The newest threat to heteronormative relationships

Close friendships between heterosexual males. From the study that should be entered in the contest for most annoying study title, Privileging the Bromance – A Critical Appraisal of Romantic and Bromantic Relationships:

In this research, utilizing data from thirty semistructured interviews, we examine how heterosexual undergraduate men compare their experiences of bromances to that of their romantic relationships (romances). We find that the increasingly intimate, emotive, and trusting nature of bromances offers young men a new social space for emotional disclosure, outside of traditional heterosexual relationships. Participants state that the lack of boundaries and judgment in a bromance is expressed as emotionally rivalling the benefits of a heterosexual romance. Our participants mostly determined that a bromance offered them elevated emotional stability, enhanced emotional disclosure, social fulfilment, and better conflict resolution, compared to the emotional lives they shared with girlfriends. Thus, this research provides an empirically grounded conceptual framework for understanding men’s view of close homosocial relationships in comparison to their romantic relationship in the twenty-first century.

Causing the foundation of civilization to tremble isn’t just for gay men any more. Now the straight guys can shake things up by being friends in a way that doesn’t fit the stereotype for straight men’s friendships. Whatever that is.

At least that’s a possibility if one extrapolates the results of a survey of a homogeneous group of 30 second-year college students to approximately half the adult population.

But that would be ridiculous. Like a study that attempts to find a link between being in a close friendship with another man and sexist attitudes towards women.

But they also express concern about traditional male-female relationships, writing that “the rise of the bromances may not altogether be liberating and socially positive for women.” Men in the study sometimes referred to their girlfriends using sexist or disdainful language, they wrote.

Heterosexual men? Dismissive or even sexist?? Towards their romantic partners??? Tu blagues!

and demonstrated an “us and them” mentality that suggested allegiance to their “bros” over their romantic partners

Yes, that too is definitely a new phenomenon and not – for example – the basis of a gag so old that Fred Flintstone once stubbed his toe on it when he was sneaking out of the house to go bowling with Barney.

Raglefraglregrargrumpgrowl.

The authors even suggest that these changing cultural norms could even have implications for where and how men choose to live—opting to move in with a male roommate rather than a girlfriend, for example, thus delaying or disrupting relationships that could eventually lead to marriage and starting a family.

As we all know, men deciding to refrain from marrying women and/or raising families with women is the third sign of the Apocralypse. Right after hens laying the same egg up to three times and dogs and cats living together.

When the time comes, remember the angel of the iron book is clothèd, not clothed.