The short answer to this question is no for the most part. Most guys either know this or sometimes deny it (or lie to themselves), but most girls don’t seem to be fully aware of this or they try so hard to convince themselves that it's possible to be just friends with the average straight (or, perhaps bisexual) guy.
What is a 'just a friend'?
A 'just a friend' is someone you have a close friendship with, and who does not have any desire to have a romantic or sexual relationship with you. It's someone who has absolutely no interest in having sex or a romantic relationship with you. It seems like most people don't get that definition... You can't blur the lines between romantic/sexual interests and friendship, and say you are 'just friends' with them. A “just a friend” is someone you choose to have a close relationship with and spend a lot of time with. So I'm not talking about acquaintances, colleagues, your friend's partners, relatives of your parent's friends, etc. In other words, these aren’t people you see because someone else has paired you up on the occasion. 'Just friends' are people you go out of your own way to spend time with, and people usually choose to be friends with someone they have more in common with.
Yes, exceptions exist, but they’re rare
Let's face it, around 95% of the population is hetero and around 2% of the population is bisexual. That's a very big percentage if you add it up... Maybe roughly around 2% or 3% of the population (gay and aromantic/asexual) isn't attracted to the opposite sex. That's a very small percentage... So the odds of a random pair of male and female friends, or at least one of them in the pair, being part of that population is very small. That's one reason (a significant one) why I say that men and women can't be just friends for the most part. There are more reasons, but they are listed in the rest of this myTake.
Men, in general, aren’t interested in being just friends with women
That's because there is little-to-no upside for the average man to be just friends with women from a man’s point of view. We are more likely than women to know how to fix our own cars, take out our own garbage, kill bugs, fix our home, open up jars or etc. I noticed how straight and bi men hardly ever make friends with girls who they're not initially attracted to. Most straight/bi men are not willing to hear women talk about gossip, problems, makeup, etc. unless they are attracted to her. Most men just don't see the point of being friends with a woman who they don't want to sleep with, and that's because the average man doesn't have that many qualities/interests in common with the average woman. It usually the metrosexual/feminine men (who are rare as well) who become 'just friends' with women. It's because they have some feminine interests/qualities that they'd like to benefit from and share with women in their friendships. For example, he may be the kind of guy who likes to talk about his feelings and have deep conversations which is a very feminine thing to do in my opinion.
Women, in general, are more open to being just friends with men who they aren't attracted to
Many people think it's easier for women to see men as "just friends." But the truth is, unlike most men who wouldn't want to be friends with a woman they're not attracted to, women are more likely to be interested in being friends with someone of the opposite sex who they aren't attracted to. That's because women are generally interested in getting attention from men, and in having men available to listen to their problems, getting emotional support from men, and to have men help with physical work. So, being 'just friends' with men gives women a number of advantages and benefits, and hardly any downside.
The more attractive you are, the less likely it becomes that the opposite sex wants to be just friends with you.
If you are a conventionally attractive woman or man, most people of the opposite sex are a lot less likely to want to be just friends with you. A lot of people have this idea that the friendship will increase their chances and that it will grow into something more 'special.'
At least one tends to catch feelings
Sometimes, people develop romantic/sexual attraction after developing an emotional connection to someone. I also heard of many people who ended up dating and marrying their 'friends'. I usually see women on social media saying that they would like to be 'just friends' with a guy first before being in a relationship with him because apparently that's how they want to start having an emotional connection with him before they have feelings for him. Maybe that's what a lot of guys assume when they try to be friends with girls because they probably think that's how they can have a chance to win her over.
Just because they haven't acted on it or hinted at it, doesn't necessarily mean they aren't interested
This interest can include just sex, a relationship, or both. It's already well known that women are more likely to underestimate a man's interest and men are more likely to overestimate a girl's interest. If you're a female, your male friend may be waiting for you to ask him for sex or is trying to figure out if you are dateable. If you're a male, your female friend is probably waiting for you to ask her out on a date or she's trying to figure out if you're dateable. Your opposite sex friend may be waiting for you to end you relationship with your partner, so they can ask you out. Or they may decide to keep you around just in case their relationship doesn't work out. If your 'friend' is attracted to you, it will affect the nature of the friendship without you even realizing it. For example, if you're a female, the guy you friendzoned may be nice to you and then wonder why girls don't like nice guys.
But, many times, they do act on it. I quite often see male and female 'friends' flirting with each other, but I generally don't see that kind of behavior between friends of the same sex. Many male and female 'friends' would/have had sex with each other. And many of them use (or have used) each other as back ups.
The more masculine a man is, the less likely he is going to want to be just friends with a woman.
This means that the more masculine he is, the less interests/qualities he has in common with the average woman. And it's very obvious that the more feminine a man is, it's more likely that he would have more female friends. This rule tends to apply to men of every sexual orientation. It's not a secret that most straight/bi, masculine guys tend to view women as sexual objects, so they would only be friends with a woman to get in her pants. It's widely known that there is a much higher percentage of gay men who are feminine than there are straight men who are feminine. You can assume whatever you want, but it's widely unknown about the demographics of the masculinity/femininity/androgyny of asexual and bisexual guys. A guy being gay, asexual, or bisexual may sound 'feminine' to you. But a man's sexual orientation doesn't define/determine how masculine or feminine he can be in other ways. I have an acquaintance/colleague who is masculine, conventionally attractive, and he's not attracted to girls. He's gay but he's nothing like the typical gay guy and he doesn't have any female friends.
I also found this quote on whisper while I was finding a picture for this myTake
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