Here’s a sweet little shot I came across on Reddit. The store’s produce section looks fairly poor, but their selection of submissives seems to be worth browsing.
I did a reverse image search on this, which I normally do for any image without attribution, and was amused to discover it had been widely used as an example of that ridiculous concept known as the ‘friend zone‘. I guess the implication is that she’s using his romantic feelings to get him to do humiliating things he’d never normally do, and he’s only doing them to get into her pants. This is obviously some strange new usages of the word friend I wasn’t previously aware of. I think it says more about the people making that association that the couple in the picture.
This post upvoted for the HHGTTG reference.
🙂
It’s funny by I didn’t even think of HHGTTG when I was writing that. I knew that phrasing came from somewhere, but it has sunk so deep into my brain, and I’ve used it so often, I’d have been hard pressed to name the original source! I might have got to ‘safe’ and Vogon constructor fleet eventually, but it would have taken some pondering 🙂
I hate to admit it by I was “friendzoned” as a teen. Here I was a freshman in high school infatuated with a senior who had me doing all types of mundane and menial things for her. As if she’d go out with me! She ended up dating one of these “bad boys” who treated me like her little brother.
I called it being used, but I guess today it’s called something else.
RW
To me that sounds like the common kind of relationship that gets described as ‘friend zone’ but IMO really shouldn’t be.
I think the expression is kind of stupid one, but I do get its validity in some circumstances. If two people are genuinely friends, and care for each other as friends, but one person wants more, then it kind of makes sense. Maybe. Although the zone bit still bugs me.
However, in the situation you described, it seems it should really be the manipulative zone. Or twisted dynamic zone. If someone genuinely cares for you as a friend, and they know you have stronger feelings for them, the correct response is to be more careful with you. To tread delicately and not to take advantage of the situation. I can’t square the friend bit with someone who asks you to do mundane or menial tasks. Being used sounds like a good description to me.
-paltego