It seems to me the extreme polarity between the sexes is easing up.
There are all sorts of different types of guys on TV these days. Just look at the range of male characters between the hit TV shows Modern Family and Happy Endings. In real life, too, metrosexuality (already an outdated term) seems to be everywhere. On Friday I ran into my best friend and her male (non-romantic) super-manly heterosexual roommate on their way to get pedicures. I looked at his feet, at his muddy work boots, and said very practically, “You should’ve worn flip-flops for a pedicure, Neil.” He replied, “I’m not getting nail polish, dumbass.” Good point. But in my defense, I mean… he was going for a pedicure!
This sort of thing used to be unusual, and maybe outside of the liberal coasts it still is, but in general our heterosexual males are becoming more metro. And I think that’s a good thing. More freedom to be different types of men seems like a healthier move for society. We’re generally accepting of a bunch of different types of women, why not of men?
But male friendships are still pretty black and white. You’ve got your fraternity brothers, your golf buddies, the guys you work with… But have you ever had a bromance?
This video by Ryan Higa and his cronies (one of whom is American Idol’s Andrew Garcia), with vocals from the talented Chester See has been on YouTube for less than a month and has had more than 6 million views. The song and vid are both incredibly well-produced, with hysterical lyrics. And as lighthearted as the video is, the fellas as saying something here about how hard-to-navigate this changing world of gender norms can be.
So what do you think? Is this all just fun and games, or are Ryan Higa and his bromies speaking to something bigger?
The song is good, but if the purpose was to mock bromance they are on the wrong page. Cross dressing is not what it’s all about because that brings sexual overtones to a concept that is nonsexual. Bromance is defined loosely as the shared nonsexual love between two heterosexual males. Although emotion is more generally associated with females, men in a bromance are not gender challenged. I have three bromances in my life, all married. While my bromances and I feel comfortable saying “I love you” to each other and we do share intimacy with hugs and an occasional kiss,… Read more »
Sorry, no, not a fan. Not that I can’t platonically love my male friends, whether their Kinsey ratings would put me on their “I’d hit that” list or not. There’s a lot of tension here, but also a lot of gags that continue to reinforce homophobia. Especially not a fan of the transphobic gag about how you’d let anyone blow you, because you’re such an awesome wingman.
Parting shot: Homophobes Might Be Hidden Homosexuals. Scientific American.
Good points, Justin. I’m 100% with you on the transphobic gag being a complete disaster. I think the whole point of that closing shot is to say that this is still really dicey and that even guys who claim to be comfortable with it dance this line and live with a certain fear of crossing the line… I don’t think they’re actually endorsing the homophobia, in fact I think they’re saying “Look how stupid this is.” Like saying, “We ask you to take a risk and be open, but we (society) are also saying to you, ‘You better be careful… Read more »
That’s how I saw the closing gag, too, Joanna. I agree with the trasphobic gag, and I’m ashamed to say I didn’t pick up on it right away. Though, I will say that Higa and his group use a lot of drag…so I don’t know that it’s meant to be trasnphobic. It’s a bit like how the Monty Pythons would play all the women, except for the beautiful ones because none of them could pull off a beautiful woman. It’s still problematic, but I don’t think the point was to say that transwomen are ugly, or to say that men… Read more »
Yeah, I’ll admit that I didn’t notice the guy in the dress when I watched it the first time either, and yeah, they do have guys dress as women in their vids. I certainly don’t think it makes these guys transphobic, but they probably just never thought of it that way. If you watch Higa’s other vids, you’ll see the whole point of what a lot of the activist-type of stuff they do is anti-bullying or calling out societal norms. My guess is that if someone pointed it out (maybe they’ll read it here!), they’d think twice about it. I… Read more »
I’d love to read an article about that, especially about instances where it’s perhaps not obvious, or not intentional.
I haven’t seen more of their work, so I will take you at your word that Higa and his crew are doing something Shakespearean in playing all the women, though maybe then they need a few more comely youths in their troupe. That man who is playing a woman in the scene I referred to in my first comment, early in the video, is being played precisely as an ugly woman: that is the whole joke. So while they might mean well, they’re still using the same transphobia for laughs, and it stopped being funny for me sometime in the… Read more »
“So while they might mean well, they’re still using the same transphobia for laughs, and it stopped being funny for me sometime in the mid-1980s.”
Which, yeah I’m agreeing it’s problematic. I just tend to also look at intent when I’m examining lgbt representation in media. Heck, I tend to look at intent for almost everything, everywhere, to be honest.
So pretty much I’m agreeing with you about the content, because even unintentional it’s still a problem.
I love all of Higa’s videos, particularly this one. I like how they’re silly, but still actually have some substance. Like that bit at the end of this video…it’s a funny way of acknowledging there are still boundaries to a bromance, and that those boundaries don’t always make a heck of a lot of sense.