Chapter three discusses the prevalent “friends as family” metaphor and questions how widespread its use is among gay men. The chapter jumps right into the two controversial areas of family and sexuality and affirms that friends are like family. Men look at their friends as surrogates, but the type of support has evolved through the change of generations. Research from Lillian Rubin and Karen Lindsey provide a different point perspective by making us consider if the whole “Family as friends “ is just a metaphor or it is something that is literally followed in the gay community because of the rejection by blood kinship. Friends as family is just a metaphor because no matter what is said and done a blood relative continues to be a relative regardless …show more content…
Both of these topics were rarely studied in regards to gay friendships even though it is considered a central dynamic among men whose friends could also be their sexual and romantic partner. A flowchart illustrates the relationship between friendship and sexual activity among gay men and the possible scenarios such as: if a sexual fling or relationship begins, sex continues but no friendship develops, both individuals just become sex buddies. If sex ends between both individuals, there is a possibility to develop a casual close or best friendship. If sex ends, friendship never develops and is ruined.
Chapter five describes who are the individuals that befriend gay men and where they meet. Although an overwhelming majority of gay men’s best and closest friends are other gay men, many have women friends and straight male friends. Gay men construct a network of friendships from an early stage from childhood through college to work and other public establishments and the place the friendship was started, will determine its limitations and dynamics but no matter the type of friendship because friends are often similar in terms of their values and their social