Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (April 11, 2008)

SPRING IS IN THE AIR AND A YOUNG MAN'S FANCY TURNS TO...BROMANCE?
If this were one of those "What's Hot! What's Not! What's So Five Minutes Ago!" segments, then the whole concept of "bromances" and "man crushes" would fall into the category of stinky, week-old fish.

Nonetheless, the traditional media can't get enough of it. ABC's Nightline recently ran a segment on it and posted a photo montage of the Top Ten Bromances that makes them look like they don't quite grasp the nuances of bromance. Will Smith and Tom Cruise? Seriously?

This week the Columbia News Service ran a lengthy piece on the phenomenon, interviewing a number of guys currently involved in bromances, including water polo players Thomas Hopkins and Peter Varellas who play together for the U.S.A. National Team which will compete in the Beijing Olympics.

Thomas Hopkins (Getty Images/Harry How), Peter Varellas (Getty Images/Kristian Dowling)

Says Hopkins about convincing Varellas to pursue the same major so they could take classes together, "I was like dude, we can hang out all the time." They did and were so close their teammates referred to them as "the ambiguously gay duo". The reporter also interviews a number of other bromance couples all of whom are in their 20's.

Details also got into the act last month with their article "Are You in a Bromance? (Or is it Just a Man Crush?)". They interview author Timothy Ferris who not only discusses his man crush on a friend that resulted in a Valentine's Day "date" as well as this "Man Crush" T-shirt (the proceeds of which go to charity) that he created.

The Details article annoyed me for a couple of reasons. First, it trotted out that tired old cliche that "homosexuality used to be the love that dare not...blah...blah...but now won't shut up...blah...blah...blah". I'm so sick of that canard, I could scream.

When I can get married and can count the number of significant gay characters on television on more than one hand, then we can start talking about how "gay" the culture has become. Furthermore, the author of the article, Simon Dumenico, also gives last year's Superbad credit for coining the term "bromance" which is way off given that it was actually coined by Dave Carnie years earlier. But, hey, we are talking Details after all.

And with all this talk in the media about bromances, naturally Hollywood is getting even more into the act with I Love You, Man starring Paul Rudd (Knocked Up) and Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) as two guys who end up meeting because Rudd has no male friends and his fiancee sets him on a bunch of "man dates" so he can find someone to be his best man at his wedding.

(Photo credits: Getty Imates/Evan Agostini and Getty Images/Frederick M. Brown)

Finally, Out Magazine also weighs in on the topic with their most recent issue which includes a column by author Joshua Kilmer-Purcell titled "Busting the Man Crush". Kilmer-Purcell doesn't have much use for the whole trend, finding it infantilizing — "crushes" are for teenagers, after all.

So what's my take? Why I thought you'd never ask! I get where Kilmer-Purcell is coming from, but I just the chalk this phenomenon up to straight guys evolving into more fully rounded human beings. Frankly, if straight guys feel more comfortable talking about their "feelings" for each other then it seems to me that it makes my feelings for my partner a whole lot less alien of a concept to your average straight dude.

That being said, it is annoying to see another big budget studio movie like I Love You, Man following on the heels of Superbad to celebrate straight guys' ability to express their feelings for each other (sorry, but I'm not one who thinks either of the characters in Superbad were gay). That's right — we get Shelter and Kiss the Bride with combined budgets of $1 million — while straight men get the $20 million Superbad and it's our love that won't shut up. Oy.

Next page! Greek's gay kiss!