Bromance
| Synonyms: | BFF, BroTP, SisOTP |
| See also: | Smarm, Friendshipper, Gen, Subtext, Buddy Cop Fandom |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Bromance is a non-fannish term for close male friendship that emerged in American popular culture in the 1990s.[1] Friendships between celebrities or fictional characters that are frequently labeled "bromances" by mainstream media are likely to have slash written about them, and mainstream articles specifically about slash are likely to employ the term.
In some areas of fandom online, bromance is used to describe fans' interest in m/m gen friendships, i.e. "I ship them as a bromance."
In the early 2010s, the term "bromance" and "brotp" have begun to be used to describe m/f gen friendships and even f/f gen friendships (although the full-female version is rarely called "sisotp"; the official term is "womance"[2]). As of 2015 this usage had not penetrated some fannish spaces.
Notable Bromance Examples
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
- Alaric Saltzman and Damon Salvatore in the Vampire Diaries television series, both romantic and platonic relationships are popular.
- David Nolan and Killian Jones in the Once Upon A Time, many fans support their gen relationship more than an actual romantic pairing.
- Stiles Stilinski and Scott McCall from Teen Wolf also known as Skittles. Many fans ship them as a bromance more so than a romantic one.
- Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead television series, supporting both romantic and platonic relationship.
- Elsa and Emma Swan in the Once Upon A Time, many loved their platonic relationship.
- The Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble in Doctor Who are the first New Who pairing free of explicit romantic entanglement.
- Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson in Daredevil are best school friends and partners in the law firm they started together. Many fans also ship them romantically, particularly following the release of the Netflix television series (Daredevil (TV Series)) in 2015.
- Leonard Snart & Sara Lance, interchangeable or combined with Mick Rory, in the Legends of Tomorrow fandom.
- Daria Morgendorffer and Jane Lane in Daria.
- Cory Matthews and Shawn Hunter in Boy Meets World are heavily shipped in the fandom, but just as many fans appreciate their platonic friendship.
- Riley Matthews and Maya Hart in Girl Meets World are basically a generation xerox of their fathers, in the series and in the eyes of fandom.
- Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes from the MCU have a very close, brotherly friendship. They grew up together, and Bucky often defended the smaller Steve from bullies. After Bucky's apparent death and subsequent return as the brainwashed Winter Soldier, Steve did everything in his power to bring his friend back. While many people do ship them romantically, an equally high number love their platonic friendship.
- Keith Kogane and Takashi Shirogane in Voltron: Legendary Defender skirt the line between this and flat-out romantic Subtext in the first 7 seasons.
- Lance McClain and Hunk Garrett are a straighter example of this, especially early on.
- Adam Lambert and Kris Allen from Season 8 of American Idol
- Bokuto Koutarou and Kuroo Tetsurou are probably one of the biggest platonic ships in Haikyuu!! fandom. A lot of fans take advantage of their naturally playful relationship and personalities to share shitposts on social media, as well as using them for comedic relief in fanfic.
- Only competition being Tanaka Ryuunosuke and Nishinoya Yuu.
Meta/Further Reading
2010
2013
- Guy Love: Bromance and the Bridge Between Homophobia and Homoeroticism, Archived version by orphan_account (2013)