According To Research, Bromances Are More Fulfilling To Men Than Their Actual Relationships

Oct 31, 2018 by apost team

A recent study in Men and Masculinities shows that young men, in general, are getting more satisfaction emotionally out of "bromances" (tight heterosexual relationships with other men) than they are from romantic relationships with women.

In recent years, close male-to-male friendships have become a socially accepted norm, according to the authors of the report, and they consider that a positive thing. They do caution, however, that this shift may lead to a weaker bond between married couples or those that are dating. In extreme cases, it could reduce the number of women and men that end up in a long-term relationship.

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This "bromance" concept isn't exactly new. The father of our country, one George Washington, was known to write letters of endearment to men he was close to. Abraham Lincoln was well-known for sharing a bed with a close male friend for many years.

That said, close male friendships started to become a taboo as we headed into the second part of the 20th century. Researchers at the University of Winchester in England say that sentiments of homophobic ideology changed what men viewed as proper masculinity.

However, in recent years these bromances have once again become popular. According to the authors of the study, this is due to examples of high-profile celebrity bromances like the Obama-Biden "bromance affair" and well-known movies such as "The 40 Year Old Virgin."

In the study, the authors took surveys of some thirty heterosexual males that were college students in their second year and had experienced a long-term or semi-long-term romantic relationship - or were currently in one. The group surveyed was quite homogenous - all straight college students, all but one were white and all majored in a field that was sports-related.

What the authors found was that every one of the subjects had a minimum of one "bromantic" friend that they shared in behaviors with no boundaries such as:

• Expressing love for one another

• Sharing deep secrets

• Occassionally sleeping in the same bed

• Cuddling with each other

You read that right. A full twenty-nine of the thirty men reported that they had cuddled with their bromance.

Obviously, more thorough research is needed on this subject and the study's findings may not directly apply to men outside of this specific control group. But these findings were initially published in May of 2018 in the journal Sex Roles.

The study's students reported that they felt judged less harshly by close male friends than by their romantic female partners. One of the participants is quoted as saying, "Tim knows I love listening to Taylor Swift and Beyonce, but I keep that quite (around my girlfriend) because she would judge me. I feel like I have to be more manly around her."

The men studied also reported that it was easier to conquer conflicts and share true emotions with their bromance than with their girlfriends. Twenty-eight of the thirty men said they prefer discussing personal matters with their bromance than with their female romance.

"If I found a lump on my testicle, I'd talk to him rather than my girlfriend," reported one interviewee.

So what's the difference between a romance and a bromance? One of the men noted that the deciding factors include:

• Sexual attraction

• Matching personality traits

• Emotional connection

"A bromance needs the last two," he said, "while a romance needs two, including sex."

The authors of the study wrote that the determination among the men interviewed was quite conclusive. The men stated that they were more satisfied with bromantic relationships when it comes to emotional intimacy.

The authors believe that men getting comfortably close with each other is a forward step. They also suggest that men can greatly benefit from same-sex, long-term friendships when they aren't comfortable being intimate emotionally with romantic partners.

The authors also expressed concerns about the male-female traditional relationships, stating that "the rise of the bromances may not altogether be liberating and socially positive for women." This is partially due to the fact that some of the men in the study referred to their girlfriends with disdainful or sexist words.

This was demonstrated in a "them vs. us" mentality that may suggest a preference for their bromances over their female romances.

The study's authors go so far as to suggest that changing cultural norms could lead to implications where men choose to live with other men rather than their girlfriend. This could delay or destroy potential healthy relationships that lead to marriage and family.

As one member of the study so eloquently put it, "Lovers are temporary. A bromance can last a lifetime."

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments section. Then see what your friends on social media think about the bromance craze!