My ex didn't believe that men and women could be "just friends" so he had a problem with my male friends. Well, hindsight is 20/20. I think the reason why he had an issue with my male friends because he knew that he couldn't "just be friends" with members of the opposite sex. We broke up because of his so called female friends. He forgot during our initial dating stage before getting involved exclusively, we talked about his views on men and women being "just friends."
Anyhoo--my male friends are just that--friends that I can call or email and bounce ideas off of. I know if I need to get a little peep into the male psyche, they will give me the raw and uncut version. One of my ex-boyfriends is a good friend of mine. Him and I make better friends than lovers, so we would never go down that route again. No man I get involved with would ever have to feel insecure about him.
I for one believe that members of the opposite sex can be "just friends" with no romantic involvement. I also think that in order for a relationship to work, you do have to be friends with your mate. Starting off as friends isn't a bad thing.
My question would be to everyone is when do you cross the line--when do you go from being friends to lovers? Should you risk a good friendship by taking a leap into the unknown?