From 2003 to 2007, “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” presented gay men as magical beings who functioned as helpers to heterosexual men, schooling them in matters of fashion and home décor while keeping much of their own lives off-screen.īy contrast, the last season of “Scream Queens” found the hunky Nick Jonas presenting himself as a gay frat boy who bonds over golf with his straight fraternity brother and best friend, Chad. The latest media reflection also takes a significant leap from one of its earliest iterations.

Their emerging representation contrasts with one that has become a cliché: the connection between a straight woman and her gay male best friend.

There is often a traditionally masculine sense of familiarity at play in these portrayals, exuding a feeling particular enough to suggest its own term: bromosexual relationships. Obviously, there have always been friendships between gay men and straight men, but only recently have they become more prominently, and comfortably, represented in TV shows, movies, books and blogs. “One of the things my publisher liked about my book was that this friendship was something we haven’t seen much before.”Īt least in pop culture we haven’t.

“That kind of easy relationship would not be credible to a broad audience 10 years ago,” said Mr.