Male Female Relationships
In some cultures in the world you will see that men and woman don’t have one on one friendships. They are, either boyfriend and girlfriend, or sister and brother etc, but it’s not possible to have a male female friendship. However, in western cultures you will see guys and girls hanging out together as buddies, by that I mean hanging out one on one. Do you think it’s possible? Some say that in the mind of a woman it’s possible to have a purely plutonic relationship and not involve the Konglish word “skinship.” By they way, English speakers will be amused if they hear this term, so many times in English, there is not a one word translation for something, we tend to use the word “physical relationship” or actually describe it as, we’ve gone to the next level, or “we hold hands, that’s all at this time.”
I think a lot of women want to have only a plutonic relationship with a guy, but too many times, the guys want to take the relationship to the next level, or move it up a gear because guys tend to not want to waste energy on just hanging out. Perhaps, it’s because men tend to still be cavemen and look for a physical connection, but women want an emotional one. At some point a male friend may want to cross that line of friendship into relationship and as a woman you could be taken off guard. Also, if you, as a female, have a boyfriend, then he could feel threatened and insecure about his girlfriend having a plutonic relationship with another guy. Think about it before you get offside with your partner in your relationship. As for me, the jury’s still out as to whether males and females can truly and honestly have just a plutonic relationship. In other words, are they on the same page about their relationship?
Guessing Meaning From Context
Try to match the useful & common phrasal verbs & words on the left with the closest definition in the right column. (answers are at the bottom of the page. Note: 2 answers are possible to some questions).
|
hanging out |
1 |
A |
Change, upgrade, go faster |
|
plutonic |
2 |
B |
A relationship that involves touching, more than talking |
|
gone to the next level |
3 |
C |
Not expecting/ surprised |
|
move it up a gear |
4 |
D |
Non-physical relationship |
|
cavemen |
5 |
E |
Describes how males see things in a very basic and physical way |
|
physical connection |
6 |
F |
Jealous/unsure/feeling of being threatened. |
|
cross that line |
7 |
G |
Change, upgrade |
|
taken off guard |
8 |
H |
Spending time with someone/friends |
|
insecure |
9 |
I |
Not decided yet |
|
offside |
10 |
J |
Understand each other, same thinking |
|
jury’s still out |
11 |
K |
Break the rules/expectations |
|
on the same page |
12 |
L |
A damaged relationship. Somebody not happy with us because of something we did or some misunderstanding. |
1=H, 2=D, 3=G or A, 4=A or G, 5=E, 6=B, 7=K, 8=C, 9=F, 10=L, 11=I, 12=J
1. When do you get to hang out with your friends or buddies (male friends)?
2. Do agree that it is possible to have a plutonic relationship with someone of the opposite sex? Or is the jury still out in your mind?
3. If you have a girl/boyfriend, then can you talk about how you were able to take the relationship to the next level? This could mean, getting a date, or proposal of marriage. In business it could mean moving from discussion to contract. You could also use “move it up a gear” to describe to answer this question.
4. Do you agree that men are cavemen? Why or why not?
5. Do you agree that it is important to spend a lot of time making an emotional connection first before a physical one in a relationship? Why or why not?
6. What are some lines that you should not cross in your life?
7. Can you describe a situation when you were taken or caught off guard about something or someone? Maybe someone was not how you expected them to be or to act.
8. We all feel insecure about some things. Can you talk about some things that you feel insecure about? Do you think you could or want to change?
9. Describe a time you got offside with someone? What did you do about it?
10. Is there something that your opinion is not sure about? In other words, what is the jury still out on in your thinking?
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