women assume the men they befriend will know their place and not attempt anyhing outside a completely platonic arrangement, it is why women are absolutely shocked and feel betrayed when they find out their bestie with a ballsack was trying to make move on them .

the girl thought you were intelligent enough to known your place, that you were socialized enough that it would be clear to you that by "befriending her" you aren't gonna be the guy who's gonna fuck her, but the guy with whom she will discuss Margaret Atwood novels with

that's why men rightly call it a friend zone, it occupies a space within a defined yet never-to-be-spoken-of hierarchy, that separates the potentially fuckable from the unfuckable ones, not knowing where you stand by instinct is what makes it so weird to women.