I tend to ask a lot of questions, so much so that my mom runs away every time I say, ‘Mom, I have a question for you.’ I can’t help it—I’m naturally inquisitive. During one of my random moments, I asked a few close friends (both men and women) one question: Can men and women be just friends? Using a creative approach, I took their initial responses and received the following replies.
Friend(s)
Def. a person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations.
NO
Yes, well, yes
Hell NO!
Hmm… maybe
Yes
No
Nah
I’m not sure, maybe
NO, No
No
Depends,
It’s complicated
Definitely!
Okay, what do you mean, lol
No!
I mean, not a 100%
‘Friends, Friends? Or Just friends?
Lol
Aren’t we friends?
Are we?
I have some
No.
It’s possible, at least I think so
Yes, if a lion and gazelle can be, lol.
©Words by JC Zondi
Is it as complicated as we make it? Is there no world were women and men can exist fully as friends without any underlying feelings or unconscious sexual desires? In South African celebrity news, a musician Casper Nyovest threw the idea of men and women being just friends under the bus when he decided to marry his long time female best friend, Pulane Mojaki, who was just his “friend” I do not know, I am not a gossip column but the event does raise the question. Can we be just friends? Yes, No.
To you, whoever is reading this, what are your thought, perhaps giving them in a very short reply, without any long explanation, can women and men be friends?