I have been able to work alone on nightshift with women most of my working life. It seems, for me at least, I don’t have any problem being friends with these women in a work context. However out side of work I tend to try not to be alone with any woman I am friendly with for more than 30 mintues. I think any man who trusts himself too much is either much stronger emotionally than me or a fool.
Mel
Well, that is a different thing. If you are a professional, you have to function that way, you CAN be “just friends” in work.
I think it is quite different as a guy to have a female friend that you would socialize with on your own. Perhaps some people here can do it, I don’t think, given normal human proclivities, that it is a good idea.
Older men women who say they can have a friend of the opposite sex don’t surprise me. There comes a point in your life (hopefully) where you realize that throwing away all that makes you happy for the sake of a thrill that gets your heartrate up for a few minutes, isn’t really worth it and is worth combating.
This brings to light that we need to define "friend"
A co-worker is not a friend. Even though you spend hours with them at work you do not rely on them in your private life, you do not share intimate details of your life with them, you do not hang around with them one-on-one outside of work. They are at best acquaintences.
A "friend" (by my definition) is someone I would lay my life down for and whom I know would lay their life down for me. Most people have less than 2 or 3 real friends in their entire lives.
When I get to the point where I want to know a woman that intimately, then I'll already be married to her. Otherwsie why waste my time investing into a relationship that is going nowhere.