, who are not able to form successful friendships with the opposite sex. They may be too easily tempted by kindness and flirtation, or they may not be able to easily distinguish the difference between a friendship and a romantic relationship.
Some may even have difficulty either setting boundaries or enforcing them. Regardless of the reason, some people simply should not form friendships with the opposite sex because it just doesn’t work for them. Regardless of which category you fall into, it is important to understand that given the nature of the male/female relationship there are always risks associated with forming these friendships.

Forming friendships with the opposite sex can become particularly complicated because no matter how genuine a friend may seem, one can never be truly sure about their intention.
It’s true that not everybody would take advantage of our vulnerability intentionally. The truth, however, is that you never really know what is going on in someone else’s mind and so you can never really be sure of their true intent.
I don’t intent to evoke fear, or to advise you not to trust anybody of the opposite sex. My intention is to simply illustrate how the male/female friendship is extremely complex.

Everybody is different. Some people can form successful friendships with members of the opposite sex, while others are better off staying clear of them.
If you insist on forming friendships with the opposite sex, you need to set some ground rules and make sure that your relationship with this friend is clearly defined in your minds before you pursue it. If this sounds like too much work, please play it safe and simply don’t turn to your girl/guy for friendship.