Sex between friends strengthens friendship

Many believe that sex and friendship are incompatible, but...

The possibility of having sex with a friend is always is always a taboo taboo. Our culture seems to teach us based on clichés forged on the big screen: sex between friends ruins friendship.

Intimate relationships between friends: a utopia?

But is this true, or is it just a mere invention? Have we become accustomed to drawing too rigid a line between friendship and sex?

A few months ago we asked ourselves whether friendship "just like that" can exist between a man and a woman. Today we ask the question in reverse: what happens when two friends have sex?

Science defends the importance of having relationships with friends

Several studies already claim that having a night of passionate sex with a friend is not only not harmful, but may actually it could actually strengthen the relationship. Therefore, we would no longer have to always weigh and choose between one thing or the other.

The reflection that most people tend to make in this regard is that, once a sexual relationship has been maintained with a friend, the relationship always ends up being spoiled because one of the two ends up falling in love with the other. one of the two ends up falling in love with the other and therefore things move to a different level.

Research

An extensive study conducted at Boise State University has confirmed that the widespread thought is false and that sex between friends is indeed able to improve the relationship, at least in most cases they analyzed.

They surveyed 300 people, and more than 75% acknowledged that having sex with a friend had strengthened their friendship.. In the same vein, 20% admitted that at some point in their lives they had had sex with a close friend and that, far from spoiling the friendship, the intimate contact had made them feel closer as friends.

It seems that more and more people are willing to have sporadic sexual contact with a friend without confusing feelings or shaking the foundations of the friendship.

Couples that begin as a simple friendship tend to last longer

Another finding of the study is the following: 50% of the respondents who had a partner and had started their current relationship from a simple friendship, still remained attached to their partner. In other words: people who start out as friends and then move on to dating are more likely to last longer..

This may be because the level of trust and understanding is higher in these cases than in the case of people who quickly met and paired up without having gone through the friendship stage.

Some advice on sex and friendship

Nevertheless, the researchers came to certain conclusions about the practice of mixing friendship and sex. Those who have in mind a "fraternal" friendship should be aware of several things.

One, they should get to know the other person well and make it clear in advance what they make it clear beforehand what we expect from it, so as not to give rise to unrealistic expectations.One, to avoid giving rise to unrealistic expectations that could end up hurting someone. Two, prioritize friendship over intimate relationships if the latter could have negative consequences for one of the two. One of the main disadvantages of having a relationship with a friend is precisely that we may be paving the way for a potentially toxic friendship. Therefore, we must be careful and try to do things right.

Although culturally the idea that friends can have sex without one of them getting hurt from the experience is not very well accepted, this research that we have explained brings into focus the speed with which our way of relating to each other is mutating, and thus our conception of right and wrong.

What is your opinion? Have you ever had a relationship with a friend, and what happened? You can leave us a comment below or discuss it with us on our social networks - we're waiting for you!

Bibliographic references:

• Affifi, W. & Faulkner, S. (2000). On being "just friends": The frequency and impact of sexual activity on cross-sex friendship. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 17(2), 205-222.