1485: Friendship

2025-12-26T09:45:47Z

2001:4C4E:1C11:B800:B9DC:7188:43AC:F6FF: /* Trivia */ nv

{{comic
| number = 1485
| date = February 11, 2015
| title = Friendship
| image = friendship.png
| titletext = The only other Wikipedia vandalism that I would feel zero remorse about is editing the article on active US militia groups to replace "militia" with "fanclub".
}}

==Explanation==
A "{{w|Bromance}}" is a modern slang term for a strong non-romantic relationship between two male humans. It is a portmanteau of the words brother, meaning a close male friend (aka "bro"), and romance.

Although current in popular media, some commentators have criticized the implicit homophobia in the term, suggesting that it [https://goodmenproject.com/gender-sexuality/hesaidfor-the-love-of-god-please-stop-saying-bromance/ denotes cultural discomfort at relationships of emotional closeness between men.]

In this comic, Randall is implying the Wikipedia page for the word "bromance" should more accurately represent what most bromances actually are: friendships. This could be a joke to reference the fact that some males prefer to not call friendships as such, for fear of looking unmasculine, or being confused as a gay couple. The comic makes light of the fact that the word bromance and friendship are interchangeable, and should be treated as such.

The comic later contains parts of the edited article, mocking the use of "bromance" in popular culture, implying that "friendships" can be used just as easily to describe platonic male relationships.

Despite supposedly vandalizing the "bromance" article, the article is titled "friendship", giving a similar result to word-replacement browser extensions, as in [[1031: s/keyboard/leopard/]].

The title text implies Randall does not agree with Wikipedia vandalism, except in the case of bromance/friendship, and also militia/fanclub, possibly to make light of the harsh sounding word in a negative light. This is probably because many of his comics include fake wikipedia entries, and many people, inspired by the comic, actually make the edit happen.

A later comic called [[1746: Making Friends]], was also not so much about friendship, but rather about vultures...

==Transcript==
:[A Wikipedia style layout is shown for extracts from an article titled Friendship.]

:<div style="border-bottom: 1px solid #bbbbbb">'''Friendship'''</div>
:From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
:A Friendship is a close non-romantic relationship between two (or more) men, a form of affectional or homosocial intimacy.[1]
: Contents [hide]
:1 Etymology
:2 Characteristics
:3 Portrayal of friendship
::3.1 Celebrity and fictional friendships
::3.2 Historical and political friendships
::3.3 Gay-straight friendships
:4 See also
:5 References
:<div style="border-bottom: 1px solid #bbbbbb">'''Etymology'''</div>
:''Friendship'' is a portmanteau of the words ''friend'' and ''ship''. Editor Dave Carnie coined the term in the skateboard magazine ''Big Brother'' in the 1990s to refer to the sort of relationships that develop between skaters who spend
:[...]
:<div style="border-bottom: 1px solid #bbbbbb">'''Portrayal of Friendship'''</div>
:'''Celebrity and Fictional Friendships'''
:A number of celebrities have engaged in friendships with fellow celebrities. Examples include Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, described as "perhaps ''the'' pioneering friendship in showbiz history"[9] which led to a hit off-broadway play
:[...]
:Friendship on television has also become more commonplace, with some critics tracing its origins back to shows such as ''The Odd Couple''.[14] In October 2008, ''TV Guide'' placed Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) and James
:[...]
:The Japanese and Korean music industry actively encourages friendship among male celebrities (particularly members of boy bands) as part of the fan service to please the audience.[19][20]
:In fiction, what had once been called buddy films have to a degree been rebranded as friendship films, although
:[...]
:<div style="border-bottom: 1px solid #bbbbbb">'''Historical and political friendships'''</div>
:Politically, the relationship between Bill Clinton and Al Gore has been called a precursor to the friendship.[6] The relationship between George W. Bush and former press

:[Below the extracts is this caption:]

:'''How to improve the "Bromance" Wikipedia article'''

==Trivia==
In the wake of this comic, several Wikipedia pages were vandalized, among them {{w|Bromance}} [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bromance&diff=646605891&oldid=642768192], {{w|Militia organizations in the United States}}, {{w|Militia (United States)}}, and {{w|Friendship}}. All these pages were semi-protected by an administrator against further attempts for a week after this comic was published.

The day this comic was published, a {{w|Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bromance_%282nd_nomination%29|discussion}} to delete the Bromance article was initiated on Wikipedia.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]

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1485: Friendship