Can men and women be just friends?
The answer matters more than you think
“MEN AND women can’t be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.” This gloomy view, expressed by Harry in “When Harry Met Sally”, a romantic comedy released in 1989, is still widely shared. Turkey’s state religious authority recently issued a more scolding version of it, to be read out in the country’s 90,000 mosques: “Friendships between men and women, which begin with thoughts of companionship or confiding in one another, drag people into the pit of adultery.”
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This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Can men and women be just friends?”
From the June 21st 2025 edition
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