Discussion Main / HeterosexualLifePartners

I think it's more like an informal Blood Brothers than a PRF. In my opinion, a good distinction between a best friend and HLP is that if there's any kind of Masquerade, the HLP would be exposed to it pretty close to when the Protagonist learns about it.

Although I'm not really sure why the page specifies that one of them can be gay. I figure it's better to classify this trope as a pair of close friends with mutually Incompatible Orientation.

Yeah, I think it would be better to just merge this page with Platonic Life-Partners. After all, much of the time one or more of the "Heterosexual Life Partners" are not heterosexual, but simply have a platonic rather than romantic bond with their closest same-gender friend, just like how members of Platonic Life-Partners can be attracted to other people of the opposite sex. The point is just that they're close enough to be like a romantic couple, but they're not. That doesn't necessarily have to be something that's separated out by gender.

As for the concerns in the discussion below, combining the pages could just separate it out into "Opposite-Gender Examples" and "Same-Gender Examples." And there could be a paragraph on the different histories the two have, which is all that would really be needed (since that's mostly due to histories of sexism and homophobia, and other than that the tropes aren't that different).

I was about to suggest that the name simply be changed to platonic life partners, since it's truer, but I take it back if there is a whole different trope by that name. May I ask what the difference between "platonic life partners" and "heterosexual life partners" is? We shold probably sort it out into two different things. I do like the term "heterosexual life partners" just due to it being old and having a good ring, but definitely "platonic life partners" is a lot more accurate.

People often use "heterosexual life partners" to describe opposite gender friendships- and originally it wasn't split between genders. It was just describing a really strong platonic life partnership. I do not think we need to separate it out by gender, except to add on, as stated, the history behind opposite gender life partnership & other histories, because heterosexual life partners often included opposite sex platonic life partners as well. But otherwise I don't think examples should be really separated out. Unless the trope "Platonic Life Partner" is referring to something different from heterosexual life partners, in which case, is there a way to make the name somewhat less obfuscating? >_<

Otherwise, we could just keep it because it's been so long that people on tvtropes know what it means, even if the name is misleading. "Heterosexual Life Partners" emphasizes "not homosexual" versus "Platonic Life Partners" which emphasizes the life partnership and friendship, and I like it somewhat better than "Non-sexual life partners", because that's emphasizing "not sexual" versus the friendship, but both "platonic life partners" and "non-sexual life partners" work.

Just a friendly reminder: Rename discussions properly go into the Trope Repair Shop.

Not sure if in a position to speak about this, but would appreciate if someone else made a topic about it. I don't enjoy the heteronormativity of the current title either.

Same - there isn't really a difference between same- and opposite- gender pairs, nor are there really differences based on orientation - we should know by now that you can't say a person who's attracted to wo/men at all is automatically attracted to all wo/men. But that assumption is the basis for the split between the gender configurations. (Also the way "but one of them might not be heterosexual" links to "incompatible orientations", implying they can't have same-sex interest and also have platonic same-sex friends).

Besides that, this is also people-sit-on-chairs - the sayings "bros before hos" and "chicks before dicks", crude as they are, are common enough to show that this is not only common among people in heterosexual relationships, it's expected. Which... maybe I'm the only one, but I always wonder why someone would say that and then waste their time on the "ho" or the "dick" instead of just spending more time with the people they actually like. But maybe that's just me.

Known for a fact, heterosexual mean opposite sex, so This trope name must become a redirect page to a trope called Same-sexual partners.

Exactly, this trope shpuld actually be called Homosexual Life Partners.

Because they're two very distinct tropes with very different histories. Examples of close same-gender platonic relationships go back to antiquity. Historically, since people liked to believe that everyone was straight, they tended not to raise eyebrows, but they do seem remarkable from a modern perspective where we tend to assume that all close relationships must be romantic/sexual in nature.

Platonic Life-Partners is a much less common trope that really only seems to have gotten popular within the last few decades. Historically, there seems to have been a lot of resistance to the idea of a man and a woman being close friends without being romantically involved, and it's only recently that the idea of being close but not sexual with someone of the opposite gender has started to catch on.

Besides, the page for Heterosexual Life-Partners is huge. If we were to merge it with Platonic Life-Partners, examples of the latter would be massively outnumbered. It makes for easier navigating to let them have a special page all to themselves.

This trope assumes that both members are heterosexual; this isn't always the case. This trope merely enforces heteronormativity. In the asexual community, we use the phrase "queerplatonic life partners." Just putting it out there. :P

"Queerplatonic" as in "same-sex" plus "platonic"? Might be worth considering, though it's rather a mouthful and probably not readily recognisable outside the asexual community.

When asexuals use it, does it mean a platonic relationship, or a non-sexual romantic relationship? Because if you want to apply the term to non-asexual people, it makes a difference.

nope, the "queer" refers to the queering of relationships, in other words, relationship that are not seen as typical (queer is actually used to refer to someone who is not straight, i think). a queerplatonic relationship is often see as more than a friendship, but not romantic or sexual, and does not only apply to asexuals. so i think you might have a problem with it referring to both same-sex and opposite sex pairs.

these might help in explaining it, http://www.asexuality.org/wiki/index.php?title=Queerplatonic http://jhameia.tumblr.com/post/2868886233/word-of-the-day-queerplatonic http://fyeahqueerplatoniczucchinis.tumblr.com/faq

While the examples listed would technically be categorized under Music, seeing as they involve Real Life individuals (as opposed to fictional characters), they aren't to be listed on this particular trope.

Just because you didn't get is no reason to sady 'badly'. You need to demonstrate misuse in a TRS thread to prove that a LOT of people don't get it.

It really is extremely convoluted. "Heterosexual"? From the get-go it means that both participants are heterosexual (yes, there is a "clarification", but that is only after an erroneous assumption is made) and then from a gender perspective it also makes it sound as if the characters are always one man and one woman.

It's a very mediocre title.

It is erasure at its finest and totally inaccurate. These types of titles should be precise and leave as little room for "by-the-ways" as possible.

"Bromance", even if in itself not perfectly accurate, is still much more recognizable and encompassing.

Agreed (with a note that it can also apply to females).

I second (third?) this.

As above.

Signed. The "heterosexual" (or any -sexual) part is unneeded, limiting and misleading.

I made a crowner: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/SingleProposition/HeterosexualLifePartners

Absolutely. The current name is both inaccurate and offensive.

Quite possibly, but real-life examples aren't allowed on this page.

Bearing in mind that you've left yourself open for a "wrestling isn't real" snark, you do make a fairly good point.

I agree, with the above point about a note that it can also be between two girls.

"platonic life partners" is it's own trope, actually.

If we wanted Exactly What It Says on the Tin, we wouldn't need the heterosexual part.

Not necessarily.