Boundaries in Cross-Gender Friendships: Insights from Blackpink's Jisoo
Blackpink's Jisoo recently starred in the YouTube series "Ding University" produced by EBS, where she laid bare her views on friendships between males and females.
The episode, which aired on Tuesday, featured an enlightening conversation with Jisoo and her labelmate from YG Entertainment, Kim Jin Woo of the band Winner, along with the hosts Professor Owl and Professor Elephant. Their discussion primarily focused on the contentious topic of platonic relationships between men and women.
Having shared a friendship with Jin Woo for over a decade, Jisoo's perspective was sought by Professor Owl on cross-gender friendships. She responded, "I'm skeptical about their existence. I don't believe that men and women can sustain purely platonic friendships."
However, she clarified, referring to Jin Woo, "He's an exception, being a male friend of mine, since our friendship has a history of ten years."
For Jisoo, a friendship with a male is plausible if casual inquiries about each other's wellbeing don't trigger discomfort and their rapport is congenial. Yet, she expressed confusion over regular communications and calls between cross-gender friends.
As the discussion deepened, Jisoo offered a breakdown of permissible activities between male and female friends.
From the list titled "Male and female friends can go this far," prepared by the show, Jisoo considered activities up to level 6.5 acceptable. This included adding each other on Kakaotalk, exchanging greetings on special occasions, tagging each other on social media, daytime outings, and joint visits to coin karaoke and photo booths.
Nonetheless, she stated that photo booths could not include full-body portraits, and a day trip was acceptable only with a group. Regarding alcohol consumption, she initially prohibited drinking together but later adjusted her stance, allowing it as long as they do not take care of each other. An hour-long phone conversation was a definite no-go for her.
While discussing viewers' relationship dilemmas pertaining to girl-guy friendships, Jisoo revealed that she has never been asked out by a male friend due to her knack for maintaining clear boundaries.
"I unintentionally draw a line... I believe there's a well-defined boundary in friendships," she clarified. In her presence, there would be no room for ambiguity about her feelings.
Jisoo's views on friendships between males and females have consistently remained unambiguous. She firmly believes that purely platonic friendships are impossible between the genders, with the exception of friendships lasting over a decade.
During her appearance on Lee Young Ji's "My Alcohol Diary" in April, when asked about her ideal man, Jisoo responded by reiterating her standpoint on cross-gender friendships.
She stated, "There are those who advocate that men and women can be friends, but I beg to differ. I genuinely stand by this." Yet, she conceded, "I might agree if the friendship exceeds a ten-year span. After all, a decade of consistent effort typically denotes expertise."
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