When Did The Friend Zone Become Offensive

It was during the 90s that Chris Rock helped coin the phrase "the friend zone." This is basically where a guy tries to holla at a woman, get down and dirty, but she sees him as no more than a good friend. Said guy is then placed in the friend zone, where everything is strictly platonic and he has no perceivable chance of smashing the lady. Cue "Never Gonna Get It" by En Vogue.

This phrase has become big in popular culture and social media. Numerous memes have been created around the friend zone. Yet men and women alike continue to friend zone each other, and then often end up with a mate that treats them like crap, cheats and beats them, etc. You always got the friend though, right?

I was posting about the friend zone on social media recently and man the discussion it brought on, which spawned another discussion. It appears, according to this post in Nerve, that "the friend zone" has become offensive to women, misonynic, and probably should be retired. Here's the link http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/why-everyone-should-be-insulted-by-the-term-friend-zone

I read it and here are my thoughts. First, how can a word or phrase be offensive when it refers to both sexes? Second, this was created out of jest by Chris Rock, a comedian. It's not like a psychologist did the study, although there is a lot of truth behind this phrase. And, third, the friend zone actually does have a lot of benefits, making it more myth than phrase. Men and women do grow up and change, and so do their tastes and preferences. Both like to keep certain people in their lives because they are cool to be around. Romantic sparks can and do happen. Now the friend zone is very real, but two grown consenting people can still get together if they so desire.

Basically, there are too many words and phrases that have become offensive and taboo. Let's not allow the friend zone to be one of those. How about we act better towards each other and treat people like human beings and realize that things could always change? I've been to three high school reunions and go to my college Homecoming every year. There are so many people happily together now that nobody would have expected. Let's not allow pop culture to dictate our lives. Social media already does a good enough job of that.

Are you offended by "the friend zone". Do you think only sad and lonely men feed into it?