C
C.laypersona
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Can the average young man and the average young woman, who are both relatively healthy and of whom at least one is relatively handsome or pretty, can they be strictly ‘only’ friends (close friends but not romantically involved), and this at both the behavioral level and the emotional level? (Obviously, this question is not about friendship between relatives.)
Or can the average young or older man be strictly only friends with a young, healthy, and pretty woman; and can the average young or older woman be strictly only friends with a young, healthy, and handsome man; at both the behavioral and the emotional level? (Again, friendship between relatives is not what is meant here.)
Or why would an unmarried young man (who’s also not a priest, nor a monk) and an unmarried young woman (who’s also not a nun) want to be strictly only friends (close friends) instead of seeking to date (in the ‘old-fashioned’ way, with the man openly courting the woman) and eventually marry each other?
(Annex A)
Bleske-Rechek, A. (2012): Sexual and Romantic Interests in Opposite-Sex Friendships. In M.A. Paludi’s (Ed.) The Psychology of Love (pp.35-41).
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-08260-005
“Anyone with an opposite-sex friend has probably received the following question from curious outsiders: ‘Are you two dating, or are you just friends?’ The frequency with which people pose this question to opposite-sex pairs demonstrates that ‘friendship’ is a relationship that is typically not defined as a reproductive or romantic partnership. In fact, opposite-sex friendship has been described as a voluntary, cooperative, non-romantic alliance between members of the opposite sex (Werking, 1997). Arguably, however, the most consistent finding in the short history (approximately two decades) of research on opposite-sex friendship is the existence of either one-sided attraction or mutual attraction between friends.”
(Edit)
Someone has asked, “What does how they look like have to do with the question?”
The answer is, that harmonious facial and bodily features (that is, physical beauty) are usually (though not always) an indicator of good biological health and a (if not the most) significant factor in romantic/sexual ‘attraction’.
“The young woman [Rebekah] was very attractive in appearance”. (Genesis 24: 16, E.s.v.)
It’s the pretty girls and women who are surrounded by male ‘friends’, and the handsome boys and men who are surrounded by female ‘friends’.
(Edit no.2 / Annex B)
Definitions of ‘friend’ from dictionaries.
Merriam-Webster:
friend: (1a) “One attached to another by affection or esteem.” (4) “A favored companion.”
Collins:
friend: (1) “A person known well to another and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty; an intimate.”
Lexico .com (Oxford):
friend: (1) “A person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of [romantic/]sexual or family relations [and also exclusive of sexual desire]. Synonyms: companion, intimate, confidant, comrade.”
Or can the average young or older man be strictly only friends with a young, healthy, and pretty woman; and can the average young or older woman be strictly only friends with a young, healthy, and handsome man; at both the behavioral and the emotional level? (Again, friendship between relatives is not what is meant here.)
Or why would an unmarried young man (who’s also not a priest, nor a monk) and an unmarried young woman (who’s also not a nun) want to be strictly only friends (close friends) instead of seeking to date (in the ‘old-fashioned’ way, with the man openly courting the woman) and eventually marry each other?
(Annex A)
Bleske-Rechek, A. (2012): Sexual and Romantic Interests in Opposite-Sex Friendships. In M.A. Paludi’s (Ed.) The Psychology of Love (pp.35-41).
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-08260-005
“Anyone with an opposite-sex friend has probably received the following question from curious outsiders: ‘Are you two dating, or are you just friends?’ The frequency with which people pose this question to opposite-sex pairs demonstrates that ‘friendship’ is a relationship that is typically not defined as a reproductive or romantic partnership. In fact, opposite-sex friendship has been described as a voluntary, cooperative, non-romantic alliance between members of the opposite sex (Werking, 1997). Arguably, however, the most consistent finding in the short history (approximately two decades) of research on opposite-sex friendship is the existence of either one-sided attraction or mutual attraction between friends.”
(Edit)
Someone has asked, “What does how they look like have to do with the question?”
The answer is, that harmonious facial and bodily features (that is, physical beauty) are usually (though not always) an indicator of good biological health and a (if not the most) significant factor in romantic/sexual ‘attraction’.
“The young woman [Rebekah] was very attractive in appearance”. (Genesis 24: 16, E.s.v.)
It’s the pretty girls and women who are surrounded by male ‘friends’, and the handsome boys and men who are surrounded by female ‘friends’.
(Edit no.2 / Annex B)
Definitions of ‘friend’ from dictionaries.
Merriam-Webster:
friend: (1a) “One attached to another by affection or esteem.” (4) “A favored companion.”
Collins:
friend: (1) “A person known well to another and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty; an intimate.”
Lexico .com (Oxford):
friend: (1) “A person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of [romantic/]sexual or family relations [and also exclusive of sexual desire]. Synonyms: companion, intimate, confidant, comrade.”
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