R is for Relationships

I am currently blogging, along with my dad, all the way through the alphabet. Check out how the idea started and get the rules here.

“Men don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses.” “The best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” “He won’t buy it if you’re giving it away for free.” “It’s not you, it’s me.” “This is all happening too fast.” “I think we just need a little break.” “Let’s just be friends.” Alas, the fabulously overused relationship clichés.

“Men don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses.” This one, I find hilarious. Hilarious. Said by Dorothy Parker years ago and no longer relevant, I added it only for the fact that it rhymed and made me laugh. I figured it was a great way to catch your attention!

I want to focus on my personal favorite relationship cliché – “boys and girls can’t just be friends.” Hah! I seriously laugh out loud whenever I hear or read about someone saying this. Do you believe it is true? Because I completely do not. Many of my friends are guys, simply because I don’t get along with females as well because I am not amused with the dramatics of the female population, and the girl friends I do have generally tend to feel the same way.

I would like you to participate in a little activity for me. Think of all of the friends you have that are not of the same gender as you. Got it? Okay, of those friends how many have you fallen head over heels for? If you’re being realistic, I’m sure it isn’t a majority of them.

So where does this cliché come from? Well, if Hollywood has taught us anything, it probably started with the heartbroken girl crying on her bed because the best male friend (whom the lead girl was in love with) fell in love with some attractive blond model, while her overly wise girl friend consoles her with chocolate, “men stink” speeches, and the very clever “this is why girls and boys can never be just friends” line. Of course it makes sense in Hollywood, because in the fake worlds created, the lead (a male in this case) always has only one or two female friends, and a hundred male friends who advise him to choose girl A, even though everyone watching knows that the lead is best friends with girl B and girl B is completely in love with the lead so of course by the end the lead will have broken her heart, then chased her across the country to find her because he realized he was really in love with her, he just didn’t realize it because he was too fixed on the best friend status, and they will be in love.

So the cliché was born. Ta da!

View my dad’s “R” post here.

-11/30/10-

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