Being Friends With the Opposite Sex

Is it possible to be friends with the opposite sex? That's the question we have all asked ourselves during onetime or another in our life. The answer is hesitantly "yes", however, that isn't always the case. It works sometimes.

When it works:
Your friend is homosexual and you are not (or the other way around).
Your friend isn't homosexual (or you are and they are too) but you set boundaries that both parties understand. Boundaries are especially important if you have had a previous relationship with one another at some point.
You are related to one another, and I don't mean fifth cousins on your aunt's dog's friend's side.

When it doesn't:
No boundaries are set.
One person has a crush on the other.

This is only the beginning.

Almost everyone has had or does have one or more friends of the opposite sex. Of course, it may be hard at times, but other times it is great to have someone able to talk to and understand your relationship with your significant other from your partner's point of view.

Then again, it's hard to not cross the friendship line. Obviously, the better your friendship is, the more time you spend together. If there aren't boundaries put in place at the beginning of your relationship, one person can easily move their emotions much farther than the other. This leads to difficulties and hardships.

Even if you are not initially attracted to one another, as your friendship grows, so does knowing everything about each other and finding out the large amount of things you have in common. This can either lead to trouble or a beautiful relationship.

If a crush does occur, the person will likely keep it to themselves for a long period of time until they are ready to explode out of frustration. Heartaches are bound to happen, unless each partner feels the same way.

If the feeling is not mutual, each time the crush has a significant other, the friend is heartbroken and become jealous. It's hard to live with, yet, they still do out of friendship and the possibility that the friendship will someday move onto relationship status.

As for whether or not opposite sex members can become friends, yes, of course they can. However, boundaries must be put in place and questions of relationships should be talked about. Also, when one person does have a significant other, they must discuss the friendship with them.

In most cases, these types of friendships start out great but fade in time. In very few cases, the friendships build to relationships. And in even fewer cases, the friendships last.