Male Friends Research Articles

Theorizing mankeeping: The male friendship recession and women’s associated labor as a structural component of gender inequality.

Theorizing mankeeping: The male friendship recession and women’s associated labor as a structural component of gender inequality.

Introducing 'Brother-Love': If 'No-Homo' Were Invented in the Victorian Era

Working off of information surrounding nineteenth century intimate male friendships provided by E. Anthony Rotundo’s 1989 article “Romantic Friendship: Male Intimacy and Middle-Class Youth in the Norther United States, 1800-1900,” as well as ideas of female intimacy of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Julian Carter’s 2005 article “On Mother-Love: History, Queer Theory, and Nonlesbian Identity,” the concept of “brother-love” encompasses important components of intimate male friendships during the Victorian period. Hidden physical and emotional intimacy were vital to these intimate friendships, in ways differing from Carter’s “mother-love” as explored in this project. Anna Clark’s concept of “Twilight Moments” (2005) will help explain “brotherlove” as it is compared to Carter’s “mother-love.” “Brother-love” is a response to contemporary terms and concepts queer scholars use when focusing on historical moments, and it provides an alternative frame of reference for intimate and romantic male friendships while extracting contemporary influence of same-sex relations.

Factors associated with help-seeking regarding sexual orientation concerns among Japanese gay and bisexual men: results from a cross-sectional survey

ObjectiveThis study investigates Japanese gay and bisexual men’s experiences of seeking help for emotional support from others regarding their sexual orientation concerns. It examines the relationship between their help-seeking and presence of gay and bisexual peers, duration between questioning their sexual orientation and accepting it, and experience of coming out to family members by multiple logistic regression analysis.ResultsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey using a self-reported paper questionnaire. There were 360 valid responses. Eighty-two respondents (22.8%) had experience of help-seeking for emotional support, and this was associated with age, occupation, presence of gay/bisexual friends, and experience of coming out to family members about their sexual orientation. Respondents sought the most help from their male friends (70.0%), followed by female friends (25.0%), mothers (17.5%), and the Internet (16.3%). Even after controlling for age and occupation, experience of help-seeking for emotional support was higher among participants who had gay/bisexual friends when they were aware of their sexual orientation, took < 1 year from questioning to realizing their sexual orientation, and had come out to their family about their sexual orientation.

Adolescent male friendships 28 years later: adult criminal offences and domestic/intimate partner violence

Adult arrest records were examined for a cohort of 150 public high school males named as friends by classmates 28 years earlier. The overall adult arrest rate was 35.3%. The arrest rate for males with at least one disciplinary referral was 59.2%. Friendship data were divided into offender–offender, offender–non-offender and non-offender–non-offender dyads. The proportion of offender–offender dyads was four times greater than offender–non-offender dyads, both for those with and without disciplinary referrals. These results are interpreted as indications of the possible influence of high school friends on adult offences. Arrests were disproportionally for violent offences against females among those who shared high school friendships. An interpretation that negative attitudes, emotions and behaviour toward females formed during activities with friends in high school, leading to a trajectory of violence towards women, is presented. Recommendations are made for interventions for adolescent male anger towards females to prevent adult domestic and intimate partner violence. Suggested interventions include anger management, school violence prevention, dating violence prevention and youth mentoring programmes. Also recommended is to change punitive school policies that bring students with behaviour problems together to opportunities for positive experiences, such as through organised activities, volunteer service in the community and restorative justice practices.

Missing Out: What’s Going On With Male Friendships?

Significant literature now exists which strongly suggests men in Western countries are shedding orthodox masculinity tropes in favor of greater male friendship intimacies and bonding. Inclusive Masculinity Theory (IMT) has emerged to explain and give direction to these sociocultural changes, suggesting men are gaining emotional and health benefits from greater inclusion of diverse masculinities, homosocial bonding, bro-bud closeness, platonic touch, all without the former fear of being labeled homosexual. However, there is also significant and concurrent literature which suggests men remain lacking in friendships and are lonely; conditions reported to worsen over the time periods studied and despite seeming advances made in male-male homosociability. In fact, this other literature suggests men not only and increasingly lack friendships, but that such lack worsens health outcomes, many self-reporting the effects of emotional and touch isolation from other men. This discussion article reviews unobtrusive sources: research reports, published articles, online posts and materials, to assess and discuss trends indicated, and unravel their seeming contradictions. Additionally, this discussion article asks if Christian males fare any better—given the faith’s emphasis on love (agape, philia) and mutuality. Review of findings allow for trends to be understood in light of generational change, underscoring that both conditions—social changes to male homosociability as well as stasis in male-male stereotypic relationships—can be true: younger generations embracing novel changes, while middle- and older generations not doing so. Overall, data confirm that men in all generational cohorts lose friends over time, especially intimate friendships, and this is concerning. Reviewing available literature on Christian male friendships, findings suggest how cultural norms and beliefs can work to undermine male friendship formation and intimacy between men of this faith as well.

The Benefits of Friendships in Academic Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Friendships can positively impact students' academic performance and grade point average (GPA) by providing emotional support and reducing stress, thereby leading to improved focus and better concentration on studies. Peer connections and friendships often result in collaborative learning and the exchange of academic ideas, improving comprehension and retention of course materials, ultimately leading to higher GPAs. In contrast, negative friendships or excessive social distractions can adversely affect GPA, which highlights the importance of striking a fine balance between social connections and academic responsibilities. This systematic review and meta-analysis adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. It involved a thorough electronic search on PubMed, Ebsco, and Web of Science databases with no time restrictions. We considered studies from various parts of the world, which examined friendships and relations within the academic setting. This reviewdelved into the substantial impact of friendships in academic settings. Friendships foster a supportive environment for collaboration and knowledge-sharing, ultimately enhancing motivation, reducing stress, and improving GPA, thereby contributing to a successful academic experience. While disparities were noted across studies due to geographical variations, study designs, and outcome measures, the majority of them revealed a positive correlation between friendship and academic performance. Some studies highlighted gender-related differences, with male friendships often proving beneficial for academic performance, though this is not a universal rule, as the quality offriendships mostly depends on compatibility rather than gender. To sum up, the extensive review of research underscores the pivotal role of friendships in academic settings, which act as crucial support systems for collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and motivation among students, leading to enhanced academic performance. Despite regional and methodological variations, a consistent positive correlation between friendship and academic success was observed across diverse studies.

Change and stability in British drinking practices and culture between 2009 and 2019: A longitudinal latent class analysis of drinking occasions

RationaleTheories of practice can support understanding of health-related behaviours, but few studies use quantitative methods to understand time-trends in practices. This paper describes changes in the prevalence and performance of alcohol drinking practices in Great Britain between 2009 and 2019. MethodsLatent class analyses of annual cross-sectional data collected between 2009 and 2019. The dataset come from a one-week retrospective diary survey of adults resident in Great Britain. It contains 604,578 drinking occasions reported by 213,470 adults (18+) who consumed alcohol in the diary-week. The measures describe occasion characteristics including companions, location, motivation, timings, accompanying activities and alcohol consumed. We estimate separate latent class models for each year and for off-trade only (e.g. home), on-trade only (e.g. bar) and mixed-trade occasions. ResultsWe identified fifteen practices; four off-trade only, eight on-trade only and three mixed-trade. The prevalence of practices was largely stable over time except for shifts away from drinking with a partner and towards drinking alone in the off-trade, and shifts away from Big nights out and towards other forms of heavy drinking in the on-trade. We identified five key trends in the performance of practices: (i) spirits increasingly replaced wine as the main beverage consumed in occasions; (ii) home-drinking moved away from routinised wine-drinking with meals on weekdays and towards spirits-drinking on weekends; (iii) the Male friends at the pub practice changed less than other pub-drinking practices; (iv) Big nights out started later, often in nightclubs, and involved less pub-drinking or heavy drinking and (v) the meal-based and Going out with partner practice formats showed few changes over time. ConclusionKey recent trends in British drinking practices include a decline in routinised wine-drinking at home, a transformation of big nights out and a mixture of stability and change in pub- and meal-based practices.

The Portrayal of Women’s Power Ambivalence: in Literature- to- Film Adaptation of Enola Holmes

The pursuit of dreams by women often results in a complex state of ambivalence, as they contend with societal, familial, and personal obstacles. This underscores the need for a new cultural narrative that reconciles the strengths and weaknesses of women. Our research focuses on examining the portrayal of woman's power in the novel and film Enola Holmes. Utilizing a qualitative approach and Betty Friedan's liberal feminism as a framework, we explore the multifaceted nature of female empowerment as represented by the character Enola Holmes. Our findings reveal that Enola's aspiration to become a detective symbolizes female empowerment but is marked by ambivalence. A form of ambivalence can be seen when Enola ends up in boarding school, falls in love with a man, gets help from male friend, gets a culture shock, and uses the name “Holmes”; Eudoria’s absence after her enthusiastic efforts of teaching Enola and making a plan for reform bill with her feminist movement; Dowager's plan to kill Tewkesbury is defeated by Enola Holmes and Tewkesbury; women oppressing women through the character Enola Holmes fights Edith and Enola Holmes argues Miss Harrison. Therefore, these complexities suggest a paradox: efforts to challenge patriarchal norms can inadvertently reinforce the culture they seek to change. In conclusion, our study highlights the nuanced nature of female empowerment in "Enola Holmes," offering insights into the intricate interplay between women's agency and societal norms in the ongoing struggle for gender equality.

A metasynthesis exploring the role of masculinities in close male friendships.

A metasynthesis exploring the role of masculinities in close male friendships.

Singing through the Pain: Murat Riffing on Montaigne

In this essay, I explore how Henriette-Julie de Murat (1668–1716), during a long period of exile, creates an authorial identity intended to interact with her cousin Menou as well as her captors. By focusing on Murat’s literary relationship with Menou, I investigate how Murat’s correspondence undermines her captors’ attempts to control her expressions of desire and affection toward women. The letters—seemingly intended as a distraction from Murat’s confinement and sickness—also serve as a political statement. Through references to Montaigne’s notion of male friendship, Murat reimagines female friendship as equal to Montaigne’s theorization of homosocial bonds. Murat then weaves into her discussion of female friendship love songs replete with pastoral references in which female companionate love replaces heteronormative tropes. Murat’s correspondence reclaims agency over her expression of desire in a literary style that distracts her from the monotony of captivity and the suffering of her illness.

Why is Korean girls' suicidal ideation rate higher than boys' rate? The role of gender heterogeneity in peer groups.

Girls typically show much lower suicide rates than boys in most OECD countries. However, in South Korea, the suicide rate of girls almost reaches that of boys. Moreover, Korean girls' suicide rate is remarkable even among other advanced countries. One potential approach to explaining Korean girls' relatively high suicide rate is to investigate how their peer groups affect suicidal ideation, but this approach has rarely been explored in Korean adolescents. We tested how the gender heterogeneity of peer groups is associated with suicidal ideation by analyzing 2,990 adolescents from the 2018 Korean Children and Youth Well-Being Index Survey. For the analysis, logistic regression models with survey weights were used. The analysis revealed that adolescents with different-gender friends were associated with a higher likelihood of suicidal ideation than those with exclusively same-gender friends when adjusting for covariates. In addition, an analysis stratified by gender found that this association was significant only among girls. Furthermore, the protective power of having a mentor against suicidal ideation was significantly lower in girls with male and female friends than in girls with only female friends. The findings suggest a less protective role of different-gender peer groups for suicidal ideation among girls. During adolescent suicidality consultations, school counselors and practitioners should pay attention to the characteristics of adolescents' peers, particularly their gender.

Prostate cancer-related sexual dysfunction – the significance of social relations in men’s reconstructions of masculinity

Narrating illness experiences in a culturally acceptable manner is essential for retaining quality of life after the disruptive event of being diagnosed for prostate cancer. Psychological pressures caused by treatment side-effects such as erectile dysfunction require reinterpretation of the meanings and impacts of these side-effects on masculinity. This helps maintain coherence in men’s lives. We studied how men employ culturally available discursive strategies (compensation, redefinition, recontextualisation, and normalisation) in reconstructing masculinity and sexuality. Our data consists of 22 interviews of heterosexual Finnish prostate cancer patients who had undergone surgery. The aim was to analyse the ways in which various life situations and social relations shaped and limited the use of these strategies. Discourse analysis revealed that older age, a supportive spouse, children, supportive male friends, and good health – were key elements men used in reconstructing a coherent new self-image and conception of life following cancer treatment. Men with sexually active male friends, men without families, younger men and men with new intimate relationships struggled to develop a new version of their masculinity. Being able to effectively utilise certain aspects of one’s life situation in re-constructing masculinity is important in maintaining quality of life despite troublesome treatment side-effects.

The ritualistic death in (and of) the male friendship: Dismembering embodiments of inter-male homosocial relationships in Beastars

Bromance in media often poses as a farce, but, oddly, also fortifies queer intimacies among men. According to Michael DeAngelis (2014), bromance acts with a dual function: ideologically and mythically. It plays a crucial role in representations of male-to-male friendship through its paradoxical capacity to both reinforce hegemonic norms and refuse heteronormative ideal for men. Imaginative illustrations of the antinomy of bromance is seen in anime, or Japanese animated cartoons whose most popular genre, shonen, depicts the hybridized goal of bromance to solidify male homosociality that often gets borderline homoerotic (if viewed through a queer lens). To demonstrate the hybridized capacity of bromance in media, this study presents a metaphorical analysis of the bromantic inter-male homosocial bonds in Beastars (Matsumi, 2019-2021), an anime featuring anthropomorphic animals. From an analysis based on bromance media studies, three thematic metaphors emerged: proximity, perversity, and concealment. These metaphors illustrate a reverence to “soft masculinity,” an East-Asia-formulated androgynous male performance which indirectly dismantle hegemonic representations of men by preventing the figurative death of the male-on-male friendship at the hands of the heteronormative gaze.

A Semiotics Analysis Found on Music Video of You Belong with Me by Taylor Swift

This research entitles “A Semiotics Analysis Found on Music Vidio of You Belong with Me”.The aim of this research was to investigate and analyze the verbal and visual signs and the meaning itself in the music video of “You Belong with Me” by Taylor Swift. The type of this research was qualitative research. In collecting data, the writer used the method of observation and documentation by classifying videos into pictures in the form of sequences.The results of this study indicate that the semiotic signs contained in this music video are in the form of visual displays contained in body language in the music video which tells about a male friend that Swift likes who actually has a lover, and verbal signs contained in the music video is a paper that contains writing that is used to communicate. Based on the result of the analysis,it can be concluded as there are two classifications,namely: verbal sign and visual sign. In verbal sign, it was found eight data. In visual sign, it was found seven data. The concept of music video of You Belong With Me describe someone who is in love with someone where that person has been with a lover who doesn't appreciate it at all. In the data found, verbal and visual sign explained about caring, disappointment, jealousy, and express feelings.

Monozygotic twins with concordant female-to-male gender dysphoria with different temperament characteristics: a case report

Gender Dysphoria (GD) is defined as a marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and assigned gender that the individual feels a strong desire for having the sex characteristics of the other gender. Twin studies could be helpful in making decisive conclusion on the relative role of genetics and environment on GD. Therefore, we hereby present a case of monozygotic twins with concordant female-to-male GD. Seventeen-year-old twins are introduced in this case report. The second pair attended to our clinic for psychiatric evaluation. She was suffering from GD by overwhelmed desire for having masculine features, wearing their cloths, and at the same time revolting being a girl. Although she preferred spending time with male friends, she was sexually attracted to females. Although the first pair had similar characteristics of GD, she presented apposite temperament. While temperament has been considered to be genetically inherited, the incidence of GD in our cases with different temperaments raises the question about genetic role in inheriting temperament and GD. Further twin studies will help understanding the extent of genetic influence on these features.

Mathematics achievement emotions of high school students in Kazakhstan

Emotions such as anxiety, fear, and frustration can interfere with cognitive processing and hinder our ability to learn and perform well on tasks. Mathematics is a school subject that could generate various emotions in students. This study examined mathematics achievement emotions of students across gender, grade level, and academic performance. Data was collected from 246 students using a questionnaire measuring seven emotions: enjoyment, pride, anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness, and boredom. Results indicated that except for females’ higher pride, we did not find differences between males' and females’ emotions. Ninth-grade students demonstrated higher anxiety and shame than grade seven and eight students. Finally, students’ mathematics exam grades are weakly correlated with all seven measured emotions. Our findings add to the literature by presenting that emotions are contextual. Except for pride, the results clearly indicated that math emotions in our sample are gender irrelevant and further imply that the socio-cultural context of Kazakhstan supports females to compete with their male friends.

The Dwarfs

The Dwarfs

Language Style Used by The Main Character in Hotel Transylvania 2 Movie

This article aimed at finding out the types of language styles and how it is used by the main character. The object of this article is the main character’s utterances when he speaks with his daughter and his male friends in Hotel Transylvania 2 Movie. The data were collected by the method of documentation and note-taking. The descriptive qualitative and quantitative techniques were applied in accordance with the problems of this article. The theory applied in this article is the theory of language styles introduced by Joos (1967). Based on the article finding, the main character, Dracula, used three types of language styles when talking with his daughter, Mavis, and his male friends, Frankenstein, Wayne, Griffin, and Murray. An intimate style is dominantly used by Dracula when he speaks with Mavis; on the other hand, the casual style is mainly used when he speaks to his male friends. The application of language style by Dracula shows that the relationship affects an individual’s choice of language style. Moreover, a consultative style can be used among insiders to deliver information. In addition, the findings prove that interjection can be the characteristic of the casual or intimate style.

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian

Reviewed by: Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian April Spisak Nazemian, Abdi Only This Beautiful Moment. Balzer + Bray, 2023 [400p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780063039377 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780063039391 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 9-12 Three generations of an Iranian family have secrets and stories that, when finally shared, open metaphorical doors long closed and heal relationships that have scarred into distant hesitancy. 2019’s Moud struggles with hiding all evidence of his gay identity before going to visit his terminally ill grandpa in Tehran. 1978’s Saeed, Moud’s eventual father, wants to play a role in the Iranian Revolution even while his parents just want to keep him safe, and he is ultimately sent to America to live with family he didn’t even know. Going back even further to 1939, Babak, decades before he is Moud’s grandfather, knows that his love for his male best friend is forbidden, particularly in the Hollywood acting world where he is literally followed to ensure he lives up to his morality contract. These three men, tied together through love and family but kept apart because of secrets, lies, and literal distance, finally come together in Iran, where persistence and increasing reasons to trust each other help to dissolve the barriers between fathers and sons. Nazemian folds in enough historical and cultural details to ground the reader in Iranian culture and history, though it is also absolutely clear that there are far more layers than will fit in one already deep novel. Ultimately, this is a book about family, intergenerational trauma, love, and reconciliation set within two countries, a story that emphasizes the idea that where we are from is deeply influential in our identity making, while acknowledging that we are also formed out of who we love and who loves us. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Dating and friendships in adolescence: Variation across same-sex and other-sex romantic partners.

This research examined associations between dating and number of friends for rural adolescents with same-sex and other-sex dating partners using longitudinal sociometric data (N = 2826; 55% female, 87% White, mean age = 14 at baseline). In multilevel models assessing within-person change, boys gained female friends when they were in same-sex romantic relationships, compared to when they were single. In contrast, girls in same-sex relationships lost female friends and gained male friends. Adolescents in other-sex romantic relationships gained same-sex friends compared to when they were single. Results advance understanding of adolescent social and sexual development, suggesting that sexual minority adolescents find allies when dating but may struggle to maintain same-sex friendships.