Love him or hate him, the Gay Bt Friend (GBF) plays a big role pop culture.
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STARCROSSED REVIEW – GAY ROMANCE RIFF ON ROMEO AND JULIET IS A GIDDY LIGHT
A gay film versn of Romeo and Juliet seems h and new. US playwright Rachel Gar has relegated Shakpeare’s famo lovers to the wgs and re-spun Romeo and Juliet as a tragic gay romance between Tybalt and Mercut. Love him or hate him, the Gay Bt Friend plays a big role pop culture.
Almost as long as rom-s and high school TV shows have existed, the Gay Bt Friend(tm) has been a source of edy and ntroversy.
Often an important first step troducg queer storyl to mastream dienc, the GBF trope had a tenncy to rerce stereotyp about gay men: that their only terts are makeovers, shoppg and drama, that their stggl and relatnships fa to the background unls they're supportg a straight person's story, and that they only exist to be wise oracl about love and LGBTQ+ reprentatn Hollywood improv both onscreen and behd the mera, movi and TV shows are gettg creasgly self-aware, creatg gay characters who provi the ic relief we love while tearg down outdated ias. Perhaps the earlit example of the classic Gay Bt Friend character is 1984 movie The Woman Red, a Gene Wilr edy about a married man who be obssed wh a mol (Kelly LeBrock) after he se her skirt get blown up by a wd grate, Marilyn Monroe-style.