Monday, November 23, 2009

"An Ode to Gay BFFs"

As I was searching for examples of gay best friends in Hollywood, I found this video that perfectly pokes fun at the gay best friend stereotype. Films make it very desirable for women to have gay best friends because they can offer fashion advice, will gossip with you, and understand your emotions without any strings attached or questions as to what your relationship is. The clip gives examples of gay best friends "playing for the other team" and acting as substitute romantic partners for their women best friends. In "My Best Friend's wedding" George provides suppoert for Jules as " her confidante, and she reveals herself emotionaly as she does to no one else." (Shugart, 74) He even posed as her fiance and performed grand romatnic gestures in order to impress Jules' friends, and are deemed the "perfect" couple. By the end of this movie, I was secretly hoping that George and Jules would somehow end up together, even though that isn't really a possibility. However, these are all clearly stereotypical traits that objectify them. In one clip (0:16) in the video from "Head Case," the therapist, Dr. Elizabeth Goode  "We're going to need to find you a gay. You get to go shopping, you get spa days, you travel.." She speaks as if they are a purse or new shoes that create a woman's image. Furthermore, the stereotypical gay best friend serves as a contrast against a female's heterosexual romantic partner, giving them a more macho image. This portrayal puts gay men as "the other." Are there any films about gay men who have romantic troubles and their straight best girlfriend is there to help? 

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