The YMCA Xtreme... where the person moves their arms so much it's as though they are actually doing the YMCA choreography.

Soooo distracting!

If you don't want your crotches to touch, don't thrust your pelvis forward. Common sense.

Anyone who has a problem with this should take partnered dance lessons. There you will learn how to make full frontal contact while leaving your crotch out of it. I have made some very good full frontal contact with men without any sexual organ contact. It's amazing. :-)

This also sets me off a little because I had a friend who was on a church staff and got fired for being in a car alone with a girl. It was originally a group of 3, but there was a breakdown, and one of them got picked up. His church had a strict no riding alone in car with a member of the opposite sex rule, so they let them go.

Because, I don't know about you, but EVERY time I'm in a car alone with a male, we commit sexual acts. It's just automatic. Insert key. Turn key. Shift into drive. Make out.

It's just common sense, right?

Dude! I completely agree. The church SUCKS when it comes to singles and married people. It's like there's two different clubs. Not to mention that often in the Christian community, if you aren't married, there's something "wrong" with you.

I'm about to leave my current church because literally everyone is dating or married. I'm not in the club.

I agree. Is the only reason men ever talk to women is that they hope it will turn into sex? Some men, yes, absolutely, but I would like to believe there are men out there who just want to be friendly.

Also, although I am completely straight, I would just like to say that some of relationships I have with females have a better chance of developing into romance that many of my relationships with males. Just because they have a Y chromosome doesn't mean I want to date them.

"Also, the logistics are crazy. "Hey look, a No-Tell Motel..." /meaningful look/ Really? I mean, REALLY??"

Haha, I like you.

I agree.

I think this is absolutely stupid. Is that to say I don't understand why we think we should have these standards? I do, but I still think it's stupid.

Personally, I don't feel the urge to jump into bed with every guy I hang out with one on one. Some of them, yes, but I'm single, so this is not a problem.

If your self control is so bad that you can't hang out one on one with a member of the opposite sex without stumbling... well, one, it sucks to be you, and two, yes, you probably should abstain.

But what about the rest of us? I have a male friend who will be getting married in the fall who told me that we really shouldn't hang out one on one anymore. This is fine because I like his fiancee even more than I like him, and there is nothing I would say to him that I wouldn't say with her present. However, in contrast, my friend Michael is getting married in June and I am completely losing him. His fiancee and I don't hate each other, but we have very different personalities, and I'm not comfortable around her. I don't see why I can't hang out with Michael one-on-one. Am I attracted to Michael? No. Am I sexually tempted about Michael? Not in the least! However, the social rules say that since he's getting married, we can't be friends the same anymore. And I think that is completely stupid. Why should I give up a friendship with someone just because he's male and soon to be married? If he were female, it would be no big deal. But because he's male, people will assume things.

Which brings me to my next point. Why do we care so much about what other people think? Yes, it gets annoying when I go to lunch/dinner/ice cream with my male friends and the waitress automatically assumes we're on the same check, but we correct her, laugh about it, and it's all good. Who cares if people you don't know think you and the person with whom you are hanging out are an item? That's silly to be concerned about.

However, I understand that it's not the complete strangers we are so concerned about. It's the people we do know. I don't think that appearances are the problem as much as the assumptions people draw from those appearances. If I were a married woman having a lunch meeting with a male and someone saw us and assumed I was having an affair, my course of action wouldn't be to say, "Okay I am never meeting with a man one-on-one in public again," but to speak to that individual and ask what I have done to make her think I was the type of person to have an affair. That assumption would be an insult to my character, and if people want to assume those things and my conscience is clear, then it's THEIR issue. Now what about my hypothetical husband? I am hoping that the man I marry TRUSTS me and thinks well enough of me to know better. It should not even be an issue. If there is an issue, than the issue is with our marriage, not my action of having a lunch meeting.

I say all this to say: Society's rules and assumptions are stupid. I should be able to be friends with whoever I want, wherever I want, regardless of gender and marital status. Let's not overcomplicate things.