Friends with benefits relationship

A friends with benefits relationship (FWB or FWBR) is a sexual arrangement between friends that involves recurrent physical intimacy and varies in its formation, outcomes, and attributes. Such friendships may or may not develop into romantic relationships, depending on whether romantic feelings existed prior to, or emerged during, the FWB arrangement. FWB relationships are usually enjoyed over a longer period, with a degree of commitment to the FWB arrangement, which is in contrast to the fleeting nature commonly found in casual sexual encounters and other types of sexual relationships.

These relationships can be characterized into several different types, develop with different motivations, and may face certain challenges, including deceptive affection and third wave feminism related issues like women's sexual freedom and gender double standards. FWB relationships are present in other cultural communities and the LGBTQ community. Theoretical frameworks such as affection exchange theory, self-determination theory, and relational turbulence theory have also been applied to study friends with benefits relationships. The history behind the term "friends with benefits" can likely be traced to its use in popular media and music.