Ah, the classic wondrous debate of whether or not men and women can just be friends. I feel like I've heard just about every side of this back and forth discussion, so here's a layout of different points of views on the topic and things to consider.

Wording

First off, when you ask the question "Can men and women just be friends?," the word that is under intense scrutiny is "can." "Can" in this sense of the usage can mean one of two things:

1) Is it possible in any way, shape, or form for a man and a woman to just be friends?

OR

2) Is it preferable or desirable for a man and a woman to be friends when there is sexual tension and/or romantic feelings involved?

The wording here is key to understanding exactly what this question implies. Furthermore, the crime most people commit is only thinking about a friendship from their perspective. What do I want out of this friendship? What do I value? But it is important to consider what the opposite gender wants in a friendship too, and that's often the type of thinking we struggle with.

Best Friends

Tweaking the phrasing ever so slightly, a better question to ask yourself is, "Can men and women be best friends?" The word "best" hints that that friend is, if not your #1 buddy, pretty darn close. A best friend outweighs the rest of your friends or is at least up there with a selective few. Best friends, as with regular friends, don't engage in sexual acts with each other. The second that happens, those two people have become more than friends.

Friend Zone

What on earth is the friend zone? Some believe that by saying you're in the friend zone, you are interested in hooking up, dating, and any other act that friends would not partake in with someone, but that person only likes you back as a friend. Others believe the friend zone is a friendship you have with someone regardless of sexual feelings (aka being friends with anyone).

Those who believe in the friend zone view it as a tortuous status quo connection while non-believers think of it as an excuse people use to explain why they're not more than friends with someone.

You may have seen this meme floating around the internet. Ignoring the Matrix context here, this meme should hopefully elicit a response from you such as, "Yes, it is true that girls are not machines that you put kindness coins into until sex falls out." I couldn't agree more. But tying in that first part of the bottom caption, "Friendzoning is bullshit..." probably stumps some people a little bit. In other words, what is the connection between friendzoning, which I suppose is the act of letting someone know that you only like them as a friend, and the false metaphor that girls are machines that will offer you sex once you be kind to them a lot? That makes it look like all guys care about is sex, a myth I could go on about. A better caption, and what I think the creator of this meme was going for, would be "Your level of kindness does not determine how much sex you get because girls are not machines..." It appears that there's no universal definition for the friend zone.

Attractiveness of the Friend

Let's add in another factor: attractiveness. Assuming you're straight and have a best friend of the opposite sex whom you do not find to be attractive, then you might be in the clear to maintain a friendship that's absent of any romantic feelings.

Relationship Status

One thing to ponder is if both the man and the woman in a relationship would be comfortable having the other be best friends with someone else of the opposite sex. This could lead to catching feelings for that best friend of the opposite sex or worse, cheating.

If someone is in a relationship, it may be hard to maintain strong friendships with people of the opposite gender because your significant other could get suspicious.

It also depends on if the man and woman have had previous sexual feelings/encounters because although some feelings may be repressed, they're also subject to surface again.

The most common misconception guys have about girls is that they're only into "douchebags" or jerks. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that. These guys confuse a jerky guy with an interesting guy. Furthermore, they assume that being nice and being interesting are two vastly different kinds of people. I've come to the conclusion however, that girls only like nice guys but don't like guys who are only nice. You have to be interesting! You have to stand out for being unique and wanting to go on adventures, large or small. You have to have enticing qualities - smart jokes, well-thought out opinions, and different tastes and hobbies that you're passionate about! A large portion of those guys labeled as jerks are actually just interesting. The guys who make this false claim tend to have been recently rejected by a girl they liked and are sad because they thought that all you had to do to woo a girl is be nice to her when in reality that's sort of boring. You know what being nice is good for? Being friends with anyone!

Conclusion

Being just friends with the opposite sex seems to be a newer dynamic and phenomena than in years past. It's difficult to recall any pop culture references, shows, movies, etc. that featured men and women being just friends in say, the 1950s or 1960s. Being friends with the opposite gender is especially common today seeing as men and women work together and socialize together.

I will say, it is both harder and even tortuous to be just friends with a good-looking girl. Similarly, I don't know why I would ever not try to date someone I thought was attractive. No single guy has ever thought to himself, "Man, I can't wait do be friends with that hot chick!" People want to date!

So, the moment we've all been waiting for. Do I believe that men and women can just be friends? Well, as statistics will conclude, with any kind of opinionated question, it depends! It depends how willing you are to risk catching feelings for someone, if you're already in a relationship or not, and if you can put up with a platonic friendship with a good-looking friend. It depends on a lot of things. Is it possible for men and women to be just friends? Sure. What about best friends? For some, maybe! Bottom line: If you think you can handle friends with the sex you're attracted to, go for it!