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The Friend Zone Is a Made-Up Excuse — Here’s What’s Really Happening
Where’s that zone you’d put your friend into anyway?
Unlike many others, I don’t think highly of the friend zone concept. Maybe it’s because I don’t believe that anyone should put up with it, and ignoring that someone might just not be that into you can’t be healthy. However, until recently, I had no idea how harmful the notion of there being a friend zone really is. See, beneath its surface lies a sinister undercurrent that perpetuates toxic attitudes and deepens gender divides.
The friend zone implies a transactional view of relationships.
What I mean by that is that the friend zone suggests that friendships are not valuable unless they eventually lead to romance. It diminishes genuine human connection by reducing it to an exchange, where kindness is treated as currency for affection. This is especially true for platonic friendships between women and men. What makes the friend zone even worse is that it distorts the concept of rejection, making it seem like an unfair punishment rather than a normal part of life.
The transactional lie we’ve been sold
Remember the nice guys who couldn’t handle rejection? You know, the ones that were so sure they were entitled to love…
