It is crazy to think we have come to a time where sex is a casual thing.
Having sex on a first date is considered normal. Going out to the club and bringing home a one-night stand is common. Having sex with a friend? Well, why not? You are already close because of the friendship, so why not get crazy and sprinkle a little sex in it?
It’s a hidden trend most people don’t want to admit to. Regardless, the “friends with benefits” epidemic needs to end. It was a bad idea from the beginning and someone is always going to get hurt, eventually.
Movies like “Friends with Benefits” and “No Strings Attached” give us fairy tale happy endings. This outcome is non-existent. You and your sexual partner will not run off into the sunset in a happy relationship, especially if you are not on the same page. You can even try to set rules and put stipulations into place, but sex has a way of making two people bond, even if they don’t want to.
Sex is very intimate, no matter how unintimate you try to make it. Engaging in this serious activity with someone you consider just a friend is risky and dangerous. It starts off as fun or maybe even awkward sex, but soon one of you will “catch feelings.” There is an unwritten rule about not “catching feelings,” or falling in love with someone you’re just supposed to be having sex with. However, it’s inevitable. Regardless of which person falls first, it is unlikely the other person feels the same way.
Magazines like Glamour and Cosmopolitan are lying to our conscious. Healthy tips to maintaining a friends with benefits relationship might seem appealing at first, but ultimately they will fail you. Magazines try to make it seem like simple tips such as setting rules, never hugging or kissing and talking out your needs are rational behaviors. However, we are human and bound to make mistakes. You will get attached and eventually want more out of this proposition. If friends with benefits relationships actually came with positive outcomes, everyone would be doing it.
Having good sex with a friend may seem fun and amazing in the beginning, but is it worth the feelings you will catch in the long run? The feelings of hurt and rejection are not worth losing a meaningful friendship. A friend should always stay a friend, unless working toward a romantic relationship together. If you cross the friend boundary into sex, regret will be waiting around the corner for you in the morning.
Kiana Naquin is a 20-year-old English sophomore from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.