No bro, I Love You!

Yo bro! Bromances have become an object of great attention and to some extent ridicule within the media. Movies like ‘I love you man’ show the humor in men trying to find friendship, but they also show how there is a heteronormative discourse is still prevalent in our society. Becker’s article addressing the current bromance phenomenon I think points out many critical issues that still underlie men’s' sexuality and stereotypes in media texts. The article focuses a lot of analysis on the show ‘Bromance’ where Brody Jenner has a competition to find his next best friend or ‘bro.’ The main thing I found to be very interesting about the article was that bromances are used as a way to allow men to express emotions while maintaining their heterosexuality. Yet, there is still a need for theses ‘bros’ to reinforce the fact that they are not gay, but at the same time okay with gay individuals. When a contestant on ‘Bromance’ decided to leave the show, because he felt like he didn’t quite fit in. He was openly gay and many of the challenges required picking up ‘chicks’ and he lived in a house that had women’s’ panties displayed on the walls. When he left many of the straight guys went to say how great of a guy he was, just that he didn’t fit in, and that they had nothing against gay men. They acknowledge that they are not against gay people, but that this individual didn’t fit in with their group of straight men trying to get friendship. I think having bromances makes appropriate behaviors for men much more complicated. They are told it’s okay to show emotion, but when seen together people automatically think that they are gay. I don’t think bromances are liberating because of the constant reaffirmations that the ‘bros’ on Bromance made, along with other examples Becker identifies. They are straight, but can get teary-eyed during their bro-elimination ceremony. I think bromances just make identifying what behavior is socially appropriate for men even more confusing for men. They now have to explain their actions and friendships when they hang out with other men.