Friendship Between Heterosexual Men And Women Research (Essay Sample)

FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN HETEROSEXUAL MEN AND WOMEN
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Friendship between Heterosexual Men and Women
The likelihood of straight men and women being just friends is a unique phenomenon that has consequently prompted psychologists from around the globe to engage in extensive research in search of insight on the matter (Chatterjee, 2001, 62). Research conducted over time has unearthed concrete evidence that straight men and women can indeed coexist together in a non-sexual relationship. However, the only outcome that is of paramount importance and worth noting in all these studies is the fact that in the course of such relationships, one party is susceptible to experience some form of sexual attraction towards the other unconsciously. According to Bleske and Buss (2000, 141), the tendency of nurturing and harboring the false notion that men and women can be in a strictly professional friendship with no strings attached is high. This pre-conceived notion consequently ends up predisposing many men and women to ignorance, turning then blind to the fact that the opportunity for intimacy is inevitable in such relationships.
Bleske and Buss (2000, 148), explain that both men and women experience friendships differently, especially in respect to opposite gender friendships. Findings from most research that men are more prone to sexual attractions towards their female friends as opposed to women are factual and consequently not peculiar. A huge majority of men tend to have the misguided mentality and perception that their female friends are in some way attracted to them. The clear lack of attraction by most women towards their male friends predisposes them to develop and formulate the false assumption that the feeling is mutual. This then results in the creation of a scenario where men constantly overestimate the level of sexual feelings that their female friends might have for them. The case is different in women as they consistently underestimate the degree of sexual attraction that their male friends might have towards them (Chatterjee, 2001, 64).
Both men and women tend to have difficult times in their noble quest to maintain purely friendly relationships that are not marred by sexual tensions. Most men by default tend to view friendship between them and their female friends as an opportunity to engage in romance and intimacy. The conqueror and hunter mentality in men supersede their desire for friendship in most cases. McGinty, Knox and Zusman (2007, 1130), argue that the highly opinionated issue in regards to how both men and women perceive and interpret the meaning of friendship in opposite gender relationships causes unfathomable confusion between men and women. Studies show that both men and women have diverse and opinionated ideas when it comes to the comprehensive unde...