FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS

DEFINITION: sexual activity that takes place outside of a romantic relationship and implies an absence of commitment,
emotional attachment, or familiarity between sexual partners.
Before engaging in this type of relationship ask yourself if you agree with:
 I am comfortable with sex that is not attached to feelings or emotions.
 Although I trust the person I am having sex with, I do not have any romantic or long-term expectations from this
relationship.
 I am okay with only sharing safe sex with this partner.
If you can’t say yes to each of the above statements, this relationship may not be right for you.

TIPS FOR HAVING A HEALTHY FRIENDS-WITH-BENEFITS RELATIONSHIP

Choosing the right person because it always gets serious for someone:
‘Friends’ is a loose term and in this case it really should only be an acquaintance who you have a safe consensual sexual
relationship. It isn’t someone you could see yourself dating monogamously nor it is someone you would call during an
emergency or someone you would talk to about your personal thoughts and feelings—key here is that your relationship is
solely for safe sex and that you are not developing intimate connections like you do with friendships.

Be clear about the relationship: It’s all about boundaries:

It’s all about communication. Make sure you both understand that this is only meant to be physical and casual to avoid hurt
feelings later on. Never hurts to be open about not looking for something more or being nonexclusive: can’t harbor secret
desire to be more; can’t pretend your person is more serious about you then they actually are; can’t emotionally connect and
can’t be jealous.

Be honest with yourself about why you want to have a FWB relationship with this person:
If you're saying you want no-strings-attached, casual sex, you should know that that's actually what you want. Just going along
with it in the hopes that your crush will fall for you is just going to make you really upset in the future, and your feelings deserve
better treatment than that. Plus, you can't get mad at someone for being upfront about their intentions and then not falling
for you the way you expected them to.

Try your best to keep it sex-only:

1770 Langlois Ave 24hr Crisis Line 519-253-9667 Toll free 1-844-900-7222
Windsor, ON Office Line 519-253-3100
N8X 4M5 Fax 519-253-0175
 FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS

Be vocal about the kind of sex you actually want to have:

This is all about sexual openness and, ultimately, just good fun. It is important to have a consent conversation and discuss sexual
boundaries specific to what is okay and what is not. It is important that each sexual act is agreed upon and that consent is given
each time.

Don't let people judge you or make you feel like you secretly want a relationship.

Your mom might not get it. Acquaintances might think it's promiscuous. Even some of your friends might suspect this is just a
transition into a relationship. You can't expect everyone you meet to understand, but you also don't have to listen to people
tell you what to do or what ways you should or should not be having sex. Move forward confidently — you know what you're
about.

Maturely break it off if you see that your FWB is developing feelings, but you aren't.

Be kind. Even if you're technically not at fault because you were always clear about what you wanted, you're both people, and
also, sex feels good and intimate and cuddly, and that can sometimes make you feel closer to someone than you meant to.
You definitely shouldn't date this person if you don't reciprocate the feelings, but you owe them basic human decency and a
clean break so as not to take advantage of their emotions.

And forgive yourself if you're the one who ends up developing feelings.

Again, you're human. You could discover that you really like this person more than you realized, and, if you do, you should let
them know and decide from there. Sure, there's a chance they might like you back, but you should also be ready for the
possibility that they don't, and do your best to not take it personally. If that's the case, move on and stop hooking up with them
— do yourself the courtesy of respecting your own emotions and don't just stay in it to convince them or yourself that you're
super chill. This whole thing was always about honesty.

Have fun!

A friend with benefits can be an awesome person to figure yourself out with or just have crazy fun with. Not all
sexual experiences have to be tied to monogamous romantic relationships, and if you feel confident and happy
with the idea of having a FWB, then just have a blast with them, because that's the only real reason either of you
should be doing this.

Source: BuzzFeed

1770 Langlois Ave 24hr Crisis Line 519-253-9667 Toll free 1-844-900-7222
Windsor, ON Office Line 519-253-3100
N8X 4M5 Fax 519-253-0175