It’s a timeless debate—can girls and guys be just friends?
If you have ever had a friend of the opposite gender, I’m sure your mother has asked you, “Well do you like him/her?” WELL NO.
For many people it can be hard to understand that two people of the opposite gender can be just friends—no romance, no attraction, no “feelings,” just friends.
But why?
Society.
We have all been raised on the idea that girls should be around girls, and guys around guys. You hardly ever see shows about one girl and one guy being just friends. There is always an extra person.
For some examples: Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Lizzie, Miranda, and Gordo.
There is usually a imbalance of girls to boys ratio.
And maybe that’s why it seems abnormal. We aren’t used to one girl and one guy hanging out without it being labeled as a date.
We all just want to hang out with people that we like, sure. But we don’t have to “like-like” them.
If I was a lesbian, and I had girl friends, would I have to like-like them too? Or would I have to hang around boys then?
It’s actually ridiculous, to shame people for their friends—trying to make them believe that they can’t be just friends with someone just because they are of the opposite sex.
We become friends with people because we connect with them. We stay friends with people because we enjoy their presence in our lives, regardless of their gender.
I have guy friends, but that doesn’t mean I want to date any of them. Sure, I love them, and I care about them, but that doesn’t mean I want to be in a relationship with them.
And no, I didn’t put them in the “friend-zone.” Not every girl-guy friendship has started out as a possible relationship. Friendships can grow without the possibility of a “hook-up.”
There needs to not be a word like “friend-zone” or a judgmental society where no one believes that people are just friends.
Times are changing; people are growing.
So, maybe it’s time for us to put aside our curious-mother thoughts and questions and just let people be friends with whomever they want—regardless of gender.
