Can men and women just be friends? According to evolutionary theory, men perceive cross-sexual friendships as more advantageous than women (Belske & Buss, 2000). This is because men want to have offspring, so the more partners they have, the more likely they are to pass on their genes. As a result, when they go out to look for girlfriends, they focus more on finding a potential mating partner rather than just a platonic friendship (just friends), so attraction is a very important factor when starting a potential friendship. Yet it is this attraction one feels towards the other crossed friend that makes them feel that the relationship between the two is now ruined. Women on the other hand prefer men as friends for protection, so they see their friendship more as a cost if they were to be attracted to them. This therefore suggests that there are clear gender differences in answering this question. Male and female also make sexual jokes towards each other (Fuiman, 1997) and still remain good friends. He further stated that both males and females prefer having the opposite sex as a close friend as it allows them to listen to their point of view on relationships or find a potential partner and even help each other understand each other's behaviors. According to research on cross-sexual friendships, one could argue that it is difficult for men and women to be friends. Werking (1997) stated that when opposite-sex friends have a platonic relationship (just friends) and engage in sexual activities, it automatically shifts from that platonic relationship to a romantic relationship. Therefore, once the couple has had sex, they are no longer friends, which may suggest that men and women cannot be friends and... middle of paper... have decided not to be friends but simply to use them to exploration and potential mating partners. One reason why women find it more expensive may be because they are more demanding. For example, Trivers' parental investment theory that women not only have sex but then have to sacrifice their bodies for another 9 months, so middle schoolers are more likely to have that desire to have sex since there is less commitment involved. This therefore supports the evolutionary theory that males have a greater desire for a mate for sex and women have a more protected mate for protection, which suggests that men and women can be friends in relation to the costs and benefits of a friendship. If a male were to provide protection to a female and the women were to sexually satisfy the male. So both will benefit. Which might suggest that male and female can be friends.