Can Men and Women Be Purely Platonic Friends?

My question for you: Can heterosexual men and women be purely platonic friends?

According to my informal, unscientific interviews of people that I know I have come to find some very interesting trends.  Every single man I have talked to, without exception, has said men and women can never be pure friends.  Men believe that there is always a spark one way or another, even in the most innocent seeming friendship.

Women have a completely different perspective: Most women believe that they can be friends with a man who does not want to have sex with them or vice-versa.  The women I talked to usually would cite “Bill” or “John”… their friend who had been their friend for X number of years and had never showed any interest or made a move.

So who is right?  Can men have purely platonic relationships with women?  Or are men usually just hanging out as friends with a woman and waiting for her to “slip up”, even just once?  I would love to hear what you guys think about this issue.

Below is a pretty funny cartoon from xkcd.com:

4 Responses to “Can Men and Women Be Purely Platonic Friends?”

1. 1
   Joe Says:
   May 14th, 2009 at 11:19 pm

   Wow.. that cartoon is pretty much sums it up! And accurately too!

2. 2
   Kang Says:
   July 5th, 2009 at 5:46 pm

   it seems most who attempt a platonic relationship gravitate towards this model shown in the cartoon. the male eventually wants sth or expects sth from the female. despite his seemingly selfless behaviors. a conflicting intention… most of us unfortunately repeat this cycle. arrgh

3. 3
   steph Says:
   September 20th, 2009 at 1:07 am

   Sure, if there is a large age difference, homosexuality is involved, or they are siblings. Otherwise, there is definitely room for sexual involvement.

4. 4
   pick.up.women.in.bars Says:
   September 30th, 2009 at 7:46 am

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