Our difference in gender, unknown and unimportant a moment ago, suddenly overshadowed our similarity of interest. We were raised to assume that guys and girls who were emotionally attached were also romantically linked. A mixed friendship was one step away from romance, and that step could go in a couple directions. A friendship might be a warm up to a romance or a cool down from a crush. Friendship for mere friendship's sake was rare.
Friendships are the way young people build community on campuses.
A man and woman may become good friends for the duration of a Bible study series, aerobics course, or scuba lessons. Then, after the group disbands, the friendship ends. The couple splits and each moves on to pursue new interests and make new friends. Although their relationship wasn't destined to last a lifetime or evolve into a romance, they're generally better off for having had it. These friendships can help us understand God more completely because we see the complementary nature of the way we were created as his children and the way we bear out his image as men and women.