Can a man and a woman truly be just friends? It’s an age-old question that has sparked endless debate. Many people feel uncomfortable with their partners having friends of the opposite gender. Why? Because they don’t truly believe men and women can share a platonic bond, arguing that one party is always secretly hoping for more. But is it really about that belief, or is it simply a product of insecurity and control within the relationship?
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Not everyone buys into the idea that men and women can’t be friends. Former Fox Sports host Joy Taylor, for example, openly rejects it. In fact, she insists that she wouldn’t even date a man who didn’t have genuine female friends. But why does she feel this way?
For Joy, it comes down to respect and discipline. She believes a man should be able to exist in the presence of a woman without seeing her as a potential sexual partner. “I wouldn’t want to date a man who did not have any female friends. Because why can’t you be in the presence of a woman and it not be sexual? Why can’t you have someone in your life who is a woman that you are interested in and care about in a non-sexual way? Why don’t women want to be around you?”
Yet, more often than not, men don’t maintain female friendships. Instead, they stick to bonds with other men. Why? According to Cam Newton, it’s because men are creatures of habit.
“It’s not about that. I’m saying that it is the real thing that man cannot be around a female without any thought of s*xual advances. I’ll explain why. It’s because we are creatures of habit. The reality of this is that when you are in a very masculine environment, there’s no woman around. So a first inkling of a woman is, ” Man, she looks good. Look at her lips”. That’s not a normal thing. You have to unlearn certain processes and be willing to acknowledge that’s not right.”
Joy Taylor believes the true measure of a man lies in his ability to see a woman’s value beyond her sexuality. When a man can recognize and appreciate what she brings to the table, respect her as an individual, and show the discipline not to reduce her to a s*xual object, only then can he build a genuinely meaningful platonic relationship, one rooted in mutual respect, trust, and care.
