The concept of girls and guys just being friends is always a topic that is debated, as if it is not at all possible for girls and guys to have a genuine and platonic friendship. Society has also shaped humans to believe that the idea of male-female friendships is not normal. It “always” ends with both parties falling in love and amounting to a romantic attraction towards each other, which is not always the case. Those ideas are way further from the truth.
Male and female relationships can be tricky. Some people think that eventually they will catch feelings for one another, but that is not always the case. They could both just like the same things and not have any romantic feelings for each other– kind of like a brother-sister relationship. Not everyone is attracted to each other. These assumptions about cross-sex friendships form stereotypes. Although difficult, it is possible to be just platonic friends. There is research that actually suggests that friendships between girls and guys can be positive and actually quite rewarding. Sometimes these relationships are good to have so you can get a better perspective of the opposite sex. When two people have set that boundary of only being friends, everybody knows their limits. Having a bestie of the opposite sex can be very beneficial. Some people think that males and females can only be besties if one of them is gay. That is definitely not true, although there are friendships like that. If both are on the same accord with no ulterior motives, it can be possible. Having opposite sex friends for support and advice is also another good thing about cross-sex friendships. Both can give each other advice on being a better man or a better girl. Dating these days is really crazy, like for real, so having a friend of the opposite sex comes in handy. If you have a boy bestie who is smart, talented and a loving person, and if you are looking for some of that in a boyfriend, surely he knows somebody like that he could connect you with and vice versa.
Friendships between girls and guys are the same as regular friendships between multiple girls or multiple guys. As mentioned above, girl and guy friendships can seem difficult to maintain platonically, but it is not impossible. In every friendship there are difficulties. In any friendship there has to be honesty, and this is extremely important between girls and guys to avoid blurring the lines in that friendship. Setting boundaries is also important as well as defining expectations in the friendship so that there are no hard feelings or misinterpretations. The last thing I think that is important is commitment to the friendship, keeping it alive despite other’s opinions or negative thoughts. You should be true to yourselves and each other.