I sincerely ask, can there be a purely platonic friendship between the opposite sexes? Because I find it very difficult. Limited by hormones and the subconscious discipline of the social environment, it's hard not to view the other person from the opposite sex's perspective. If it's not out of physiological needs, men prefer to hang out with men, and women also prefer to hang out with women. Have you noticed that when going out, people of different genders automatically separate to sit on different sides? If a woman socializes in a group of men, it's also hard for her to fit in without deliberately showcasing certain masculine traits. Unless factors like long-distance, age difference, or being married dilute gender, it's very hard to be purely platonic.