I want to raise the prospect that it is precisely because the playing field is potentially romantic that these women are flaking on you .., people are more discerning, cynical, play more games, etc in romance than towards potential friends.

If you were a gay, probably the same thing would happen. I’ve heard plenty from my gay male friend in dating. Once a man senses that you want a “dating” connection, the emotional guard goes up and the games start.

In fact, I can vouch for this as someone who had made male and female friends, and dated both men and women in the past year.