To Call It 'Bromance', Or Not To Call It 'Bromance'... That Is The Question:

To Call It 'Bromance, Or Not To Call It 'Bromance'… That Is The Question:

Okay, so it seems there's a word thing going on with the term 'Bromance'. I hit a forum recently and it turns out that many people are not happy with the term 'Bromance', saying that men don't need to have a label when describing their best friend relationships, as women don't have a particular label going on with their friendships. I don't know, but when I hear 'BFF' or 'Besty' (Bestie?) I take that as a type of female oriented close-knit friendship.

I actually like the term 'Bromance', especially in literature because there's no real genre' for these types of relationships between men. It particularly helps clarify more of what my stories are about. I could say 'Buddy story', or 'Brother-friend', which I first heard in a movie about Native Americans. The two warriors of the tribe were each others' best friend and said so by the use of the term 'Brother-friend'. The term was used throughout the movie and it stuck with me. I could place my stories under that category if the term 'Bromance' is too taboo, but I really don't understand the necessity of this being a problem. It's something that's been around for millennia; from John and Jesus, Jonathan and David, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Achilles and Patroclus, etc, etc.

Sometimes writers just need a specific term to inform the public what their story is about. Yes, 'Bromance' is the newest catchphrase regarding close friendships between men, but it's, I think, an accurate, and clever, one. There is a very soul-depth love that exists between many men and it should be allowed a presence in the eyes of the Western World. My feeling on this issue is that if two friends are as close as brothers and would die for each other (some of the above stated relationships actually doing so), what harm is there in using a word that captures such intense connection? Cheesy? Okay, I can see that. But it seems that much of the argument going on is about the fact that such a relationship needs to be labeled at all, since women friendships don't really have a term for their relationships. Granted, there isn't, not officially, but BFF is used quite often, and I've used 'Sister-luv' a lot myself. There's also 'Sisterhood', but then we can counter that the term 'brotherhood' can be used for guys.

All I really want is for people to understand what my stories are about. I use the term 'Bromance', because it is becoming a popular term now, and people know what the term means, or are now learning about it. I know some men cringe at the word, but give it time… maybe it'll grow on you. ;D

Am curious to know what others think, so please feel free to help me out in tagging my novel for release. You see, the story is really about the friendship between the two main characters. It's a relationship story taking place in a Space-Opera Fantasy world with political unrest sprouting up all around them and how it affects them personally. But... it's their friendship that is the focus of the story, and how that friendship is affected by the surrounding turmoil. Obviously it's a Sci-fi/Fantasy genre', but to really reach my target audience which are buddy-story lovers, should I call it 'Bromance'? 'Brother-friendship'? 'Buddy story'? Any ideas? I'm open and receptive to input so feel free to speak your take on this issue. Would love to hear from you. :)

Thank you and Blessed Be.

Janalyn