entremet
Member
DreamVisions made a thread on this many years ago, but I wanted to revisit this since it's seven years old.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=398986&highlight=opposite+sex+friendships
*Disclaimer, this seems to be a more common issue with heterosexuals. I'm not LGBT so I don't want to speak about dynamics I have no experience on. However, if LGBT representatives want to speak their frustrations with maintaining platonic relationships feel free.
Growing up, I mostly had male friends. And I had a crew of sorts up until college. College was when we grew apart and I then entered the workforce. During that time, I developed more female friends, strictly platonic ones. My guys got busy, moved, and so on.
But I developed what I call best friend relationships with two women, going on plus 5 years. But over the years, they peeled off as they got in more serious relationships. I never initiated much with them due to the whole respect for the SO thing, nor did I address it. They just died naturally. Luckily, I've rebuilt and made new male friendships along the way, so I'm not lonely in that regard.
However, this phenomenon has shown me that even in a more progressive world, these types of boundaries still persist. When I was younger I thought my friend circle would be more like sitcoms Friends or even Saved by the Bell, but obviously, that's not the real world. And the good thing is that I've gotten better at growing and maintaining friendships with other guys and these friendships just seem more stable long-term. Kinda sucks saying this as a progressive dude, but this seems to be the reality for many. And yes, I do know exceptions exists.
Have your opposite-sex friendships fizzled out as you gotten older?
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=398986&highlight=opposite+sex+friendships
*Disclaimer, this seems to be a more common issue with heterosexuals. I'm not LGBT so I don't want to speak about dynamics I have no experience on. However, if LGBT representatives want to speak their frustrations with maintaining platonic relationships feel free.
Growing up, I mostly had male friends. And I had a crew of sorts up until college. College was when we grew apart and I then entered the workforce. During that time, I developed more female friends, strictly platonic ones. My guys got busy, moved, and so on.
But I developed what I call best friend relationships with two women, going on plus 5 years. But over the years, they peeled off as they got in more serious relationships. I never initiated much with them due to the whole respect for the SO thing, nor did I address it. They just died naturally. Luckily, I've rebuilt and made new male friendships along the way, so I'm not lonely in that regard.
However, this phenomenon has shown me that even in a more progressive world, these types of boundaries still persist. When I was younger I thought my friend circle would be more like sitcoms Friends or even Saved by the Bell, but obviously, that's not the real world. And the good thing is that I've gotten better at growing and maintaining friendships with other guys and these friendships just seem more stable long-term. Kinda sucks saying this as a progressive dude, but this seems to be the reality for many. And yes, I do know exceptions exists.
Have your opposite-sex friendships fizzled out as you gotten older?