Nobody said that.
Nobody made an appeal to political correctness.
People are physical beings with endocrine systems. Unless there's some reason why you're not attracted to each other a friendship can easily spill over into sexual attraction. I don't see what is so wrong with pointing '2' out.
If other people are managing to have friendships with the opposite sex that are just friendships that's great and I'm glad for them.
But if I could go back in time and make different decisions I would definitely focus more on making female friends because I have often had male ones get awkward. Not always but there's no need to risk the headache.