Can men and women be friends?

[Charger_Fan]

I've never had a close friendship with a woman.   I do have female acquaintances that I enjoy doing things with from time to time, but I can't say that I can call them actual friends.   My closest and most enduring friendships have always been with men.

But people do come into our lives for a while, and leave on their own path.   I don't mourn any loss of past friendships, instead I remember them as good experiences in my life.   I don't miss them, I will always have our good times together right inside me.  

Everything in the universe is temporary, so friendships are just the same to me.   We come together for a while and grow and move on.   Our lives took us in different directions, so I'm happy for the time I've had with friends and I wish them the best, always.     :   )

That's the best view to have. I've had friends who have gone their own ways through the years & I always remember the time we had together fondly.

As far as me being friends with women goes, the only one I have been "friends" with is my wife. All other females in my life I've always wanted to hop in the sack with. Although that was when I was younger, maybe it would work better now that I'm older...I don't really have a need to find out.

My wife & I are currently going through a rough spell in our marriage & for a few months, it felt as if my heart was being shredded because I was potentially losing my best friend. Currently, we're still at odds on certain things, but I feel that whatever the outcome, I feel that our friendship will endure...it's kinda strange.

[beenaround]

i think there is a big difference between friends and lovers.consider this if your better half throws you out of the house tonight,who can you call that will let you stay with them??? i have female friends and the wife has male friends,these are   people who we have known for years.most of them we met though my deceased brother.if she goes out with a male friend i don't worry,likewise with me. it might be the fact that we are in our 40's and have been together 25+ years.i think yellowcuda  and emily summed it up best people come into and out of your life.your real friends are the ones that you can call after 4 years and pick up like it was yesterday.

[SirNik73]

Men and Woman by nature cannot be friends, as Telvis said. but part of being of advanced intelligence as humans are we are able to control and over come our nature. this is why it takes mature people to be cross gender friends. I'm 21 and have some female friends and in each friendship we have ether had issues with sex butting its head into our friendships or are currently having problems with it. i know i have some good female friends because they are still my friends after dealing with sexual tention. i have never slept with any of my friends. but sexual tention has been a problem with every relationship. ether the girls are under the assumption that there is more then friendship going on or i get confused and think the girls are interested and i think there is more then friendship going on... but that is our human nature showing.

[Dale The Bold]

It depends on the man and the woman's opinion of men.  If he is the type who only thinks about sex (and therefore thinks that "just friends" is impossible), he's too much of a jerk to handle a respectful relationship.  If she thinks all men are like what I just described, her low expectations will not allow the friendship to continue because she assumes he will eventually just want sex.  Simply put, he has to respect women, and she has to think it's normal for a guy to respect women.

[Orange_Crush]

I have wound up having sex with every single female friend I've ever had.  One of them for over two years.  Its OK as long as you establish the ground rules ahead of time. 

My wife once asked me why I had no female friends anymore, especially since I had several when we met.  My response; "Because I'll probably nail 'em...its a nasty habit."

[bull]

Problems start if/when you start relating to the opposite sex in ways generally reserved for married couples such as deep, hearfelt conversation. If you're not married it's much easier to have friends of the opposite sex because you can relate to them in ways that married people relate and not worry that someone back home will be hurt. However, if you try to continue that after you get married the trouble begins if you are sharing things with another person that you don't share with your partner. It happens all the time in the workplace because we are around other people 8 hrs a day and there's very little of real life to distract such as kids, bills, chores, etc. If you're not careful you might find yourself emotionally attached to someone else because things at home are hectic, boring, whatever.