Why straight women and gay men can be friends... they aren't competing for the same suitors
Psychologists claim there is evolutionary evidence to explain why straight women form close relationship with gay men.
A team of academics at Texas Christian University studied the phenomena of straight women in tight relationship with gay men in their article 'Friends with Benefits, but Without the Sex: Straight Women and Gay Men Exchange Trustworthy Mating Advice,' published this month in Evolutionary Psychology.
The study claims the friendship between straight women and homosexual men is based on the ability of the two parties to provide honest dating advice because they aren't in the running for the same suitors.
Frenemies: Women don't trust their female friends because they are all after the attention of male suitors
Most of the research so far on straight women and their 'gay husbands,' a close relationship with a homosexual male that isn't sexual, has focused on why women gravitate toward a relationship with a gay man.
The authors of the recently released article wanted to explore that phenomena but also investigate what value gay men place on their friendships with straight women.
The psychologists found that the relationship was similarly advantageous to gay men, suggesting they too distrust their friends who are gay men - whom they see as competition for suitors.
The crucial bond to relationship between straight females and gay men is the 'mating-relevant benefits exchanged by individuals within these friendships in the absence of sexual interest and competition.'
Friends: The study found that gay men prefer friendships with straight women because their gay friends are also competing for the same suitors (stock photo)
In a series of experiments, the psychologists studied how dating advice was perceived.
They looked at advice given to women from their other female friends and advice offered from their male gay friends.
The women overwhelmingly trusted advice from their gay friends over their girl friends.
'Straight women and gay men perceive mating advice provided by each
other to be more trustworthy than similar advice offered by other
individuals,' the study suggested.
'The emotional closeness shared by straight women and gay men may be
rooted in the absence of deceptive mating motivations that frequently
taint their relationships with other individuals.'
In a second experiment, gay men were shown to trust their heterosexual friends for dating advice over guidance given from other gay men or lesbian women.
'The results provide initial experimental evidence that relationships between gay men and straight women may be characterized by a mutual exchange of mating-relevant benefits in the absence of sexual interest or competition.'