guys

Cypher Avenue has in the past touched on gay men looking for “friends” via social media and predominately hook-up apps. One line in the list that stood out in the friendship qualifications was “must be attractive”. We’re thinking, “If you’re just looking for friends, why do they need to be attractive”? Why is attractiveness a necessitywhen gay men are only looking for friends? Could it be that gay men also want a “back-up, potential sex partner” in addition to friendship?

In my naiveté, I thought this was something that was limited to adult gay men. I mean I know how heterosexual kids and teenagers can be but I didn’t think “normal” logical thinking adults could be superficial when it comes to selecting their friends. After I watched a rerun of one of my favorite TV shows, I found myself reexamining my previous thoughts. I’m a huge American Dad fan. For those that don’t know, American Dad is a primetime animated television show from the wonderful mind of Seth MacFarlane. Currently streaming on Netflix, an episode from season 6 titled “Stanny Boy & Frantastic” have Stan and Francine (a married couple) looking to make friends with another couple. While shopping, Stan and Francine come across a couple who may meet their friendship needs but instead freak out horribly when they see how unattractive the couple is. In Stan’s words, “No, no, no; you’re hideous.” Needless to say they don’t want to be friends with this ugly couple and go back to the drawing board.

So some straight men and women only want to be friends with other attractive people too? Seems correct, but being that I’m not straight how would I really know? I mean the show’s creator and presumably some of American Dad’s writing staff are heterosexual; so I’m assuming they’re writing based off of their experiences. So is it possible that gay men can want attractive friends and don’t view them as potential sexual partners?

What do you think? Do we view what we deem unattractive/ugly as being a negative trait and therefor making one unworthy of friendship? Do gay and straight men who require attractiveness in other men secretly want them as sex partners or is there something more?

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