ABSTRACT
Cross-sex friendships (i.e., nonromantic relationships between persons of different sexes) occupy an unusual place in the relational fabric of society. Because they lack the prominence and notoriety of same-sex friendships, romantic relationships, and family ties, they have had to struggle for recognition in the scholarly and lay communities. The majority of friendship scholars have either ignored or given little attention to cross-sex friendships. As a result, the cross-sex friendship literature is young, fragmented, meager, and fundamentally atheoretical (Monsour, 1997). Mirroring the lack of scholarly attention, many individuals for various reasons in different stages of life do not have friends of the other sex. The reasons for having and not having cross-sex friendships are explored throughout this book.
