Originally Posted by Acetylene

Being friends with a man is not like being friends with a woman. Men are waaaayyyy easier to deal with than women. Having male friends is a relief because they are so straightforward.

Furthermore, different men have different likes and dislikes, and, in my experience, the overlap between what I like and what an individual man likes tends to be very narrow. So, having more than one male friend means I can have more opportunities to share activities with men, relieving me of the necessity of hanging out with women.

That being said, there are some things a girl can only do with other girls - "girl things" - like hair.

Of course, this is mainly academic, because at the moment I have no male friends except my husband. The reason is because I worry that the man will feel the way you do, OP, and secretly hold out hope of an affair. I don't want to accidentally torment a friend in this way, so the only men I hang out with right now are family members. I enjoy the company of my father and male cousins (don't have a brother) instead of attempting to maintain platonic friendships.