Can a purely platonic friendship exist between a man and a woman?
We often refer to close opposite-sex friends as brothers or sisters. But have you ever wondered, after consistently treating an opposite-sex friend like a same-sex friend for a long time, whether there truly is only a pure friendship between you?
April Bleske-Rechek, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin in the United States, once conducted an experiment and pointed out that pure friendship is difficult to establish in opposite-sex relationships.
This experiment invited 20 pairs of opposite-sex best friends who had been close for many years, shared a deep bond, and regarded each other as family.
April conducted separate in-depth interviews with them. When asked if they had ever had a moment of impulse or thought, developing feelings for the other person and wanting a further relationship? Most women believed that they had never had such a thought, and that a friend was just a friend;
However, most men frankly admitted that they had developed feelings of love for the other person and had considered them as a potential romantic partner. But not wanting to ruin their relationship, they would try to divert their attention and restrain their thoughts.
April explained that when men interact with women, they usually see the other person as a woman, not a friend. When a deep friendship is established and they experience many things together, it's easy to confuse "woman" and "girlfriend," leading to different feelings for the other person.
Although a pure friendship between men and women is difficult to establish, there's nothing wrong with liking someone. However, for a relationship to develop further, both parties need to have the same feelings. Otherwise, it will only cause more pain. Do you agree?
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