Top Gun might be an action movie, but it’s also a bromance for the ages. While Maverick and Goose certainly know how to turn on the charm at the local bar in an effort to seduce women, it’s the slow-burn, gradual flicker to a spark of bromance that erupts between Cruise’s Maverick and Val Kilmer’s Iceman that lingers in the mind long after you’ve walked away from the cinema. Say what you want about the film, but you can’t deny Iceman telling Maverick – after a long-sustained relationship grounded on animosity – that he “can be my wingman any time” sent a jolt of electricity through your body.
But such is the power of the bromance it seems. Pop culture is full of such formative relationships between male characters and we’d be inclined to think it’s something you’ve experienced in real life, too. But just what makes the bromance so powerful, so satisfying? That’s exactly what a group researchers sought to find out.
In a recent study published in the Journal of Men and Masculinities, researchers confirmed that men are more satisfied in a “bromance” than they are in romantic relationships. Despite male companionship suffering a period of suppression in the second half of the 20th century due to social conditioning, now it’s well and truly flourishing. Bromances are once again cool, just look at pop culture for evidence: Clooney and Pitt, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, Brady and Gronkowski.
The study surveyed 30 heterosexual men who were second-year college students that had also happened to be in a relationship previously. The sample group were all straight and had sports-related majors. Of those 30 men, 28 of them said they would prefer to discuss personal matters with a bromance rather than a romance, with all participants having at least one “bromantic” friend with whom they shared secrets, expressed love for, or slept int he same bed with at some point or another.
The researchers concluded, “On balance, they argued that bromantic relationships were more satisfying in their emotional intimacy, compared to their heterosexual romances.” As one study participant explained during the interview, “Lovers are temporary, a bromance can last a lifetime.”
Consider this your reminder to call your mate today – check in, have a yarn, share what’s on your mind.
