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rfmcdonaldA few weeks ago I watched the film I Love You, Man and was impressed, not only by the watchable and talented Paul Rudd, but by its consideration of the bromance, of intimate friendship between two men.
The bromance's easy homosociality appeals to me, insofar as it reflects the defusing of homosexuality as a touchy issue and allows men to be more relaxed with each other. I'm not sure that it's present in my life, though, at least not to the same extent as in I Love You, Man, and I certainly have no idea as to whether or not this concept is present at all outside of certain socioeconomic classes in Toronto.
Well, people?
Aristotle described a concept similar to the bromance as early as 300 BCE, writing, "It is those who desire the good of their friends for the friends' sake that are most truly friends, because each loves the other for what he is, and not for any incidental quality". Research into friendship and masculinity has found that recent generations of men, raised by feminist mothers in the 1970s, are more emotionally open and more expressive. There is also less concern among men at the notion of being identified as gay and so men are more comfortable exploring deeper friendships with other men. Men are also entering into a first marriage at later ages than they have previously. According to a 2007 study conducted by the Rutgers University National Marriage Project, men are waiting to marry until an average age of 27, up from an average age of 23 in 1960, and men with more education are waiting until their 30s before getting married.[4] The financial pressure of staying single longer may lead to men becoming roommates for extended periods, fueling the bromance.
The bromance's easy homosociality appeals to me, insofar as it reflects the defusing of homosexuality as a touchy issue and allows men to be more relaxed with each other. I'm not sure that it's present in my life, though, at least not to the same extent as in I Love You, Man, and I certainly have no idea as to whether or not this concept is present at all outside of certain socioeconomic classes in Toronto.
Well, people?
