Breaking Down Bromance: An Analysis of NigaHiga’s Bromance Music Video and Word of the Day: Bromance Episode

Abstract

In a society where expectations often influence people more than they are aware of, we find a humorous take on society’s expectations of men and how they express affection toward one another. NigaHiga’s Word of the Day: Bromance video and Bromance music video poke fun at the idea of bromance and, along the way, provide us with an opportunity to look deeper into this male-to-male relationship. Bromance is a combination of the word brother and romance. It is a term created to capture the essence of a male bond so strong and intimate, it assaults the border between brotherhood and romantic, homosexual relationships. The term coined for relationships between those of the same gender such as this is Homosocial. This paper then looks at bromance as a homosocial relationship and discusses men’s struggle to perform according to hegemonic masculinity and express affection at the same time—as exhibited by Nigahiga’s videos, now an Internet sensation.