Privileging the bromance: a critical appraisal of romantic and bromantic relationships

Robinson, Stefan; White, Adam John; Anderson, Eric

dc.contributor.author	Robinson, Stefan	en
dc.contributor.author	White, Adam John	en
dc.contributor.author	Anderson, Eric	en
dc.date.accessioned	2018-01-02T10:09:41Z
dc.date.available	2018-01-02T10:09:41Z
dc.date.issued	2017-10-12
dc.identifier.citation	Robinson S, White AJ, Anderson E (2019) 'Privileging the bromance: a critical appraisal of romantic and bromantic relationships', Men and Masculinities, 22 (5), pp.850-871.	en
dc.identifier.issn	1097-184X
dc.identifier.doi	10.1177/1097184X17730386
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10547/622456
dc.description.abstract	In this research, utilising data from 30 semi-structured interviews, we examine how heterosexual undergraduate men compare their experiences of bromances to that of their romantic relationships (romances). We find that the increasingly intimate, emotive and trusting nature of bromances offers young men a new social space for emotional disclosure, outside of traditional heterosexual relationships. Participants state that the lack of boundaries and judgement in a bromance is expressed as emotionally rivalling the benefits of a heterosexual romance. Our participants mostly determined that a bromance offered them elevated emotional stability, enhanced emotional disclosure, social fulfilment, and better conflict resolution, compared to the emotional lives they shared with girlfriends. Thus, this research provides an empirically grounded conceptual framework for understanding men’s view of close homosocial relationships in comparison to their romantic relationship in the 21st century.
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.publisher	Sage	en
dc.relation.url	http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1097184X17730386?journalCode=jmma	en
dc.rights	Green - can archive pre-print and post-print or publisher's version/PDF
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/	*
dc.subject	men	en
dc.subject	bromance	en
dc.title	Privileging the bromance: a critical appraisal of romantic and bromantic relationships	en
dc.type	Article	en
dc.contributor.department	University of Bedfordshire	en
dc.contributor.department	University of Winchester	en
dc.identifier.journal	Men and Masculinities	en
dc.date.updated	2018-01-02T09:32:41Z
html.description.abstract	In this research, utilising data from 30 semi-structured interviews, we examine how heterosexual undergraduate men compare their experiences of bromances to that of their romantic relationships (romances). We find that the increasingly intimate, emotive and trusting nature of bromances offers young men a new social space for emotional disclosure, outside of traditional heterosexual relationships. Participants state that the lack of boundaries and judgement in a bromance is expressed as emotionally rivalling the benefits of a heterosexual romance. Our participants mostly determined that a bromance offered them elevated emotional stability, enhanced emotional disclosure, social fulfilment, and better conflict resolution, compared to the emotional lives they shared with girlfriends. Thus, this research provides an empirically grounded conceptual framework for understanding men’s view of close homosocial relationships in comparison to their romantic relationship in the 21st century.