I agree. I think the friend-zone thing has gotten a bad rap. Back when I was single, I typically would attempt to date people in my social circle (i.e. friends). This was pre-internet (no online dating), so it either that or walk up to some one cold in a bar.

I preferred working on people in my social circle and that often meant getting friend-zoned. I personally felt being friend-zone is a much nicer form of rejection, which is probably why I felt more comfortable going after women in my social circle. Additionally, I knew something more about them than what they looked like, and so my attraction wasn't superficial. I won't lie, getting friend-zoned was humbling and it took time to process it. However, I was always able to recover from it and I really stayed friends with them. Two of my best friends (for over 20 years) are men who dated women who had previously friend-zoned me. Additionally, I'm still friends with those women.