DEEP DIVE

The friend zone is usually referred to negatively, with the connotation that it is a bummer when someone you have a crush on doesn’t have reciprocal romantic feelings. The underlying implication of this concept is that someone befriended their crush solely in the hopes of dating or hooking up with them.

The term is often used by boys/men who are disappointed that the girls/women they are interested in them romantically and/or sexually only want to be friends. Toxic incel messaging boards often use “friendzone” in a derogatory way, upset that the women they feel entitled to do not want to have sex with them.