FB vs. FWB vs. Dating

The other day I was talking to a good friend of mine. We were discussing her situation with this guy she's been seeing off and on for the past year or so. She had decided that maybe their situation wasn't progressing the way she would have liked so she was going to separate herself from him. Now as we all know, when you're dealing with someone, it can often take a couple of tries before you can completely walk away.

As we discussed their situation, it became very clear to me that what she hoped was a FB situation was more of a FWB situation. Ok, let me stop here and define some things for you.

FB: Fuck buddy-someone that you deal with on only a physical level. You are free to date people when in this situation.
FWB: Friend with Benefits-someone you hang out with and are friends with but every time you are together, things will get physical. You can date people in this situation.
Dating: When two people have a mutual interest in each other and getting to know more about each other. There can be a physical aspect or not. You may or may not be free to date other people, depending on the agreement you have with the other person.

Definitions over.

Well while talking to my friend, I realized that many people get these three situations confused and that often leads to issues between the sexes. There is definitely some overlap and gray area involved but if you are totally honest with yourself about your situation, you will figure out what you're involved in.

First clue, if you're calling it a situation, you aren't dating.