Having a good friend of the opposite sex somewhat resembles being in front of a gorgeous, freshly baked cake that you’re not supposed to touch – it’s a tempting treat that might ruin the beautiful cake and leave you unable to get your own slice.

It is an age-old notion that when a male and female are good friends, a romantic or sexual moment will somehow eventually occur. While there’s no real science behind these opinions, it’s impossible to deny that this phenomenon does indeed take place.

Enter celebrity example – aka exhibit “A” – Jennifer Lopez and her current husband (and zombie look-a-like) Marc Anthony. This pair was, at one point, strictly on a friendship level, but as soon as both their marriages went kaput, “Jenthony” was born.

Sure, these two are pitiful celebrity types who aren’t able to date outside the fame circle. Still, their marriage shenanigans spark a good argument about the complexities of co-ed friendship.

Though it isn’t necessarily unfeasible to have a platonic relationship with a member of the opposite sex (or same, depending on orientation), it isn’t as cut and dry as one might think.

For instance, when a man and a woman are friends and they’re both single, a blurred line often develops as to how the dynamics of the camaraderie is played out.

Undeniably, complications will arise as soon as someone starts seeing another person, or the friendship line starts to disapper because of sexual attraction between the two individuals.

And although it’s almost loathsome to mention this, MySpace does not exactly help that sort of situation. Incontestably, MySpace (and some underlying jealousy on behalf of the significant other) can single-handedly end a relationship with the click of a button.

Regardless of how accepting the boyfriend or girlfriend may seem, eventually questions about your “friend” will arise as quickly as your hangover did after St. Patrick’s Day.

All I know is that during the time I was not “single, looking for dating, friends and networking,” all of my supposedly solid male friendships disintegrated as quickly as the ice in my margarita on a scorching summer’s day.

Interestingly, as soon as dating statuses change, available singles will slither out of the woodwork. Simply put, being single prompts an overwhelming slurry of “friends” of the opposite sex who couldn’t give two hoots about how you were doing while romantically unavailable.

On a different tangent, the popular Molly Ringwald movie “Pretty in Pink” is a good example of just what happens when friendship and romance violently crash into each other.

In the film, Andie (Ringwald) falls for the token rich guy Steff (James Spader) while her less attractive but oh-so-right-for-her best friend Duckie (Jon Cryer) looks on helplessly.

The trying aspect of situations such as this one is that just like in real life, people are unable to say their true feelings.

Indisputably, when there’s sexual tension between two friends (or unrequited attraction), there’s no mentioning the honesty of the situation until someone has to make a choice between the friendship and a possible romantic relationship.

Once this spectacular climax occurs, the friendship normally goes in two directions – either the pair decide to take the “love journey” and they make out or they awkwardly end the moment, knowing the friendship has been dashed and things will never be the same.

Unfortunately, it takes two very strong and mature individuals to survive the strain that sexual attraction or unreciprocated love puts on a once-healthy friendship.

– Christy Castellanos is a theatre arts senior.

–This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec.