A guy recently opened up about his feelings to a woman, both are close friends of mine. These feelings weren't reciprocated, but both wanted to remain friends and the whole situation seemed to be resolved maturely and respectfully.

But in a recent conversation the guy mentioned how much it 'sucked to be put in the friend zone.' My response was to explain that he's not in the friend zone, he's just friends with a woman, a choice that he made.

I associate the use of this term with guys who don't have a lot of experience with women, or have been influenced by what they read online. I believe if guys are simply misinformed or inexperienced then trying to educate them on why the term is wrong is better than vilifying them.

To be clear, I'm not talking about guys that give off incel vibes, I'm referring to guys who are generally decent and respectful to women, but have picked up this term without really thinking about what it means.

Has anyone had any success in explaining why the friend zone isn't a thing? Are there any metaphors or examples that you've heard that help to clarify it?

EDIT: Clearly there are different interpretations of the term friend zone, but what I really dislike is the use of the word 'put', which implies it's something the woman has put him in, which is 100% not the case.