Researchers think they know why straight women love a gay bestie
The gay best friend is a has become something of a cliché in TV shows and movies, but researchers reckon there may be a scientific basis behind it.
Psychology researchers at The University of Texas in Arlington have released the results of a study and the results are not surprising.
According to the findings of the study, straight women do find it easier to accept dating advice from their gay male friends over their straight male friends due to the lack of percieved alterior motives.
Also, straight women form friendships easily with gay men when they are in a ‘highly competitive dating enviroment’ due to mistrust of other ‘competitors’ according to the paper.
Eric Russell, the lead author of the paper, said that “This line of research provides novel experimental evidence that there is more to the gay male-straight female friendship than just what we see on TV,
“Certain social psychological processes are, indeed, driving these relationships in real life.”
One of the reasons why they study was commisioned by the university was because of the “seismic shift in public opinion in support of equal rights and acceptance of gay individuals” according to university proffesor Dr William Ickes.
The study is titled “Why (and When) Straight Women Trust Gay Men: Ulterior Mating Motives and Female Competition”.
Over 700 female students participated in the study, which included activitys such as assesing mock social media profiles and talking about how much trust they put in the dating advice given to them by different people.
