Can a girl and guy be just friends?

Can a girl and guy really be just friends? This is a topic I constantly come across and the answers are pretty evenly split.

Girls seem to think this is definitely possible! Why can’t a guy and a girl be plutonic friends? A guy and a girl might just enjoy each other’s company without having romantic feelings for each other. What if they are both attractive people though? What if they are the time of person each other would normally go for? Don’t feelings naturally develop? How do you deal with that situation?

I sit and think about this topic often as I have many guy friends that I consider just friends. Nothing more. In fact, one of my best friends is a guy. He is one of my oldest and dearest friends since junior high and we have never thought of each other as more than just friends. But I have to wonder if we are more the exception then the rule?

When I ask guys, I get a very different answer. They always say “hell no” with conviction. So I ask them why and most of the responses are along the same lines: “guys just want to get laid. If you are a remotely good looking girl, a guy will never stop picturing you naked.” Now that’s a scary thought! But I do see they point of view. If there is some sort of attraction, I can’t see how you can hang out with that person and not want more. Maybe I think more like a guy (I’ve been told that a few times) but if I had to pick a side I would go with the men. I think if there is absolutely no attraction on either side then yes you can be friends but if there is even a little bit of intrigue, I think the situation can get very uncomfortable.

Then I wonder, is it the same answer if we bump up the age bracket to the 40s and 50s? Do older people’s abilities to be rational and put aside their feelings make them better candidates for friendship with the opposite sex? I’m not so sure about this. After seeing a few episodes of the real housewives of whatever city (my roommate loves the show) I realized just how childish middle-aged men and women can be. Especially if they feel like they missed out on something earlier in life, they try and make up for it later. I feel like a friendship could not exist between an older man and a woman either because they would be more upfront with their feelings from the get go.

I’m curios what your thoughts are on the matter? 

xo,