"Friendship between men and women. Myths or reality” Are there obvious differences between male and female views on the topic of “friendship” or are gender characteristics unimportant, and individual personal characteristics of a person prevail? Today we will try to figure this out. The concept of friendship belongs to the category of eternal values ​​and is an important attribute in the lives of most people. For some, friendship is a pleasant pastime with like-minded people, for others it is an opportunity to speak out, for others it is to receive support or help. The main criteria for determining the essence of friendship are interpersonal relationships, which can be divided into the following types of friendship: male, female and mixed. Friendship is based on selfless relationships based on common interests and/or mutual sympathy and respect. However, many people have an ambiguous attitude towards friendship. This is especially true for friendship between a man and a woman. In everyday life, various stereotypes and myths about friendship have become entrenched, which, turning into attitudes, begin to work on the subconscious, while forming false ideas about the true essence of things. Currently, the media is actively cultivating the opinion that psychology proves the impossibility of friendship between a man and a woman without subconscious sexual attraction. This is the first myth about friendship. There are no scientifically proven facts to confirm this, so this is just an assumption based on the fact that subconscious instincts are often stronger than the mind, and since it is assumed that friendship is communication based on mutual sympathies and common hobbies, then there is a possibility of transformation of communication into relationships and further into feelings. Another thing is that friendship between a woman and a man is much less common and is mainly common among unmarried and single people. If you have a “other half,” communicating with a friend of the opposite sex can lead to problems in family relationships over time. But the myth that strong friendships are possible only between a woman and a man of non-traditional sexual orientation has logical confirmation, since in this tandem both will feel in a zone of psychological comfort and safety due to the lack of rivalry against the background of envy and jealousy. The next myth is that friendship has no social boundaries. Unfortunately, this myth often turns into reality, since friendly relationships are influenced not only by gender and age factors, but also by values, social status, which places friends in different weight categories, which can lead to hidden manifestations of envy, resentment and misunderstanding. An exception may be long-distance friendships between classmates or childhood friends with different social statuses who meet a couple of times a year. Another myth says that male friendships are stronger and more serious, unlike female ones, when girlfriends mostly gossip and say stupid things. This myth is based on the fact that women are more focused on emotional experiences and openness, while men are focused on actions and deeds. To be fair, it is worth noting that this is only a stereotype, since emotionality, sincerity, and empathy are not a gender prerogative; rather, these qualities relate to the individual personal characteristics of a particular person. As a psychological experiment, 20 men and 20 women were asked to voice, in their opinion, the main myths regarding gender friendship against the background of the associative series that arises with the phrase “friendship between a man and a woman.” Most of the men surveyed believe that it is a myth that friendship between a man and a woman is impossible; however, when analyzing male associations, these statements raise doubts. For example, with a myth in the form of a quote: “Friendship between a man and a woman is a relationship between former lovers or between future ones,” 63% of respondents expressed absolute»?