Friend zone

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The friend zone is a folk psychology concept found in many texts geared towards a male audience about "dating advice", or "seduction advice". In that case, that man would be mentally categorized as a "friend" rather than a lover, i.e. put into the friend zone.

1 Effects
2 History
3 References
4 See also

[edit] Effects

A woman does not easily change her mind and become sexually attracted to a man she has already placed in her friend zone. This is said to be very different from how a male's mind works, and as a result leads to a string of false expectations on the part of the man. It is not impossible to get out of the friend zone as it is stated in many texts. In some cultures and societies, women keep around many possible suitors and marry the person they feel most comfortable with.

Many dating seminars and texts focus on how to avoid the friend zone, advising immediate cessation of all contact once a man finds himself in the friend zone. It should be noted that this is often paired with a philosophy designed to help a man have sex with women, with a priority on constantly meeting new women. Its value for helping a man find a secure, loving relationship is uncertain.

[edit] History

The term friend zone was popularized by a 1994 episode of the television sitcom Friends, where the character Ross Geller, lovesick for Rachel Green, was labeled "Mayor of the Friend Zone".^[1]

The 2005 film Just Friends also deals with the "friend zone" and how it impacts on the main character of the film (played by Ryan Reynolds) when he re-united with his female friend from high school (played by Amy Smart) for the first time in 10 years after an incident at a high school graduation party at her home in which she said that she loves him "like a brother", dashing any hopes of him having her as a girlfriend.^[2]

It has also been suggested that women may also become victims of the "friend zone". This is mainly due to a serious lack of physical attraction.^[3] It is fairly common for men to pursue women with the same set of faults that would normally throw a man into a woman's friend zone. It's easier for women to get out of the friend zone because physical appearance is easier to change than one's own faults. If a man changes his faults just to get out of the friend zone then it could be seen as desperation, landing you right back in the friend zone.