Girlfriend Zone!

[minimacker]

Satire or not, it's still true for a part of the time at least. There are plenty of guys out there that will see every female friend they get as a potential mate. This girl likes me and we get along really well? She must be the one! What? She really just likes me and gets along with me well and doesn't want to go further than that? I feel so betrayed by her now even though it's my fault for only seeing her as a potential girlfriend just because we got along so well!

If we go hiking, she takes me to concerts, listens to my problems and chaperones me to parties? My monkey brain would be pretty swooned by her kindness and empathy. If she's single, then I would subtly display that I am a single male Homo Sapiens seeking for companionship.

It just feels so wrong that even if you click so insanely well. That you can do anything together and you feel happy every time you see each other, you're not meant to go beyond that. Men has the bro-code when socializing with other male friends. An unwritten rulebook that states boundaries, often using humor to convey it.

Hugging is an example. Men should hug for no more than 3 seconds, unless the situation calls for it. But women? Does the 3-second rule still apply? Mayb- okay, she's not letting go of me yet. Mmm... That was nice.

There's too much confusion about signals. What we need is a lady-code.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

There's too much confusion about signals. What we need is a lady-code.

true, but what one-sylable word can convey the same comradery, sound good when shouted and still be referential to women as bro?

"Sis" don't do it, "lad" (pronounced laid, as in lady) don't do it, so what do it?

 

[JoJo]

*Continuing from the comments*


It's simple. Men have way-too-strong sex drives and women are too good looking, which is not helped by man's visual sexual nature. Women are way better looking than men, from an objective standpoint even.

I think your personal biases may be showing here, I'm not attracted to either men or women for the most part and they both can look equally aesthetically appealing or an eyesore depending on their features and body shape.

OT: As for the post, pretty funny I thought, friendzone complaints can be annoying and entitled at times.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

I think this article is pretty spot on for many. Although I don't find that the men stop once you tell them that you consider them to be a brother, a family member rather than someone you are sexually attracted to. They often get worse, with leters, flowers and gifts like you are somehow going to change your mind. It isn't just a "girlfriend zone" they profess undying love, that you are their soul mate and the marriage proposals are unbearable. The worst part is they hang on to this idea that " maybe someday things will change" even while you are in relationship with someone else and the second a relationship doesn't work out you feel as though the vultures are swooping down on you. Literally the very same week you break up with someone you have every guy you know asking you out at once and telling you that they have all had feelings for you for a long time and it is just creepy to be honest that they were only trying to be close to you in hopes that you have sex with them some day.

My entire life I have always had many male friends, many more than female friends and have found out that every damn one of them somehow thought I was " the one" the one person on the planet that was their "soul mate". It is very hard on a person to go through this so many times, I know people may think that unsympathetic to the guys being rejected here, but it is also hard on the person to find out that the reason they wanted to hang with you was because they wanted to have sex with you, not just because they enjoyed spending time with you and for no other reason. It is a matter of respect that they give their male friends, that you feel is lost just because they are sexually attracted to you. Honestly after so many guys doing this, it makes you just want to keep your distance from befriending them at all because it never leads anywhere good down the road. It makes you leary of becoming friends with guys at all because you don't know if they are somehow going to claim "you led them on" later on and just get hurt when they find out that you are not interested in a sexual relationship with them.

 

[barbzilla]

I can see the satire inherent in the topic, but I'm going to treat it as real for the time being, because it does make some genuine points. There seems to be some generalizations made in the whole friendzone/girlfriend zone issue. Those generalizations seem to infer that everything is a series of absolutes. Such as, if a girl you are friends with turns you down on that basis, you are friendzoned; wrong, you just aren't what they are looking for in a mate. Also, if the guy you want to be friends with decides he wants to try to date you, and you turn him down he won't be friends with you any longer; wrong again (though in fairness it does happen), most guys (at least the guys I know) will continue a friendship when turned down.

Many of the issues with both problems can be avoided by being upfront with your intentions. This is mostly for the aggressor in the exchange (I.E. the guy interested in the girl or the girl interested in the guy). When you go into the relationship, make sure they know your intentions. If they don't want to date you right away, but are willing to hang out as friends, then allow it to be a friendship. If things evolve from there, allow it to be organic and don't try to force feelings where there are none. Same deal with the recipient in the situation, most women know when a guy is sexually interested in her (though I'm sure not all, there are socially awkward women too after all). If you know a guy is interested in being more than friends, and you want to be his friend only. Make sure he knows that, and don't try to spare his feelings. If you nip it in the bud, it may hurt his feelings, but his pride will be intact. Most of the time when a guy avoids a girl after asking her out, it is because he feels emasculated and embarrassed. If you catch it early and make your feelings known, it won't avert his feelings, but it will give him the reality check needed to begin to move on. Once he has moved his feelings towards a more apt recipient, the friendship should be free to carry on as normal.

Please forgive any grammatical errors and spelling errors, I'm horribly tired right now and can't be arsed to proof read this.

 

[JediMB]

Personally I think I'd be less homophobic if gay men just had better taste. I mean how can I possibly respect anybody who thinks Mamma Mia was a good film?

How can you not love a film with a singing Pierce Brosnan?

Not because he's a great singer, but because his pleasant voice makes it work.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

I find it odd how people are acting as though attraction is a choice. Just like some people cannot help that they don't find somebody attractive as a partner, people cannot help who they develop sexual or romantic feelings for.

If you are sexually and romantically attracted to somebody you can't just flick an "off" switch to magic away those feelings. So you have the choice of spending time with them, constantly battling with those feelings, or you can distance yourself from them as a means to stop torturing yourself, and making things uncomfortable between the two of you.

It's not so much that they don't want to be friends any more, it's that it is incredibly difficult to remain so when your feelings for one another are not compatible. Personally in my experience I normally see the person who wants to be just friends drift away more often than not, as its difficult to be friends knowing the person views them differently.

This isn't a male or female thing either, it's relevant to both sexes.

This is quite well along the lines of what I think about this subject. In what little experience I've had with this stuff, you either wait for the feelings to go away or just go "fuck it", admit everything to the object of your affection and just let everything between you burn to cinders. It's not exactly fun and can be quite grating, but just keeping hanging out and wishing "maybe some day, maybe some day" is even worse.

I just realized that a certain Journey song would be terrible, terrible advice for this stuff.
No, you should stop believing.

 

[Smeatza]

People are really calling this satire?
I suppose technically it barely qualifies, but still, it's satirical to a level that a 9 year old could achieve.

I'll never understand the rush to condemn the desperate and the socially clueless (as always happens when one of these threads shows up). Surely these people are more deserving of your pity than they are your scorn.

It seems a little self centered as well, It's kind of like that Samantha Brick article that turned up a year or so ago. "Oh woe is me, I'm so attractive people can't stop falling in love with me." Anybody who feels lonely or unattractive is just gonna be pissed at you for complaining about something they want.

 

[Jenvas1306]

I certainly dont share the opinion that people of the opposite sex are only for dating and cant be friends. People are different and their gender is just one part of them and due to my life experiance I have a hard time treating guys just as guys and not as individuals.
Its kinda sad that thats already enough to get me in trouble, cause often you cant show the littlest interesst in a guy without him thinking it might be for more than just friendship, or atleast hoping so.
Now the relationship with my boyfriend also started as a friendship, but naturally evolved into more, but I think that kind of attraction is pretty rare.

Recently a male (ex-)friend kinda snapped. He has a lot of problems anyways, there have allways been hints that he might be interessted in more than friendship with me, but we talked about that pretty clearly. well, so I thought till he told me stuff like he doesnt think my bf would be worth being with me and the like...

can a girl really only be friends with gay guys? are men unable to not be attracted romantically to someone they like who happens to have the bits they are in general attracted to?
Women manage that, why cant men aswell?

 

[Combustion Kevin]

Women manage that, why cant men aswell?

You know us men, we're so full of love, it shows at any occasion.

CAPTCHA: you the man!
I like how our spam filter has gained self-awareness over the past months, good he's on my side. ^^

 

[sanquin]

The sad part is that these guys don't realize how obvious it is that that's how they think.

I know one guy because we orbit the same friend group (though we aren't really friends we're on good terms). I'm not physically his type (being nearly a foot taller and black) nor am I in personality but plenty of our mutual friends are. He gets all clingy and cuddlesome with female friends. He'll even offhandedly as a "joke" that's not really a joke go "you're the kind of girl I could marry" to every other girl he's close to. The worst of it is when he found out one of our friends was a lesbian and had started to date our other friend he did not stop this behavior until they disowned him as a friend all together. Keep in mind he backed off with our other mutual female friend when she started dating a guy, so it was like he didn't count their relationship as a real thing because they were gay....

God I hate such guys. Clingy to pretty much all female friends he has, and even close-minded when it comes to same-sex relationships. Not a type of guy I would even want as a friend.

 

[Jenvas1306]

Women manage that, why cant men aswell?

You know us men, we're so full of love, it shows at any occasion.

CAPTCHA: you the man!
I like how our spam filter has gained self-awareness over the past months, good he's on my side. ^^

the white sticky, squirty kind of love, I suppose.
yeah they arent all the same, but sometimes its hard to not forget that.

the captcha has allways been a frigging creep

 

[sanquin]

How can that situation possibly be construed as anyone's fault?

People don't choose who they are attracted to. If you meet a person and get on really, really well, and you happen to also feel sexual attraction to that person then the obvious conclusion is that there is potential for a relationship. How else is that supposed to work? Should men only ask a woman out if they don't care much for her personality but think she has great tits?

It's pretty annoying to see, whenever this topic comes up, people making the "why can't you just be friends?" argument because why should you settle for just friends if there's clear potential for something more. If she wants to stay as friends, that's fine, but there's nothing wrong with making a move because you've found a person you're sexually attracted to and with whom you get on very well. It's a much better basis for a relationship than getting drunk and taking some random home. Consequently, it's natural to feel disappointed when it doesn't pan out. That's not a person's "fault" for seeing a potential girlfriend as a potential girlfriend.

You're getting me wrong. I'm all for guys at least trying for a relationship if they're attracted to a girl. The problem I have is with the guys that, after being 'friendzoned', they totally alienate themselves from said female friend. As in, the only thing they cared about was getting into that girl's pants. And once they find out that's not possible, they lose interest and stop trying to be friends.

Mind you, I also hate girls who have a male friend that is just about a boyfriend except for the 'official' title. Like, they go out together, hang out a lot together, snuggle/hug, he's always there for her even when normal friends would have difficulty doing so, she considers him to be very precious to her, she dislikes it if/when he does find another girlfriend, etc. Yet all he is to her is a friend. These girls are just as bad as the 'every female friend is only a potential girlfriend' type of guys.

I've personally been in this situation twice as a girl. As in, a guy I didn't immediately see as boyfriend material asking me out. I still decided to go out with them, as we got along so well and such. Because the least I could do was give it a try, and if it didn't work out I'd find out soon enough. Once this resulted in only the one date, and the other time it resulted in a year-long relationship.

 

[sanquin]

If we go hiking, she takes me to concerts, listens to my problems and chaperones me to parties? My monkey brain would be pretty swooned by her kindness and empathy. If she's single, then I would subtly display that I am a single male Homo Sapiens seeking for companionship.

It just feels so wrong that even if you click so insanely well. That you can do anything together and you feel happy every time you see each other, you're not meant to go beyond that. Men has the bro-code when socializing with other male friends. An unwritten rulebook that states boundaries, often using humor to convey it.

Hugging is an example. Men should hug for no more than 3 seconds, unless the situation calls for it. But women? Does the 3-second rule still apply? Mayb- okay, she's not letting go of me yet. Mmm... That was nice.

There's too much confusion about signals. What we need is a lady-code.

No argument there about the confusing signals. It IS very confusing. And I really don't see a problem with guys at least trying for a date and asking their female friend out. I mean, if you click so well why not right? The problem arises, for me, when the guy after being rejected alienates himself from the girl. Like all he saw her as was potential girlfriend material, and that just staying friends isn't possible.

The friend zone sucks. Heck, I've been friend-zoned by 3 different guys as well. But it's part of life, and part of relationships as well. I dealt with it, and stayed friends with those guys.

 

[generals3]

You're getting me wrong. I'm all for guys at least trying for a relationship if they're attracted to a girl. The problem I have is with the guys that, after being 'friendzoned', they totally alienate themselves from said female friend. As in, the only thing they cared about was getting into that girl's pants. And once they find out that's not possible, they lose interest and stop trying to be friends.

Or it's simply because they find it easier to get over them by taking distance? Why assume the worst.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I'll never understand the rush to condemn the desperate and the socially clueless (as always happens when one of these threads shows up). Surely these people are more deserving of your pity than they are your scorn.

Well, the desperate and social clueless who are upset that the universe hasn't made that girl they like fall in love with them. You can be as desperate and clueless as you like, but once you start getting whiny, entitled and/or creepy, pity is going to be outweighed by annoyance, at best.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

the white sticky, squirty kind of love, I suppose.
yeah they arent all the same, but sometimes its hard to not forget that.

the captcha has allways been a frigging creep

CAPTCHA is a raunchy bastard, but he means well.

I like how the thread is staying relatively polite so far, too often does it dissolve into a "men/vs/women" drama, which is ridiculous since neither side really does any wrong.

I suppose the problem is confusion and desperation, feeling a kind of attraction towards someone that goes beyond the white, sticky kind, something more meaningful, is difficult to deal with if not returned, the very idea of being rejected able to scare some away from such social situations.
In rejection, people act differently, some feel upset or cheated since "acting gentlemanly" doesn't work like they were told it would, some feel regret and try to make amends to salvage the friendship, others avoid any further contact out of sheer humiliation.

I suppose in your friend's case it's a classic example of male stoicism, we don't show our humiliation or sadness or other emotional troubles to avoid "looking weak". (GENDER ROOOOLES!/shakes fist)
So we bottle it up inside, along with our paranoia and anxiety, until we reach that boiling point going for it and saying what's what, for better or for worse, his concerns about your bf could be genuine care or simple selfishness, his problem is one of helplesness since only you can judge the merits of your bf.

So can men and women be friends? absolutely, two of my closest friends are ex's of mine, I still love them, even in that way, but I simply don't fit into their life romanticaly, be it clashing personalities or lifestyle, I'm just happy to spend time with them and help them when they need it.

Personally, I feel these emotions strengthen me as a person, they didn't used to do so, they give me a sense of belonging and meaning, maybe it's just me or a guy thing, but I identify myself with the role of a watchful friend and lover, and maybe I'll find a girl that DOES fit into my life and I into her's, but we'd be friends first, lovers second.

 

[SonicWaffle]

You're getting me wrong.

Yeah, that's exactly what Hitler said. Probably.

I'm all for guys at least trying for a relationship if they're attracted to a girl. The problem I have is with the guys that, after being 'friendzoned', they totally alienate themselves from said female friend. As in, the only thing they cared about was getting into that girl's pants. And once they find out that's not possible, they lose interest and stop trying to be friends.

I've mentioned this already in the thread, but I find it strange that this is always the assumption. It's far more likely that the poor guy now feels awkward as hell and is too embarrassed to remain friends, having opened up about his feelings only to be rejected. Sure, there are plenty of guys who were probably only after sex and lost interest when the option was taken off the table, but I kinda doubt that most guys who go to the trouble of befriending and spending a lot of time with a girl are only in it for the titties. After all, the main reason for asking someone out is because you like them and want to spend more time with them, not because you want to get naked and jiggly. That's a concern for further down the line.

Isn't it a little judgemental to assume that a guy who stops talking to you is doing so because you're no longer of any interest to him rather than to wonder if maybe he's feeling pretty damn embarrassed about the whole thing and thinks that hanging out with you is going to be awkward?

 

[minimacker]

If we go hiking, she takes me to concerts, listens to my problems and chaperones me to parties? My monkey brain would be pretty swooned by her kindness and empathy. If she's single, then I would subtly display that I am a single male Homo Sapiens seeking for companionship.

It just feels so wrong that even if you click so insanely well. That you can do anything together and you feel happy every time you see each other, you're not meant to go beyond that. Men has the bro-code when socializing with other male friends. An unwritten rulebook that states boundaries, often using humor to convey it.

Hugging is an example. Men should hug for no more than 3 seconds, unless the situation calls for it. But women? Does the 3-second rule still apply? Mayb- okay, she's not letting go of me yet. Mmm... That was nice.

There's too much confusion about signals. What we need is a lady-code.

The problem arises, for me, when the guy after being rejected alienates himself from the girl. Like all he saw her as was potential girlfriend material, and that just staying friends isn't possible.

I can totally see why someone would feel this way. It's not as much as "he only sees her as a girlfriend" and more "We get along so damn well, we're always doing stuff together and we make each other happy", but when you then get rejected, they feel like the girl was only putting on a show. She didn't actually feel comfortable with you, she was just faking it. She doesn't want companionship with you.

TL;DR They feel like you're her entourage, not her equal.

If you were in that moment, this is probably what would be going through your head.

Edit: I think a lot of guys also want to know the cold hard facts. Feelings are out of the window at that moment. Am I not a very attractive guy? Am I boring? Too shy? Too outgoing? Trying to spare their feelings is a shitty way of doing it.

 

[Headsprouter]

I have a friend who is a girl. I understand she's not interested in me. I haven't even asked her out, just by rejecting every other boy who has, she's made it clear that she's not comfortable with that sort of relationship at the minute. I don't mind. I like being her friend. She's a lot of fun to talk to, sometimes, although she does tend to blather. My interest in her isn't that high, anyway. I probably won't see her after the exams are over and I don't mind.

I think if a girl goes as far as to spend time with you as much as in the OP's link, however, you're okay with feeling a little double-crossed when she rejects you. Besides, when girls say they like a guy as a friend, they tend to take it as them saying "lol no" in a nice way. At the end of the day, when I finally grow the balls to ask a girl out, I want her to tell me the score, no bullshit to protect my feelings. If she has a boyfriend, cool. If she doesn't find me attractive, cool. If there's practical reasons, cool! The more I have to guess the more I'll tear myself to peices. Being left in the dark is not fun. Even so, I wouldn't cut the person off and pretend they don't exist. That's dehumanising and medicating symptoms, finding no cures.

If I have issues, if I've made mistakes, give me feedback, ask me why, then I can improve or clarify. If people defend themselves against all of their problems or other people let them do so, they never grow as human beings.