Relationships (Outline) |
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A bromance is a very close and non-sexual relationship between two or more men. It is an exceptionally tight, affectional, homosocial male bonding relationship exceeding that of usual friendship, [2] [3] and is distinguished from normal friendship by a particularly high level of emotional intimacy. [4] [5] The emergence of the concept since the beginning of the 21st century has been seen as reflecting a change in societal perception and interest in the theme, [4] [2] [3] with an increasing openness of Western society in the 21st century to reconsider exclusivity constraints. [6] The female version of the bromance is the womance.
Bromance is a portmanteau of bro (or brother) and romance. Dave Carnie is credited with coining the term as editor of the skateboard magazine Big Brother in the 1990s to refer specifically to the sort of relationships that develop between skaters who spent a great deal of time together. [4] [7] The term did not attain broad currency until approximately 2005 [4] when the theme became more prominent in the motion picture industry. [4] [5]
Bromance has been examined from viewpoints such as historiography, discourse analysis, social research, and queer theory in book-length reviews. [4] [8] The emergence of bromance as a topic over the past decade has been seen as reflecting how society has collectively changed its perception and interest in the theme. [4] [2] [3] [5] [8]
Several characteristics of bromance have been cited:
According to Chen, society has taken a collective interest in reexamination of some of the traditional constraints on male friendship, and in potentially reshaping the constructs of gender, sexuality, and intimacy. [6] Bromance provides "a case study of gender, sexuality, and exclusivity constraints in twenty-first century America as they operate in law and beyond. Those constraints in turn speak to the privilege and subordination imbued in this type of relationship, with implications for other types as well." [6] This is distinct from the connotations of romantic friendship , a term of 20th century historical scholarship that retrospectively described close homosocial relationships, which had become less common after potential physical intimacy between non-sexual partners came to be regarded with anxiety in the second half of the 19th century. [12]
On the one hand, social interest in the theme has been seen as driving the film industry, which has then fed back to society at large, exploring peoples' mindsets and addressing acceptance of "other types of relationships" between people. [13] On the other hand, some have seen the emphasis on platonic love as a rejection of homoeroticism, or as a deliberate confounding of homosocial and homoerotic relationships. [14]
Bromance has also been seen as a reflection of greater "discursive expressivity". [4] The experiences of friendship and masculinity, perhaps due to more open parenting styles from the 1970s, reflect a trend toward more openness emotionally, with increased expressivity. [2] [8] [15] [16] According to sociologist Peter Nardi, "men are less afraid of being perceived as gay. It has become more acceptable for them to show some emotion." [17] Men are marrying later, if at all, which impacts male bonding. [17] [18] According to the 2010 US Census, the average age of a man's first marriage is 28, up from 23 in 1960; men with more education are waiting until their 30s before getting married.
Some people, including Randall Munroe, [19] have criticised the term 'bromance' as a superfluous term for friendship, implying that it is unusual for two men to be close friends, when such relationships are deemed normal between women, and 'friends', 'close friends' or 'best friends' would all be equally accurate and valid ways of expressing the same thing. The term has also been criticised as implicitly homophobic. [20]
A number of celebrity relationships have been popularly characterised as "bromances". Although bromance is a new term, this treatment of celebrity relationships is not new.
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis as the 1946–1956 ‘rock star’ comedy team Martin and Lewis set a new standard for a complex, multifaceted enactment of a ‘special’ male friendship." Coming post-war, "the comedy of Martin and Lewis teased with a sly alternative to the model of heterosexual affirmation traditionally peddled by Hollywood, as their intense and unstable relationship showcased a panoply of emotional and erotic intensities between men. The cultural resonance of Martin and Lewis's comedy derived from the way it set in motion a more complex ‘queering of gender.’" [21] They starred in 16 films together as an inseparable unit, as well as on early live television and in nightclubs. They had an immeasurable effect on millions of baby boomers and future comedians, (including George Clooney, whose aunt Rosemary Clooney was a guest on their show).
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were described as "perhaps the pioneering bromance in showbiz history", [22] which led to an off-Broadway play called Matt and Ben. [23] The relationship between Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine, stars of the 2009 Star Trek film, has been described similarly, in common with their on-screen characters' relationship. [24]
The close friendship between George Clooney and Brad Pitt was once suggested to be "George's longest-lasting affair". [25] Clooney's bromantic tendencies served as the basis for an episode of the animated series American Dad! entitled "Tears of a Clooney", in which lead character Stan Smith becomes bromantically involved with Clooney as part of an elaborate revenge plot.
Professional footballers Eric Dier and Dele Alli, who played together for both Tottenham Hotspur and the English national team, have a close relationship that has been described as a bromance. [26]
During the 2016 Olympic 100m finals, the friendship between Jamaican Usain Bolt and Canadian Andre De Grasse emerged, characterized and celebrated on social media as a bromance. [27]
Bodybuilders Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu, had a close relationship described by themselves as bromance, since 1965. Arnold and Franco were inseparable friends and training partners since then. They began a bricklaying and patio business called European Brick Works in 1969. [28]
The tight relationship both on- and off-stage between Bruce Springsteen and the late E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons has often been described [29] [30] [31] as one of the most fitting examples of bromance in Western modern music. This relationship is most notably depicted in Springsteen's song "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out", from Born to Run – in which Springsteen and Clemons appear respectively under their pseudonyms Bad Scooter and Big Man. It was also described in Clemons' autobiography Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales. [32]
The Japanese and Korean music industry actively encourages bromance among male celebrities (particularly members of boy bands) as part of the fan service to please the audience. [33] [34]
While the term has generally been applied to straight relationships, mixed gay-straight relationships without sexual intimacy have also been dubbed "bromances". Examples of well-known gay-straight bromances include George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley from the band Wham!; Ronnie Kroell and Ben DiChiara from the Bravo reality series Make Me a Supermodel , in which the pair was nicknamed "Bronnie"; [35] the relationship on Survivor: Gabon between Charlie Herschel and Marcus Lehman; [36] and American Idol 's Kris Allen and Adam Lambert, which was given the name "Kradam". [37]
Buddy films have to a degree been rebranded as bromance films, although critics draw a distinction between the two, noting that a buddy film tends to be more explicitly violent and less open about its latent homosexual content. [4] [38] The intersection between buddy films and what would come to be called the bromance film was noted comedically at least as early as 1978, when National Lampoon ran a parody ad for the football-themed buddy film Semi-Tough , renamed "Semi-Sweet" and featuring an illustration of stars Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson holding hands. [39]
Prominent examples of bromantic comedy include Judd Apatow's The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and Knocked Up (2007), as well as Greg Mottola's Superbad (2007), which targeted non-sexual homosocial behavior and masculinity in inventive ways. [40] Zoolander (2001), [41] Wedding Crashers (2005), [5] Funny People (2009), [42] John Hamburg's I Love You Man (2009), [13] The Hangover (2009), [42] and Horrible Bosses (2011) [42] are other examples.
Although J. R. R. Tolkien's novels predate the "bromance era",[ citation needed ] the portrayal of the lifelong close relationships between Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, and Gimli and Legolas in the novels have been characterized as bromance, as well as the depictions in the films based on them. [43]
The cultural concept that bromance connotes particular closeness has been taken up thematically. The concept has been visited in biology, [44] [45] [46] as well as an experimental acrobatic video dance piece, Bromance, which explores "... the intimacy of physical interaction between guys; of their ‘bromance’." [47]
The relationship between George W. Bush and former press secretary Scott McClellan as told in McClellan's book What Happened was called by one reviewer "the tale of one long, failed bromance". [48]
The former premiers Dalton McGuinty of Ontario (2003–2013) and Jean Charest of Quebec (2003–2012) were described as in a "burgeoning bromance". [49] [50] Stephen Harper of Canada (2006–2015) and Tony Abbott of Australia (2013–2015), and their respective countries, were characterized as having a "conservative bromance". [11] [51] [52] The term has been used to describe Narendra Modi from India and Barack Obama from the United States during the January 2015 visit, [53] [54] [55] and Vladimir Putin from the Russian Federation with Gerhard Schröder from Germany. [56]
In early 2017, a number of internet memes surfaced which alluded to Obama's relationship with Vice President Joe Biden as a "bromance". [57]
A bromance has been linked with a decrease in "problems such as anxiety, depression, heart disease, and memory and concentration impairment". [58]
Yuri, also known by the wasei-eigo construction girls' love, is a genre of Japanese media focusing on intimate relationships between female characters. While lesbian relationships are a commonly associated theme, the genre is also inclusive of works depicting emotional and spiritual relationships between women that are not necessarily romantic or sexual in nature. Yuri is most commonly associated with anime and manga, though the term has also been used to describe video games, light novels, and literature.
In popular culture, the friend zone is a relational concept, describing a situation in which one person in a mutual friendship wishes to enter into a romantic or sexual relationship with the other person, while the other does not. The person whose romantic advances were rejected is then said to have "entered" the friend zone, with the sense that they are stuck there. The friendzone has a strong presence on the Internet; for example, on Facebook, dating sites, and other social media platforms. However, over time the term has expanded into middle schools, high schools, and colleges where young people are discovering their identities when it comes to dating and romance.
In ethology and social science, male bonding or male friendship is the formation of close personal relationships, and patterns of friendship or cooperation between males. Male bonding is a form of homosociality, or social connection between individuals of the same gender. Male bonding can occur through various contexts and activities that build emotional closeness, trust, and camaraderie. Male bonding is an important feature of men’s social functioning and can provide benefits including emotional support and intimacy, shared identity, and personal fulfillment contributing to men’s mental health and wellbeing.
In sociology, homosociality means same-sex relationships that are not of a romantic or sexual nature, such as friendship, mentorship, or others. Researchers who use the concept mainly do so to explain how men uphold men's dominance in society.
The buddy film is a subgenre of adventure and comedy film in which two people go on an adventure, mission, or road trip. The two typically are males with contrasting personalities. The contrast is sometimes accentuated by an ethnic difference between the two. The buddy film is commonplace in Western cinema; unlike some other film genres, it endured through the 20th century with different pairings and different themes.
A stag film is the euphemistic term for a type of pornographic film of underground productions beginning in the late 1900s until the late 1960s of the 20th century when major Hollywood productions of adult films became mainstream. Typically, stag films had certain traits. They were brief in duration, were silent, depicted softcore or hardcore pornography and were produced clandestinely due to censorship laws. Stag films were screened for all-male audiences in fraternities or similar locations; observers offered a raucous collective response to the film, exchanging sexual banter and achieving sexual arousal. Stag films were often screened in brothels.
Lad culture was a media-driven, principally British and Irish subculture of the 1990s and the early 2000s. The term lad culture continues to be used today to refer to collective, boorish or misogynistic behaviour by young heterosexual men, particularly university students.
A romantic friendship is a very close but typically non-sexual relationship between friends, often involving a degree of physical closeness beyond that which is common in contemporary Western societies. It may include, for example, holding hands, cuddling, hugging, kissing, giving massages, or sharing a bed, without sexual intercourse or other sexual expression.
"The Engagement" is the first episode of the seventh-season and the 111th overall episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. The episode broke with the standalone story format of earlier seasons, making a major change in the series status quo by having regular cast member George Costanza become engaged to Susan Ross. Susan was a recurring character during season 4 of the series but had not been seen since. The episode aired on September 21, 1995.
A cross-sex friendship is a platonic relationship between two unrelated people of differing sexes or gender. There are multiple types of cross-sex friendships, all defined by whether or not each party has a romantic attraction to each other, or perceives that the other is interested. A few theories have been developed to explain the existence of such friendships. Research has been done on why men and women initiate these relationships, how they are perceived by others, implications for children with cross-sex friendships, among others. Cross-sex friendships can also create problems for those involved if either or both have or ever had any romantic feelings for the other.
In sociology, heterosociality describes social relations with persons of the opposite sex or a preference for such relations, often excluding relationships of a romantic and sexual nature. The opposite of heterosociality is homosociality.
Mark Everett Sloan, M.D., F.A.C.S., is a fictional character on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by actor Eric Dane. Created by the show's executive producer and creator Shonda Rhimes, the character was introduced in the Season 2 as the former best friend of Derek Shepherd. Mark played a significant role in Derek's life but caused a rift between them by having an affair with Derek’s wife, Addison Montgomery, which ultimately ended Derek's first marriage.
I Love You, Man is a 2009 American bromantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg, based on a script by Larry Levin. The film stars Paul Rudd as a friendless man looking for a best man for his upcoming wedding. However, his new best friend is straining his relationship with his bride.
Metrosexual is a term for a man who is especially meticulous about his personal style, grooming and appearance. It is often used to refer to heterosexual men who are perceived to be effeminate rather than strictly adhering to stereotypical masculinity standards. Nevertheless, the term is generally ambiguous on the assigned sex and sexual orientation of a man; it can apply to cisgender or transgender men, and it can apply to heterosexual, gay or bisexual men.
A female buddy film is a type of buddy film. In these films, women are the main characters and their friendships and relationships with each other drive the story. The plots of female buddy films can share the same concept of male buddy films—opposite personalities go on an adventure or journey of sorts—or they can concern an ensemble group of women. Female buddy films gained popularity in the 1960s from the emergence of the woman's film and the male buddy film genres.
Herbivore men is a term used in Japan to describe young men who become voluntarily celibate and express little interest in getting married or being assertive in pursuing relationships with women. The term was coined by the author Maki Fukasawa, who initially intended for it to describe a new form of masculinity that was not reliant on the proactivity and assertiveness typically associated with masculinity in Japan. Philosopher Masahiro Morioka defines herbivore men as "kind and gentle men who, without being bound by manliness, do not pursue romantic relationships voraciously and have no aptitude for being hurt or hurting others." According to Fukasawa, herbivore men are "not without romantic relationships, but have a non-assertive, indifferent attitude toward desires of flesh."
A womance is a close but non-sexual, non-romantic relationship between two or more women. It is an exceptionally tight affectional, homosocial female bonding relationship exceeding that of usual friendship, and is distinguished by a particularly high level of emotional intimacy.
Bro culture is a subculture of young people who spend time partying with others like themselves. Although the original image of the bro lifestyle is associated with sports apparel and fraternities, it lacks a consistent definition. Most aspects vary regionally, such as in California, where it overlaps with surf culture. It often refers to a culture of machismo but sometimes also a darker "hyper masculinity" including "binge drinking, sexism, rape culture". Oxford Dictionaries have noted that bros frequently self-identify with neologisms containing the word "bro" as a prefix or suffix.
A bromantic comedy is a comedy film genre that takes the formula of the typical "romantic comedy" but focuses on close male friendships.
A bromance is a close but non-sexual relationship between two or more men.