Recent research claims that bromances, deep friendships between heterosexual men, are making the world a better place, reducing homophobia, misogyny and making men happier.
The study, conducted by the University of Winchester in England, observed a group of 30 undergraduate males who were enrolled in some sort of sport activity, meaning that they fraternized with a lot of men. They all answered questions that tried to define the meaning of bromance and how it fit into their lives. Most guys claimed that bromances were more than friendships, that they were relationships were they could be completely open and unafraid to speak their minds.
These results revealed a pattern that’s present in most bromances like an affinity for sports, having similar interests, and the presence of physical and emotional vulnerability. Researchers claimed that this openness gave men the ability to be confront their feelings without fear of ridicule, reducing the damaging masculinity that permeates our entire society.
“Men, and particularly young men, often get bad press for a range of socio-negative behaviors, whether that is lad culture, issues of misogyny, excessive alcohol consumption, violence and so on. The bromance – being a supportive and emotionally open form of close friendship – may be one way of reducing some of these issue that young men experience.”
Having the ability to develop strong relationship with other guys leaves to a big dent in toxic masculinity, something our society could very well do without. We should all binge-watch some Judd Apatow movies and learn a thing or two while basking in their bromancing glory.
