OF COURSE MEN AND WOMEN CAN BE FRIENDS

Throughout history, men and women have lived together in society, initially struggling for survival, and later forming families and communities in which they cooperated and interacted. Rubbing shoulders in workplaces, in the home, on the streets and thoroughfares meant they had to learn to get along coordinate their behavior, cooperate in daily activities, share hobbies and interests and learn from each other. Such continual interaction requires a degree of friendship and understanding, which is after all natural. Claiming that men and women cannot be friends is completely illogical.

In the modern world, the traditional roles of men and women have undergone a transformation. In the past, women were expected to get a more limited education as they were destined to get married, keep house and care for their children. Their domain was the home and in that sense, it was more limited than men’s. The latter were expected to provide for their family and thus worked outside the home. They had far more experience of life and were often far better educated. This being the case, it could be claimed that men and women had less in common. Yet even marriage cannot be imagined without friendship and companionship as many spouses the world over will attest.

In the modern world, this is no longer the case. Women have entered the workforce and the business world. All professions are now open to everyone regardless of gender. The same is true in terms of educational opportunities: women can go to college and do graduate work. They become doctors, scientists, lawyers and economists. They enter politics and rule nations. They fight shoulder to shoulder with men in national armies. In short, their interests and concerns are much the same as men’s and as such, have plenty to share with them. The notion that women are not capable of grasping the complexities of anything outside the home and as such have nothing to share with men is an archaic notion with no merit. The world has changed, roles in society have changed bringing everyone closer together and providing for richer personal experiences regardless of gender.

Procreation is a natural instinct in all mammals including human beings. People, like all animals, wish their progeny to survive after them and continue to thrive. This does not mean, however, that this is all people think about. Claiming that men and women cannot be friends because there may be intimacy issues is degrading to men and women, and grossly unfair considering all the true friendships that exist between men and women. Human beings are highly complex beings and do not have one track minds. Women are not chattel and are not seen as such in all but the most backward areas of the world. In most modern democracies in The West, gender is no longer an issue; men and women interact on an equal footing in all walks of life thus enjoying richer and more fulfilling relationships with each other.

We are no longer living in the Stone Age; the world has moved on. The times have changed and traditional belief systems have been overthrown. Universal suffrage and widespread access to education have brought about enormous changes in the way members of society interact with each other. Men and women had been missing out; now they are not, and the world is a better place because of it.