Friends and Lovers
Friends and Lovers
This chapter considers the specter of desire between the two comrades—another anxiety which runs through many treatments of friendship, both in literature and popular culture. From the ancient preoccupation over whether Achilles and Patroclus were lovers to the modern putdown “that's so gay,” we seem to be disturbed by the possibility that two male friends may be drawn to each other by erotic attraction. The introduction of the sexual seems to transform the relationship, blurring the boundary between friendship and sexuality, whether the two friends are of the same or a different gender. Yet in raising the possibility that a father, son, or husband is sensually drawn to his friend, writers destabilize the distinction between heterosexuality and homosexuality.
Keywords: sexuality, erotic attraction, homosexuality, heterosexuality, eroticization, friendship
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