Before You 'Friend Zone' Someone, Read This.
Although I tend to take in a lot of content on a weekly basis, I'm pretty intentional about looking for information—sometimes in the form of podcasts—that feature nothing but men and their thoughts and insights. To me, other than questioning my male friends (which I also do a lot), it's the best way to find out what actually makes men tick—and what doesn't. Why is this so important to me? It really can't be said enough that, a lot of women find themselves in the situations and/or patterns that they're in, due to the fact that, they are always asking women about what happens in the mind of a man rather than actual men. Sometimes, that is counterproductive, at best.
A great way to illustrate my point is a movie—one that seems to run on E! like Baby Boy runs on BET—He's Just Not That into You. While one of the main character's girlfriends was telling her that she wasn't hearing back from a guy she recently met because he was trying to figure out his approach, a guy in her life shot it straight and told her that ole' boy simply wasn't interested; that if he wanted her, he'd make the time and make it plain. Simple as that.
I thought about those scenes when I listened to a recent episode of Joe Budden's podcast. He and the guys were discussing the seemingly unavoidable question that so many of us seem to ask in our situationships—"What are we?" (at around the 45:00 mark). Joe's response was, "I be thinking that we both know what we are, we're just never gonna bring it up 'cause we're ashamed." (For context, he meant ashamed that he and a woman are basically doing all of the stuff that makes for a relationship, but at least one of them has absolutely no intention of making things official.) As they continued the dialogue, Rory said, "They think if it's not a relationship or marriage, it was a waste of time. And I think that's the weirdest concept on earth. We enjoyed the time, right? What was wasted?" (Again. It's always a good idea to see how men see things; they are not us, so it tends to be quite different.) As they continued to go deeper, Rory said something else that A LOT of women need to accept as being a part of a man's psyche—"If you have to question if we're together, we're not."
Let's rinse and repeat that—If you're wondering if you and some guy are together, no matter what you two may be doing or how long you've been doing it, you probably aren't. Not at least in his eyes. Ouch. And indeed. It's like guys friend zone women that they sleep with, without women even realizing it. Or rather, women think because they are sleeping with someone that it will get—or keep—them out of the friend zone. Clearly not.
That podcast discussion reminded me of another podcast that I checked out a while back. It's called Advice From A F*ck Boy. While I wasn't thrilled (at all) with women being referred to as bitches all throughout it (geeze), when Clint's guest said (at the 19:16 mark) that, "I flourish in the friend zone", it got me curious about how men actually perceive the friend zone. It also got me to thinking about why it can be relationally counterproductive for people to be so quick to put folks there. And just what do I mean by that? Let's back up in order to move forward.
What Exactly Is the Friend Zone?
Not too long ago, I wrote an article on the site entitled, "The Word 'Platonic' Is Sacred. Literally." The CliffsNotes is that we use the word "platonic" way too loosely; that it only applies if you are in an opposite sex friendship where neither person has a romantic or sexual interest in the other. And sis, that is rare. Very. Otherwise, whether we realize it or not, our friendships with men are "friend zone" ones. The reason why I say that is based on the very definition of the phrase—"a situation in which a friendship exists between two people, one of whom has an unreciprocated romantic or sexual interest in the other". Crazy, right? While most of us are out here thinking that we put people in friend zones, the reality is most friendships between a man and a woman automatically have friend-zone-qualities, at the very least.
But because a lot of us don't see friend zones in this fashion, I'll tackle it from the angle that is most popular. You meet someone, they like you, you don't feel quite the same way, and so you send strong signals that you want to be just friends. This brings me back to the F*ck Boy podcast that I referenced. While a lot of us tend to think that we are slick-wit-it when it comes to putting a guy into the friend zone, apparently men are paying closer attention than we think. Clint and his guest (and friend) Steph shared how they know that a woman is actually in the process of friend zoning them (this is transcribed, by the way):
When women send one-word texts. "I'm gonna ask you questions because I wanna get to know you. And, if you're not gonna ask me questions, then I'm pretty much am like, I'm pretty much gonna get to a point in the conversation where I'm like, 'Aight. You pretty much don't give a f—k, so…' Respect other people's time; I'm not on your schedule."
When guys receive "Homie" and "Bro" references. "You're going out of your way to let me know I'm your bro."
When women go out of their way to talk about other guys. "If she's being that open with you about guys that she's dating, f—kin' or is into, she's probably not for you, dog."
When women attempt to project onto men that it's the guys who are too busy to hang out, so that bailing doesn't "fall" on them. "If time is even remotely one of your love languages, you will make time for people…If I wanna see you, I'm gonna f—in' see you."
When there is a lack of effort and energy. "That's what we, as guys, have to be really able to peep…if you're not putting no effort in, I'm not about to be out here chasing you."
I mean, if a lot of us were truly honest with ourselves, we'd have to admit that these signs are pretty spot on.
To me, that's kind of the sad thing about friend zoning (or at least attempting to friend zone) someone—it's not very forthcoming or honest. There's so much game playing and manipulation that, ironically, trying to do it can actually cost you a friend because it can make it hard for someone to trust you. Anyone who has been friend zoned before knows exactly what I'm talking about.
But that's not the actual reason why I'm touching on this topic today; I just shared that because if you're doing any of those things to a guy, he probably knows what you are up to. No, I thought it would be important to explore friend zoning because, not a week goes by when a single woman isn't hitting me about with some variation of, "Why God why…when God when?" in reference to where her man is. Then, as we talk about some of the guys who are already in her life—good men, mind you—she flippantly and dismissively says, "Oh…they're just my friends." OK, but my question is WHY are they just a friend?
Your Man Could Be in Your Friend Zone—and You Don’t Even Know It
OK, I'm about to show all of my age by bringing this song up. Are any of you familiar with "Friends and Lovers" by Gloria Loring (fun fact: she's Robin Thicke's mother) and Carl Anderson? They used to play it back in the day on Days of Our Lives when Beau and Hope were trying to figure out what the heck they were doing. Anyway, the hook of the song says "So, I'll be your friend and I'll be your lover/'Cause I know in our hearts we agree/We don't have to be one or the other/We could be both to each other". Now looka here—there is some big time wisdom in that 80s pop song. Let's break it down in sections.
First, they didn't sing I'll be your lover and then your friend. But, unfortunately, that is exactly what a lot of us do. Either we are solely looks driven (check out "Should You Consider Dating Someone You're Not Attracted To?"), and by "looks driven" what I mean is, we have a type and we stick to it as if our lives depended on it (also check out "According To Experts, We All Have A 'Type'" and "Can Having A Type Hold Your Love Life Back?"). Or, we have sex way too soon with someone who we are physically drawn to. If we repeat this patten enough, we think that it's more important for there to be a sexual chemistry than an actual friendship. Not only does that way of thinking set us up to need to read other articles like "Don't Mistake A Great Sex Partner For A Great Life Partner", it can also program us into believing that an attraction is more important than a connection. I'm not saying you shouldn't have both; you most certainly should. What I am saying is the foundation should be the connection—the friendship. Most people live their lives like it should be the reverse.
Second point. A cute movie that I recently checked out isA Second Chance (Chico Benymon, Jennifer Freeman). It was all about two besties and their journey towards discovering that there were right for each other. A lot of the push back that they—catch this—put themselves through consisted of them thinking that, although they adored each other, liked the same things, could talk about anything, had each other's back and found each other attractive…they were friends and should be nothing more than that. What in the entire world?
I've been a marriage life coach for quite a while now and I'm here to tell you that what causes a lot of people to divorce is that they never really were good friends. Not only that but, what holds a lot of marriages together is, true friendship. "Just friends" can be a horrible way to look at a real connection with someone. If you've got something like what I just described with a man and you both are single, it's at least worth pondering why you don't think you two can be more than that. Why you can't be friends and lovers? In that order too.
Final point. Time is precious. Do you know how many people end up taking the long route, unnecessarily so, when it comes to realizing that they need to take a friend out of their friend zone and explore the possibility of being more than "just friends"? Please hear me when I say that YES, you need to have chemistry with someone and YES, you need to be attracted to them, including sexually. Yet also hear me when I say that NO, you don't have to have drama and challenges for something to qualify as being a relationship and NO, you don't have to rip each other's clothes off before bonding mentally and emotionally. In other words, don't think that just because someone is a good friend that they can't be a great lover too. Ideally, the friendship should come first and if you're not so busy out here "zoning" folks, you will be more open to seeing what else they could be in your life.
Because here's the thing that is also true about male and female relationships—oftentimes, our male friends are drawn to us on some level; they simply don't act on it out of respect to us. This means that they aren't nearly as quick to friend zone us as we are to friend zone them. This means, you may be in your own way when it comes to finding "the one". You may already have—he's a friend of yours.
Some folks belong in the friend zone; no doubt about it. All I'm saying is, if you can't seem to find "him", he might be closer than you think. A man shouldn't be disqualified just because you were friends first or because he's not "your type". If there is some sort of spark, don't be so quick to put it out. The best of lovers are friends first. The best of married couples can certainly vouch for that.
Want more stories like this? Sign up for our newsletter here and check out the related reads below:
When He Just Wants To Be Friends, But You Want More....
My Eureka Moment For Why I'm Not Into 'Nice Guys'
What A Man Should Expect If YOU Ask HIM Out
Unpopular Opinion: Men And Women CAN Really Be "Just Friends"
Feature image by Giphy
- Top 5 Texts That Have Put People in the Friend Zone | Grit Daily News ›
- How To Friendzone Someone | Grazia ›
- The friend zone: Why it's not the end of the world | British GQ ›
- "The Friend Zone" Is All In Your Head - P.S. I Love You ›
- The "Friend Zone" Is Real, but Not What You Think - The Everygirl ›
- Escape the Friend Zone: Going From "Just Friends" to More ... ›
- 4 Ways To Politely Push Someone Into The Friend Zone ›
- Avoiding the Friend Zone: Becoming a Girlfriend or Boyfriend ... ›
Different puzzle pieces are creating bigger pictures these days. 2024 will mark a milestone on a few different levels, including the release of my third book next June (yay!).
I am also a Professional Certified Coach. My main mission for attaining that particular goal is to use my formal credentials to help people navigate through the sometimes tumultuous waters, both on and offline, when it comes to information about marriage, sex and relationships that is oftentimes misinformation (because "coach" is a word that gets thrown around a lot, oftentimes quite poorly).
I am also still super devoted to helping to bring life into this world as a doula, marriage life coaching will always be my first love (next to writing, of course), a platform that advocates for good Black men is currently in the works and my keystrokes continue to be devoted to HEALTHY over HAPPY in the areas of holistic intimacy, spiritual evolution, purpose manifestation and self-love...because maturity teaches that it's impossible to be happy all of the time when it comes to reaching goals yet healthy is a choice that can be made on a daily basis (amen?).
If you have any PERSONAL QUESTIONS (please do not contact me with any story pitches; that is an *editorial* need), feel free to reach out at missnosipho@gmail.com. A sistah will certainly do what she can. ;)
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Less & Less Of Us Have Close Friends These Days. Why Is That?
German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.” At close to two decades of working with married couples, I agree with this man 1000 percent. It’s actually the main motivation for why I once penned, “Are You Sure You're Actually FRIENDS With Your Spouse?” because, the reality is, if you’re not friends with the person who you vowed to share every aspect of your life with, for the rest of your life, it’s going to be very difficult (if not damn near impossible) to honor that level of commitment. Without question, I will now and forever die on the hill that if you like your partner, you can make it through the not-so-in-love-right-now moments. Vice versa? Eh…not so much.
A basis for why I feel this way? Another quote immediately comes to mind. Famed author Jane Austen once wrote: “There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.” You know, back when I also wrote “10 Things You Should Absolutely Expect From Your Friendships” for the platform, I shared that some of the traits of a friend — a real friend — include loyalty, honesty and compassion. And if you can’t say that your spouse is this way (as they say the same thing about you), chile…what is y’all doin’ over there?
So, why am I talking about marriage when this article is supposed to be about friendship? It’s because, something that life has taught me, kinda sorta the hard way, is we should vet potential friends — especially close friends — almost like we would a spouse.
And if you keep reading, I think you’ll get why I framed the intro in the way that I did.
Why Friendships Are Still Hella Essential
GiphyOkay, so before I get into why it seems that people have fewer friends than they ever had before, let me just say that, even as an ambivert who enjoys my own company and has absolutely no problem with being alone a good amount of the time, every personality type needs friends. That’s not just my opinion;science makes it a fact. Not only do studies support thathealthy friendships help us to feel more satisfied with our lives, but they can also reduce our chances of experiencing depression, stress, and anxiety and they increase longevity overall.
This is why — without going too deep because it’s kind of another topic for another time — it’s important to not allow past hurts and disappointments from former friends (or folks you thought were your friends) to cause you to build up walls as you declare that you don’t need anyone. When you do that, all you’re really doing is working against your own health and well-being. The saying that “no man (or woman) is an island”? It is absolutely true.
That said, even if it’s just a couple of people, make sure that you’ve got individuals in your life who you can call a friend and, in turn, they can say the very same thing about you, okay?
Are All of Those People Your Actual Friends? Or Do You Just Happen to Know a Lot of Folks?
GiphyAight but what if you happen to be someone who swings on the other side of few? Meaning, if someone were to ask you how many friends you had, you’d quickly declare that you’ve got too many to count. Listen, not to patronize or anything yet, but whenever I hear folks (especially if they are over 35) say something along those lines, it takes me back to high school — a time when so many of us thought that so long as we knew a ton of folks and/or we were popular, clearly, we had many friends.
Wisdom and pure ole’ dealing with humans on a consistent basis will teach you that an article that I wrote a few years back for the platform has a title that is spot-on: “According To Experts, We Only Have A Few Friends — Here's Why.” According to it, the average American (based on a survey that was conducted) has somewhere around 16 friends. Oh, but wait. Last fall, I wrote another article for the platform entitled, “What's The 'Five Friendship Theory' All About?” According to it, if you’re someone who takes the word “friend” and the responsibility that comes along with it very seriously and quite literally, as an adult, you can probably only maintain about five close friendships.
Why? Well, that brings in another article that I once wrote: “Life Taught Me That True Friendships Are 'Inconvenient.'” Chile, I don’t know about y’all but my friends know that if I call you that, you can call me in the middle of the night, and you can have money towards your rent (I’m not your mama but we all have hard times sometimes) and I’m gonna have your back in a way where you’ll wonder where you stop and I start — and no, I don’t have a lot of bandwidth for a ton of those people.
Okay, but what if you’re someone who is like, “I know that I have more than 16 and definitely more than five friends, no question”? The next thing that I would encourage you to explore is a theory by Aristotle (check out “According To Aristotle, We Need ‘Utility’, ‘Pleasure’ & ‘Good’ Friends”). Without even realizing it, many of us have people who we use the word “friend” for when…it’s kind of like how social media apps say “friend”: we’re familiar with one another and enjoy some of the same things, we might even have some of the same goals; at the same time, though, we’re not “all-encompassing friends.” We just get along really well at work (utility friends) or like to go to brunch at the same spots sometimes (pleasure friends).
Taking all of this into account, are you sure that you have a ton of actual friends? Or do you just happen to know a lot of people and you use that word for the lack of having another?
And that brings me to my next point.
There’s A LOT of Space Between “Friend” and “Enemy”
GiphyIf you read a lot of my friendship content, something that you will notice me saying quite a bit is that there is quite a bit of space between friend and enemy. It needs to be mentioned, as often as possible, because there are some people who get offended if you don’t consider them to be a friend — and that is unfortunate. I say that because the conclusion shouldn’t automatically be that they are your enemy just because “friend” isn’t what immediately comes to your mind.
They can be an acquaintance. They can be “cool people.” There is someone in my life who, while we’re not friends in the traditional sense, we are each other’s confidant; years ago, we agreed that we would be the place to tell each other whatever and it would stay between us — that is the main purpose that we serve in each other’s lives. Some people, you may consider to be spiritual family in the sense that you care for them and have some deeply profound things in common and still, they are not exactly a friend (I mean, a lot of blood relatives aren’t “friends” with each other).
All I’m trying to say here is we’re all too old now to only put folks in two boxes when it comes to this particular relational dynamic: friend or enemy. So, take some time out to seriously reflect on what you consider the various people in your life to be. I can promise you from personal experience that the sooner you know and the clearer you are, the easier it will be on everybody — because needs and expectations will be clear to you (and them once you articulate them) too.
What Got Folks to Having Less Friends? The Pandemic Plays a Significant Part.
GiphySo finally on to what inspired this piece to begin with. A part of it was an article that was published last year by Big Think entitled, “Americans more than ever have no friends. Here are 5 steps to make more friends.” Another was something that The New Yorker published back in 2021; it’s entitled “What COVID did to friendship.” Y’all don’t have enough time and I don’t have enough space to get into the fact that, just because the media may be talking about it less, that doesn’t mean that we’re not still in a pandemic.
In fact,one article stated my thoughts on it quite well when it said, “The real question, then, is not whether COVID is still a pandemic, but how much COVID illness and death are we willing to accept?” SMDH. And one of the things that has come with experiencing COVID is an interesting type of PTSD: detachment. There are plenty of articles out here to support the fact that my saying that is not merely my opinion.
Even according to the American Psychological Association, loneliness damn near skyrocketed, especially during lockdown and, unfortunately, a lot of people have not recovered from it. That’s why it did not surprise me at all when I read that more than ever, many people do not consider anyone to be a best friend; fewer people are relying on friends for any type of real support, and there is a semi-steady decline in people having friends, especially quality friendships, overall.
In fact, as far as close friends go, currently, close to 50 percent of Americans say that they only have three or fewer, and a relevant contributor to that was what the pandemic revealed as far as people’s proactive participation in other individuals’ lives (I actually read that young women were the ones who lost touch with friends during the peak of the pandemic the most). I also thought it was interesting that some studies cite that 12 percent of Americans say that they don’t have any friends at all.
Is the pandemic the only cause? No. So are things like people working more hours and spending more time online than they probably should (which also increased due to the pandemic, though). To that, Teen Vogue once published, “Social Media Is Impacting IRL Friendships” and Healthline once published, “Social Media Is Killing Your Friendships.” Then we also have to factor in having families of our own which can also take up a lot of time, and that sometimes can cause us to forget to nurture our friendships; so, before you know it, they fade to black. Not due to a fallout or anything, just…life.
And all of this? Some people are saying that it has led to what is known as a “friendship recession.” A huge flag about that is there are reports that a drop in close friends can cultivate a type of loneliness that is just as health hazardous as smoking a whopping 15 cigarettes a day. Not good, y’all. Not. Good.
Quality over Quantity Is Key. Just Make Sure That You Have a Friend or Two.
GiphyOkay, so what is my overall point? That’s a fair question. Just like sometimes “life life-ing” can make us forget to tend to our friendships, if you don’t stumble across content like this, you might not even realize that you’re feeling mentally stressed, emotionally strained, or super isolated and it’s all because you need to prioritize your friendships — because your mind, body, and spirit need them. Again, science has proved it.
At the same time, if, like a client of mine, you find yourself getting a little bit paranoid because you have noticed that over the past several years, your close friend count has been far less than what it used to be, this article proves that you are absolutely not (pardon the pun) alone. Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with having a very small circle of friends because quality is gonna beat out quantity every time; you just need to assess when it happened and why so that you can be sure that you are choosing it to play out that way and it’s not due to some underlying cause that you hadn’t taken into consideration — until now.
An Italian priest by the name of Thomas Aquinas once said, “The happy man in this life needs friends.” Even if it’s just one or two people, please make sure that you have folks who aren’t just your friend but your very close friend. You need them. They need you.
Everyone else, figure out where they fall and nurture accordingly. Life is a lot. We all get by with the help of our friends. Real talk, y’all. Thank goodness for them.
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Featured image by jose carlos cerdeno martinez/Getty Images