We're Just Good Friends: Women and Men in Nonromantic Relationships

by Kathy Werking PhD

Overview

This book provides a long-overdue look at the challenges and rewards of nonromantic friendships between women and men. Drawing from a range of literature and her own extensive research, the author presents her examination of these relationships in a clear organizational framework. Topics covered include the everyday dynamics of cross-sex friendships and their societal effects and influences. The author also explores ways that these relationships are developed and maintained, and ways they may come to an end. Illustrated with numerous interviews and segments of conversations between male and female friends, the book offers important insight into such issues as gender-role expectancies, relationship norms and goals, and cultural assumptions about friendship and sexuality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781572301870
Publisher:	Guilford Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	05/02/1997
Series:	The Guilford Series on Personal Relationships , #1
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	193
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.63(d)
Lexile:	1260L (what's this?)

About the Author

Kathy Werking, Ph.D., teaches adult learners in New Hampshire and Maine and is continuing her research into the dynamics of friendship and marriage. She received her doctorate in communication from Purdue University in 1992.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Comparisons with Paradigmatic Social Relationships
2. Friendship Features and the Influence of Gender
3. Opportunities for Development and Continuance
4. Managing Romance and Sexuality
5. Managing Third-Party Relationships
Conclusion
Appendix A.: Methods of Research
Appendix B.: Interview Protocols and Survey Questionnaires

Interviews

Readers in sociology, social psychology, communication, and gender studies, as well as others interested in social networks and personal relationships, including family and couple therapists. Serves as a text in undergraduate and graduate-level courses in interpersonal communication, close relationships, gender studies, and social psychology.

Editorial Reviews

"If you have ever wondered how to be 'just friends' with a member of the opposite sex, or have become jealous of your lover's cross-sex friendship, this book is for you. Werking has produced a much needed scholarly, but accessible, treatise of a topic which fascinates us all but which has been neglected by investigators of relationships. Weking masterfully entwines the research literature on male-female relationships with vivid examples of the conduct of actual friendships. The nature of cross-sex friendship is revealed through rich descriptions and conversations from the many true-life friends she interviewed and surveyed. Werking is careful to explicate society's assumptions about this unique form of friendship, as well as her own assumptions and those of the friends themselves. In so doing, she provides the proper context for reviewing what is known about cross-sex friendship and generating a framework for future discussions. This is an excellent manual on cross-sex friendships, both for those who wish to research them and those who wish to have them. We're Just Good Friends is not to be missed by cross-sex friends, whether they be scholars or laypersons who want to better understand and derive meaning from their relationships." —Perri B. Druen, Ph.D., York College; Close Relationship Researcher

"What a great read! Werking's book will appeal to multiple audiences. The detailed, multi-disciplinary literature reviews will benefit academics conducting friendship or other relational research. However, the book's approachable style will illuminate the experiences of most anyone ever in a cross-sex friendship.

Admirably, Werking manages to quite successfully pull off that delicate balance between reporting research and capturing life experiences. Numerous quotations from interviewees make the chapters come to life and provide glimpses into the wealth of data she's analyzed. Furthermore, Werking situates the research in context and with an awareness of social norms. The reader will see the workings of friendship across the backdrop of social and relational context — a very integrative approach.

As an additional plus, Werking provides detailed methodological information, poses significant questions for further inquiry, and includes her own instruments in the appendices — a great benefit to her colleagues.

In short, a compelling text — a must read!" —Joy L. Hart, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University of Louisville

From the Publisher

A study of cross-sex friendships in North American culture, offering insight on issues such as gender role expectations, relationship norms and goals, and cultural assumptions about friendship and sexuality. Looks at interpersonal dynamics between participants, challenges and rewards of such relationships, and the development and decline of cross-sex friendships. For those interested in gender studies, communications, social psychology, and cultural studies, and for family and couple therapists. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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