tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343794288200969109.post4477872359472753547..comments2023-10-31T04:31:11.661-07:00Comments on Virgo Gumbo: Grinds My Gears: Bromance Edition.Evan B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06823332873271854715noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343794288200969109.post-87528130341339229932009-09-07T04:12:32.877-07:002009-09-07T04:12:32.877-07:00Well-said. This is actually something I struggle ...Well-said. This is actually something I struggle with often as someone who writes/reads slash fiction and creates/watches slashy videos. On one hand, I love slash for a lot of good reasons, but on the other hand, I do sometimes hate the way it reinforces the idea that close male friendship (or even female friendship, for that matter) is interpreted as homosexuality.<br /><br />It's just sad that any time men are shown having a deep friendship or love, it is perceived as sexual in nature. It's homophobic and tends to reinforce our concepts that men can't be platonically intimate and open with one another, can't support one another, can't be anything except tough, stoic, and independent, unless they want to be suspected of being gay. No wonder so many men die early, suffer from stress and hypertension, when we hold them to such standards and tell them they must weather every storm alone, never being able to be close to male friends lest those guys say "You're such a f*g!", and then with the added alienation of never being able to be emotionally close with female lovers for fear that she'll see him as less of a man if he shows even an inch of vulnerability.<br /><br />It's crazy that such an innocuous-sounding term can do that :(Gwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01454928620100713288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343794288200969109.post-3162242297041815632009-08-04T20:28:34.068-07:002009-08-04T20:28:34.068-07:00Great point Steven. You're right, sexuality an...Great point Steven. You're right, sexuality and gender have been linked too closely. If you explore gender roles, men and women are supposed to do certain things - when they step out of those roles or do the opposite they get labeled as homosexual or something related to it.<br /><br />If you think about it, labels like bromance and metrosexual support upholding gender roles instead of breaking them down. They merely explain inconsistencies of gender roles instead of expand them.Evan B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06823332873271854715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343794288200969109.post-39174721573104370162009-08-04T18:41:37.206-07:002009-08-04T18:41:37.206-07:00Response: This is reminiscent of the point you mad...Response: This is reminiscent of the point you made about the homosexual boy being crowned prom queen, and as I did then, I still agree that sexuality has been inappropriately linked to gender. The trigger this time is a stereotype of men that rarely gets touched upon. <br /><br />This is common: In high school, there might be a gay student who, after making it public, doesn't accumulate so many male friends. Instead, he is surrounded mostly by girls, who all "know" that if a man is homosexual, he is gentle, and sensitive, and will enjoy similar things they enjoy. And vice-versa. <br /><br />A relatively harmless situation until you consider those girls might believe "straight" men are everything gay men aren't... It grinds my gears, too.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11779389517712637242noreply@blogger.com