Yes, it most certainly would. A much safer way would be to refer to her as "моя знакомая"..... If I refer to her as моя подруга, would that send the wrong message?
Yes, they can, but they usually don't refer to each other as "друзья".I guess my question is really this: can women be друзья to men?
Yes, it does.If a man has a подругу, does that automatically connote a deeper and/or more romantic relationship?
Right.If two women are подруги to each other, then they're just friends, right?
No, she would refer to her female friend as "подруга".Would a woman refer to another woman as a друг (assuming it's just a friendly relationship)?