It has often been said that males and females cannot be friends, more specifically best friends. Many people believe that eventually one party will fall for the other and ruin the friendly relationship. In reality, this is far from the truth. Over time, it has been proven that it is possible for a male and a female to be  close friends, even best friends.

The idea that males and females are not able to be close friends is a belief that is from a much older time. Nowadays, it is not uncommon for male-female friendships to exist because of the fact that both schools and workplaces are almost all co-ed. Friendships form between classmates and colleagues, and over time they can get stronger.

“I have friends who are male and I would consider to be some of my best friends, and I have never really seen them in a romantic way, and they probably haven’t seen me in that way either. I like having close guy friends because guys are definitely not the same as girls, and there are benefits in being friends with guys that are not the same in female friendships,” junior Karina Wu said.

Although, just because they become friends it doesn’t mean that there will ultimately be romantic feelings. A male and a female initially become friends because of similar interests, activities, sense of humor, and above all circumstance. Physical attraction, which is an important factor in romantic relationships, is not important for friendships. Thus, if a male and a female enjoy each other’s company but are not physically attracted to the other, they can easily be best friends without the conflict of romantic interest.

Nevertheless, there are still people who are fervently opposed to the idea that males and females can be best friends. Those people argue that the levels of maturity that are needed for these friendships to form simply do not exist in a high school setting. While it is true that not every high school student is the prime example of maturity (which is expected due to them, well, being in high school) it is perfectly common to see solid platonic male and female friendships.

These friendships are often friendships that were formed in either elementary or middle school- in other words, a long time. When you have been friends with somebody for such a long time, they can start to feel like your sibling since you share so many childhood memories and have simply been around each other for so long. That being said, if a male and a female are so close that they consider themselves “siblings,” it is very unlikely that they will be romantically interested in each other, unless they enjoy incest. It is not my place to judge, to each his own.

All in all, there is no problem whatsoever in males and females being the best of friends. A friendship between the two genders doesn’t have to be theoretical, and it actually has its perks. You will never be attracted to everyone, and not everyone will be attracted to you.