Sex, Power and Mixed Gendered Friendships

Last Monday night we had a salon discussion centered around the question, "Can men and women be friends?" (or does the sex thing always get in the way.)One man voiced that he thought sex always got in the way.A woman asked if power also played a part in why men and women aren't friends (in corporate America or faith communities)?Approximately half of the people in the room had deep friendships with the opposite gender.It was acknowledged that sexual tension isn't present in same-sex friendships where as it is in mix gendered friendships. Although, I argued we have to content with the fact that same-sex attractions also exist.I wondered what's missing when only one gender is present (in our work place and faith communities?)We discussed the one another's in Scripture: How do we live them out as brothers and sisters?Love one another, carry one another's burden, encourage one another, wait on one another, comfort one another, mourn with one another, accept one another, rejoice with one another, etc.Have you ever read the Scriptures with the lens of "How do I carry this out with the other gender of faith?" It's an interesting question.What do you think? Can we be friends? How does sex and or power play a role in how we answer it? And why are we asking it at all? What difference does our answer make? What is impacted by how we answer?