Bromance … is it “BFF Lite?”

by carol

“…oh yeah, we will be

the bromance of the decade!”

Alex O’Loughlin commenting on the relationship of Hawaii Five-0 characters Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams.

Bromance* or man-crush is fairly new terminology commonly defined as a close, but non sexual, relationship between two men.

All I can say is, it’s about time! You guys have been missing so much.

Sure, men have their “buddies.” Drinking buddies, fishing buddies, sports buddies, etc. But if an activity isn’t involved, chances are men don’t get together. 

Women have similar “buddy” relationships … the workout friend, the after-work-drink friend and the shopping friend. But we are also able to establish relationships with other women that are soul-deep and just a little bit awesome. I am blessed to have more than one friendship like this. On a Saturday, I’ll get a call asking me if I want to come over and “hang.” No plans, no expectations, just hanging and talking and being friends. 

I am thrilled that men are opening up to this kind of relationship with other men. Beer or sports may still be part of the equation, but, hey, small steps are still steps. We probably have a generation of feminist mothers to thank for raising sons who are not afraid of emotions. 

Men can be better husbands and lovers with a bromance in their lives. Geoffrey Greif, a Maryland-based psychologist, states that men who are comfortable sharing their feelings with other men may actually make better partners. They tend to have no qualms about expressing themselves, he says. And isn’t that what women keep asking their men to do? 

*Origin: "Bromance" is a combo of the two words "brother" and "romance". Originally coined by author/editor Dave Carnie in Big Brother Magazine. Big Brother was a sort of R rated skateboarding/skate culture magazine. Carnie used the word on several occasions to describe relationships between skate-buddies who spent a lot of time together and/or shared hotel rooms on every tour/skate road trip.