There is a wide spectrum of reasons for this particular status of being in the “Friend Zone”. Exploring some of the possible reasons, I have come up with a few:

(It’s actually he/she since it is applicable to both sexes, but it’s more apt for me to write “she”.)

She doesn’t want you, and gives you an honorable exit.

She doesn’t want you, but wants you to stay.

She doesn’t want you, but selfishly wants you to stay.

She used to want you, but you were overtaken.

She wants you but has other reasons why you guys can’t be together.

You’ve become a routine to her.

You managed to put yourself in a situation where she had to choose between you and another thing/person.

You failed to maintain the spark.

…come to think of it, anything can be a reason, and being in the “Friend Zone” can really be just an excuse.

After all,

Pag gusto, maraming paraan, pag ayaw, maraming dahilan. - Unknown

Friend Zone is probably the second most-used rejection line after just saying “no”, but this doesn’t mean that there is really no Friend Zone. For me, the real Friend Zone is like a black hole where we should not draw close because if we get sucked in, there’s a minute chance for escape. In order to prevent this from happening, there are several steps which can be taken. Among which are:

“Fundamental Declaration” - Reveal your motive as early as possible.

“Communication Spontaneity” - Continuous but non-intrusive communication.

“Astronaut Syndrome” - Give her space.

“Consistency Beyond Predictability” - Be consistent, but not predictable. (Be creative)

Let me remind you that these are not used to deceive women. These steps are taken because you like the person to begin with, and you just do not want to end up in a disaster. (Sorry I have to remove a few. For the guys who want to know the rest, ask me through my YM dcayabyab2000)

Anyhow, going back, we can see that it still takes two to tango. We need to consciously move away from the blackhole. I still say go with the flow of the river, but you have to steer to keep from hitting the banks. I also maintain that albeit I generally do not like the “I’m confused” utterance of women, I do not discount the fact that it does happen sometimes. They are more emotional and they tend to get tangled up over something like this. Unlike for us men since we have the capacity to select a person to woo, our society dictates that women should wait for suitors (so they have a smaller selection) and a move to the contrary will make them appear as sluts or bitches or whores (I disagree with this, but Reality Rules).

What you have to do then is to wisen up and look for context clues. First thing you have to know if you get the “LJBF” (Let’s just be friends) line is how she means it. It could be another way of saying wait or get lost so you better know how to determine which is which.

One piece of crucial advice:

Never try to categorize humans. We are extremely subjective beings and one can never tell what things will make others tick. Just try to analyze the personality and reactions of people to more or less get a chance of success with your relationships.