Friend zone

In popular culture, the friend zone (or friendzone) is a relational concept, describing a situation in which one person in a mutual friendship wishes to enter into a romantic or sexual relationship with the other person, while the other does not.^[1] The person whose romantic advances were rejected is then said to have "entered" (or to have been "put in") the friend zone, with the sense that they are stuck there. The friendzone has a strong presence on the Internet; for example, on Facebook, dating sites, and other social media platforms. However, over time the term has expanded into middle schools, high schools, and colleges where young people are discovering their identities when it comes to dating and romance.^[2]

The concept of the friend zone has been criticized by some as misogynistic, because of a belief that the concept implies an expectation that women should be romantically involved with men in whom they have no interest, simply because the men were nice to them,^[3]^[4] though the term refers to all forms of unrequited affection, not necessarily a man liking a woman. It is also closely associated with so-called "nice guy syndrome".^[5]

The term was originally popularized in the American sitcom television series Friends (1994). In the seventh episode of the first season, "The One with the Blackout", Ross Geller is lovesick for Rachel Green, but Joey Tribbiani informs him that, when two people meet, there is a short period in which there is potential for a romantic relationship that Ross has gone beyond. After this time, if they continue to see each other, they are in the "friend zone" and so a romantic relationship is effectively impossible, even if one of the parties wants to be the other's lover.^[6]

^ "friend zone", Oxford English Dictionary, archived from the original on 29 November 2013, retrieved 22 January 2014, ...a situation in which a friendship exists between two people, one of whom has an unrequited romantic or sexual interest in the other...
^ Buchler, Chelsea (5 January 2014). "The "Friendzone": Renegotiating Gender Performance and Boundaries in Relationship Discourse". University of Colorado Boulder.
^ Dickson, E.J. (12 October 2013). "6 reasons the "friend zone" needs to die". Salon.com. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
^ Marcotte, Amanda (27 May 2014). "The dangerous discourse of "the friend zone"". The Raw Story. Archived from the original on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
^ Hosie, Rachel (16 December 2016). "The sinister logic behind 'Nice Guy Syndrome', explained by psychologists". The Independent. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
^ Kelly, Sarah-Louise (7 March 2024). "People Are Just Realising Where The Term 'Friend Zone' Came From And We're Stunned". Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 16 March 2024.

[1] "friend zone", Oxford English Dictionary, archived from the original on 29 November 2013, retrieved 22 January 2014, ...a situation in which a friendship exists between two people, one of whom has an unrequited romantic or sexual interest in the other...

[2] Buchler, Chelsea (5 January 2014). "The "Friendzone": Renegotiating Gender Performance and Boundaries in Relationship Discourse". University of Colorado Boulder.

[6_reasons-3] Dickson, E.J. (12 October 2013). "6 reasons the "friend zone" needs to die". Salon.com. Retrieved 26 April 2015.

[Marcotte-4] Marcotte, Amanda (27 May 2014). "The dangerous discourse of "the friend zone"". The Raw Story. Archived from the original on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.

[5] Hosie, Rachel (16 December 2016). "The sinister logic behind 'Nice Guy Syndrome', explained by psychologists". The Independent. Retrieved 17 March 2024.

[6] Kelly, Sarah-Louise (7 March 2024). "People Are Just Realising Where The Term 'Friend Zone' Came From And We're Stunned". Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 16 March 2024.

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