Same-Sex Versus Opposite-Sex Relationships

Same-Sex Versus Opposite-Sex Relationships

Introduction
Statistics show a lot about life, but it boils down to your own decision of who influences you, and who you want your friends to be– both same-sex and opposite-sex. There are advantages along with disadvantages that come in hand with each relationship. There are many different thoughts that enter one’s brain when one thinks of a same-sex relationship. Likewise, the same is true with an opposite-sex relationship. When I mention relationship, the meaning is not a dating or courtship; merely a good, intimate friend– not a romantic couple. Where is the line drawn at where intimacy, or self-disclosure, begins? Jonathan Bowman (2008) states: “Self-disclosure is defined as occurring when people voluntarily communicate information about themselves that other people are unlikely to know or discover from other sources” (p. 316).   This helps define where one could classify friendships, and romantic couples– both same-sex and opposite-sex relationships (Roy, Beneson & Lilly, 2000). This paper will compare and contrast the differences, as well as the similarities between friendships– both opposite-sex and same-sex. This paper will show the readers the differences in same-sex as well as opposite-sex relationships. Peers, opposite-relationships, and same-sex relationships are all important areas in one’s life.
Support
          Peers are important attributes of human beings, especially in the lives of children and adolescents (Roy, Beneson & Lilly, 2000). Researchers have even traced aggressive behavior, lower academic scores, and higher unemployment, back to the difficulty of maintaining or developing peer relationships while in adolescence (Yu, Tepper & Russell, 2009).   From peers, children through young adults gain a new perspective or are able to share in a way that is different, and not encountered through a child-parent relationship (Roy, Beneson & Lilly, 2000). Peers can also act as a buffer to the other kids that are being treated negatively while in...