Why men and women can be friends

Last week, Kiek wrote a piece about the reason that men cannot be friends with women and so I couldn't help but share my opinion on this with you. I completely disagree with this. I don't care what kind of research you attach to it – I think it’s bullsh*t. Just know that I base this on my own experiences and those of my friends, so I assume there are many people who would agree with me.

Funny enough, if you look up this topic online, most articles are written by men who believe that a friendly relationship between the two is not possible. But forgive me if I offend anyone, this says more about a man's insecurity, right? It is often said that if a man shows interest, it immediately means that he wants to jump into bed with you. But don't men make fools of themselves by making such comments? That they can mean nothing more to you than just being a sex partner?

But, forgive me if I offend anyone, this says more about a man's insecurity, right?

I often refer to myself as a tomboy here on the site. This is because the activities and clothing I like are often associated with men. Now I would like to say how ridiculous I find it that we always talk about ‘man things’ and ‘woman things’, but it’s the society we live in and I participate in this too (guilty). But those things, which everyone claims are ‘masculine’, I like. So put two and two together and you get that the people I hang out with the most are of the male gender. And there have never been any problems with those friendships. They all have their own busy lives, extremely fun girlfriends that I also get along with just fine, and how I interact with them is exactly the same as with my female friends. Okay, okay, a night discussing Chuck Bass and the 17 men on your to-do list we'll skip that for now.

I just think that if you say that men and women cannot be friends, you are actually saying that the only thing that matters in a relationship is whether or not you can jump into bed together. That I cannot trust someone just because he is of a different gender. Tell me: have I been doing something wrong for the past twenty-seven years? I base my friendships on personality and the clicks I have with them, shared interests, and the fact that they are there for you (and vice versa) through all the good and the bad. I base friendships on respect, not on gender. And that’s why men and women should be able to be besties, agreed?