| 1 | %% |
| 2 | %% Zero-Context Examples are not allowed, and have been commented-out. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | %% Please add context before uncommenting any examples. |
| 5 | %% |
| 6 | %% Simply stating the character's sexuality is not enough; please explain their mannerisms and their role in the plot. |
| 7 | %% |
| 8 | [[quoteright:210:[[Webcomic/StickyDillyBuns https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gay_best_friend.png]]]] |
| 9 | [[caption-width-right:210:Such a caring friend.]] |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ->''"If you're looking for a friend, gay guys really are the best. Because, let's face it, women are kind of depressing."'' |
| 12 | -->-- '''Tanya''', ''Series/TheWhiteLotus'' |
| 13 | |
| 14 | The Gay BestFriend exists mostly to add variety, funny mannerisms, and cheap laughs to an otherwise all-straight story and sometimes shows political correctness. The gay best friend is depicted as mostly interested in shopping, fashion, and makeovers. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | The GBF may talk about sex a lot but is [[HaveIMentionedIAmGay seldom depicted as having any]] because too many viewers [[ButNotTooGay would find that disturbing]]. Either he has no love life to speak of (which never seems to bother him), or it's [[ButNotTooGay forever offscreen]], only discussed with the heroine over brunch at some pretentious cafe. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | As modern society grows increasingly comfortable with gay people, fiction is slowly seeing more well-rounded gay supporting characters with onscreen love lives, whose sexuality is incidental to the character. Therefore, do not confuse this for Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs; if a character is a typical BestFriend character who just happens to be gay, then it's not this trope. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | In fiction, the most common use of this trope is a male GBF to a straight female protagonist but other permutations are very slowly beginning to appear. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | A SubTrope of TokenMinority. If being gay has made him CloserToEarth and has thereby given him wisdom that he imparts to the cishet protagonist, he is the MagicalQueer. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | [[noreallife]] |
| 25 | ---- |
| 26 | !!Examples: |
| 27 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 28 | |
| 29 | [[folder: Anime and Manga]] |
| 30 | %% * Bob, Saiga's neighbor and friend (who openly crushes on Saiga) from ''Anime/SpeedGrapher''. |
| 31 | * Lussuria from ''Manga/Reborn2004'', whose flamboyance is played for laughs. Though it starts getting [[SarcasmMode ever so slightly]] disturbing when he's hitting on jail bait, ''and'' is insinuated to have necrophiliac tendencies as well. |
| 32 | * Averted by Seiji Kisaragi, Mikako's ''gay'' friend in ''Manga/NeighborhoodStory''. He's an extremely {{bishonen}} aspiring hairdresser and former fashion student with a rather flamboyant appearance, but he's portrayed as mature, talented, and determined and is of great importance as an older brother/mentor figure for Mikako. What's best is [[spoiler:he's not even ''gay'', he's bisexual.]] |
| 33 | * ''Manga/PetshopOfHorrors'' has a literal version of this trope. Wong, a rare mythical Tao Tieh (Tou Tetsu, goat-demon), tries to seduce D in order to make a meal out of him. D immediately sees through Wong's human disguise and decides to make the demon his pet. "Tetsu-chan" spends the rest of the series lounging around the petshop and providing much of the series' comic relief. |
| 34 | * ''Manga/GhostTalkersDaydream'': Misaki's closest friend and co-worker, Shizue, is [[StraightGay a lesbian.]] The subject only comes up once, in chapter 5, when Misaki asks her why she chose to go public with it. But she changes her mind and drops the subject before Shizue can answer her. |
| 35 | * ''Manga/DontMeddleWithMyDaughter'': Clara fills the role, as a lesbian who's best friends with three straight girls: [[BridgeBunnies Risa, Kisara, and Jun.]] The manga subverts the trope by exploring Clara's sexuality by having her steadily become aware of her growing attraction to the supervillain, "Honey, the Hugger". She eventually learns that Honey is her classmate, [[spoiler: Mei Seno]], but the attraction between them is limited to subtext until the epilogue chapters. |
| 36 | [[/folder]] |
| 37 | |
| 38 | [[folder: Comic Books]] |
| 39 | * ComicBook/ScottPilgrim's roommate Wallace Wells. He and Scott are close friends though he also serves as a mentor and even older brother figure to Scott. (Also applies to TheFilmOfTheBook.) A bit of a downplayed version since he is a supporting character. His sex life is pretty active as he's shown making out with plenty of dudes along with other references and he is quite the catty fellow (he joked a few times how Scott is "his bitch" due to how Wallace is the main income for their living situation.) He does seem to settle into an established relationship by the 4th book. Overall, he's quite a supporting and caring friend of Scott [[spoiler: and he's among most horrified when Scott gets impaled by Gideon in Book 6.]] |
| 40 | %% * David in ''ComicBook/StrangersInParadise'' is the heterosexual pet of Katchoo. |
| 41 | %% * ''ComicBook/BlueIsTheWarmestColor'': Valentin for Clémentine. |
| 42 | %% * In ''ComicBook/JonSableFreelance'', Jon's girlfriend Myke shares her apartment with a gay choreographer named Grey who is her best friend. To his surprise, Jon also becomes friends with him. |
| 43 | [[/folder]] |
| 44 | |
| 45 | [[folder: Fan Works]] |
| 46 | * Dumbbell, of Blog/AskHoopsAndDumbbell, meets a coworker who tries to turn him into one, gleefully suggesting they go shopping, clubbing, and check out boys together. When he brushes her off (as he hates shopping, doesn't drink, and is already in a relationship), she just thinks he's being sassy. He's not amused by this. |
| 47 | * Jean-Paul Beaubier comes off as this at first in ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', being a CampGay ChivalrousPervert, [[DeadpanSnarker somewhat sassy]] and throwing out GratuitousFrench. As time goes by however, it's revealed that he's playing up to the image to appear harmless and is, in fact, [[SherlockScan a lot smarter]] and [[CombatPragmatist a lot]] [[EyeScream more]] [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass dangerous]] than [[ObfuscatingStupidity he pretends]] -- in the sequel, Harry observes that he'd go toe to toe with Dracula again than fight Jean-Paul, and ''not'' because they're friends. For context, Dracula is a VampireMonarch who came out honours even with Thor and ''brutally'' curbstomped Harry, twice, without breaking a sweat. Also, it helps that his dynamic with Carol is more VitriolicBestBuds than anything else and there are few people less interested in shopping and makeovers than she is -- though they do talk about boys a little bit. |
| 48 | [[/folder]] |
| 49 | |
| 50 | [[folder: Film]] |
| 51 | %% * Simon from ''Film/AsGoodAsItGets'' is a {{Deconstruction}} of this character type: [[spoiler:essentially what happens when the Gay Best Friend has a HeroicBSOD and [[TheDogBitesBack starts biting back]]. ]] |
| 52 | * Though Creator/{{Disney}} is [[ExecutiveMeddling still too conservative]] to let him be anything but AmbiguouslyGay, Ryan Evans of ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'' is still [[FlamboyantGay pretty flaming]], and his spotlight-hogging twin sister's treatment definitely qualifies him for this trope. He even says in the second movie, mid-CharacterDevelopment, "I know everyone thinks of me as Sharpay's poodle." |
| 53 | %% * The female lead's best friend in the film ''Film/MustLoveDogs''. |
| 54 | %% * Dan in ''Film/OverHerDeadBody''. [[spoiler:Subversion; he's not actually gay. Ashley assumed he was, and he went with it to stay close to her. She treated him like a Gay Best Friend for years, though.]] |
| 55 | %% * Damien in ''Film/MeanGirls''. |
| 56 | %% * Hollywood Montrose from the ''Film/{{Mannequin}}'' movies is a particularly cartoonish (and yet, somehow sort of awesome) example. |
| 57 | * The Nia Vardalos movie ''Film/IHateValentinesDay'' features two gay friends of the main character whose personalities extend solely to the fact that they are gay. And no, they don't get any sex. |
| 58 | %% * Flame from ''Film/SoulPlane''. |
| 59 | %% * Gabriel from ''Film/ThePeopleIveSleptWith''. |
| 60 | * The German comedy ''Echte Kerle'' (in English, ''Regular Guys'') centers around the straight main character, who is a Berlin police detective, and his gay housemate, who is a mechanic. Among all the CringeComedy and MistakenForGay, there are some legitimately touching moments, including a scene where the housemate chews him out for making stupid assumptions based on his sexuality. |
| 61 | %% * George, confidante of the female lead in ''Film/MyBestFriendsWedding''. |
| 62 | * The whole point of the film ''Film/{{GBF}}'' was to deal with a lot of issues around being gay in a high school where there weren't any out gay people. The main character is treated like a hot commodity for the school's 3 alpha females, who are disappointed to find out he doesn't fit any of the usual gay stereotypes. Although his friend is a more stereotypical example. |
| 63 | * Valentin in ''Film/BlueIsTheWarmestColor''. He is a very supportive and understanding friend when he defends and consoles [[LipstickLesbian Adèle]] from their homophobic classmates. |
| 64 | * ''Film/TellNoOne'' has a GenderFlipped version, with Helene being the lesbian best friend of main character Alexandre. Helene never talks about her sex life, but lives with a partner, Alexandre's sister (whom she refers to as "my wife"). However, she's also a well-rounded character in that she's the one who hires a lawyer for Alexandre when he's falsely accused of murder, and she's the one he confides in when [[spoiler: he thinks his dead wife is still alive]]. |
| 65 | * ''Film/TheWomanInRed'': Buddy is gay. He's also best friends with Teddy, Joey, and Mikey. Unlike many examples though, he acts no different from them and doesn't dispense "sage advice" etc. |
| 66 | * An inverted example in ''Film/TheLivingEnd''. The gay protagonist, Jon, has Darcy, his straight female best friend who seems to exist mainly to help him out with his relationship problems. She's a quirky artist, but her part of the plot deals mainly with how her worries about Jon take over her own life. |
| 67 | * 1931 film ''Film/{{Millie}}'' finds protagonist Millie comforted, after finding out her husband is having an affair, by her best friends Helen and Angie. Helen and Angie are introduced in bed together, in lingerie. Later they take a vacation together. When Angie the GoldDigger lands a rich husband, Helen has a DrowningMySorrows session with Millie. |
| 68 | * ''Film/LifePartners'': Sasha, a lesbian, has been the best friend of Paige (who's straight) for years. However, their friendship is tested as Paige gets into a serious relationship with Tim. Unlike many examples, Sasha's a full character, isn't stereotypical, has a sex/love life and their friendship is the center of the story. |
| 69 | * ''Film/HappiestSeason'': Played with. CampGay John's primary purpose in the plot is to be a rock-solid friend to protagonist Abby and he's very funny, but he's also a fully realized character and Abby herself is a lesbian. |
| 70 | * ''Film/FiveFeetApart'': Poe is this to Stella. He has a boyfriend, but [[ButNotTooGay they're never seen together]] (the guy [[TheGhost doesn't even appear]]), unlike Stella with Will. Basically his entire role is him being a funny gay guy (at least until [[spoiler:[[BuryYourGays he dies]]]]). |
| 71 | * ''Film/MarryMe2022'': Like in the webcomic, Parker is the supplementary lesbian best friend to the straight male lead. While Charlie's publicity marriage to Kat is the subject of the film, we only hear about Parker's ex-girlfriend in dialogue, and she doesn't get a subplot of her own. |
| 72 | * In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheKillingJoke'' Barbara Gordon is given a gay male friend to confide in, concerning her relationship with and feelings for Batman. |
| 73 | * ''Film/LoveInTheVilla'': Julie's coworker and close friend Rob, a man with vocal fry and a boyfriend, whom she relates her romantic and vacation troubles to. He disappears after the halfway point. |
| 74 | [[/folder]] |
| 75 | |
| 76 | [[folder: Literature]] |
| 77 | * ''Literature/BehindBlueEyes'' by Anna Mocikat: Adriel is a fellow Guardian Angel and Nephilim's closest friend in the world. He is also one of the few male characters in the setting with no interest in her due to their IncompatibleOrientation. Despite being a FreeLoveFuture, he is also one of the few characters who does not have any shown love interests or even one-night stands. |
| 78 | %% * Damien in the early ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'' books. After Jack, who is annoyingly stereotyped, arrives the two of them share this role. |
| 79 | %% * Lord Akeldama is Alexia's GBF in the ''Alexia Tarabotti'' series, but while his sex life ''is'' off-screen and implied only, there is far more to his character than the typical instances of this trope. |
| 80 | %% * Patrick from ''Literature/ThePerksOfBeingAWallflower''. His sexuality is a bit more explored than normal for the trope as an entire subplot centres around his rocky relationship with ArmouredClosetGay Brad. |
| 81 | * Creator/TinaFey's memoir ''Bossypants'' recounts how she realized that she thought of her gay male theater friends this way and that they did in fact have lives outside of being the appreciative audience to her "wisecracking precocious teen." |
| 82 | -->It was a major and deeply embarrassing teenage revelation. It must be how straight teenage boys feel when they realize those boobs they like have heads attached to them. |
| 83 | * ''Literature/TheseWordsAreTrueAndFaithful'': Sam says that he thinks he is his coworkers' pet gay person. |
| 84 | [[/folder]] |
| 85 | |
| 86 | [[folder: Live Action TV]] |
| 87 | * Mr Humphries from ''Series/AreYouBeingServed''. However, the show milks all the humor it can from "[[AmbiguouslyGay Is he or isn't he]]" -- he definitely ''[[CampGay acts]]'' like it, but mentions dating women more than once. The actor has said that he was a bit of a [[MommasBoy mummy's boy]]. |
| 88 | * In ''Series/NewTricks'', after one of the guys lets the team know he's gay, he preemptively cuts off certain areas of "girl talk" with his (female) boss, because "I don't understand men any more than ''you'' do." |
| 89 | * Gil Chesterton from ''Series/{{Frasier}}''. The quirk is later cut entirely at one point when the previously-oblivious Gil finds out about his reputation and angrily declares himself to be a happily married man. |
| 90 | %% * Lukewarm from ''Series/{{Porridge}}''. |
| 91 | * Averted in ''Series/AlloAllo''. While Lieutenant Gruber's attraction to men (and specifically Rene) is occasionally played for laughs, he's still a developed and reasonably respected character. |
| 92 | %% * Jack from ''Series/WillAndGrace'' is treated as Karen's Gay Best Friend. |
| 93 | * Marc St. James from ''Series/UglyBetty'' is Wilhelmina Slater's Gay Best Friend-- to such an extent that she once turned to him and cried "Fly, my pretty! Fly!" |
| 94 | %% * John, the secretary on ''Series/NYPDBlue'' (At least, by the end of the show, Sipowicz started referring to him as "John", instead of "Gay John".) |
| 95 | * On ''Series/{{Glee}}'', Kurt is Rachel's and Blaine is Tina's. An aversion however because they're both very well-established main characters outside of their friendships. Plus, they're not friends ''because'' they're gay. However, Rachel has an ugly habit of calling Kurt her "best gay". When she tries that on Elliot, he immediately tells her he hates it, because it makes him feel like a pet. |
| 96 | * ''Series/SexAndTheCity'' had two. Stanford Blatch was Carrie's from the start and Charlotte later got Anthony, who first appeared as the wedding planner for her ill-fated first marriage but stuck around for the rest of the series. Stanford subverted the trope towards the end of the series by gaining a hot boyfriend, though the boyfriend was nowhere to be seen in the feature film. They were both later shown meeting up at a New Year's Eve party (Anthony appeared to be expecting Stanford) and kissing at midnight. Still, those two characters (who'd hated each other throughout the series) are just slammed together in the feature as the ''only gay men in NYC'' that can be paired together? [[spoiler:And then they're married in the second movie]]. |
| 97 | %% * Dinah's friend Gabby in ''Series/BirdsOfPrey2002''. |
| 98 | * Original Cindy in ''Series/DarkAngel''--talks about sex, never has any. Except in the episode where we meet her first girlfriend. |
| 99 | * Subverted in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' -- the moment Carla and Elliot assume that the Todd is gay, they want to make him their 'gay best friend'... until he starts groping them. |
| 100 | * Ashley's friend Griffin on ''Series/TheSecretLifeOfTheAmericanTeenager''. [[HaveIMentionedIAmGay He takes great care to mention that he's gay in every single scene he's in]] (often multiple times!), but doesn't really have...well, any other characteristics. We know nothing else about him. And he's only shown with a love interest once in passing -- in contrast to the other characters, whose [[LoveDodecahedron tangled]] [[DatingDoSiDo romantic]] [[NoGoingSteady lives]] are the focus of every episode. |
| 101 | * Marco on ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration''. His male friends always have a certain [[HoYay subtext]] to them, that his female friends don't because he's gay. But in many episodes, he's seen hanging with Paige, Ellie, and Alex. A true DistaffCounterpart is Alex, who is introduced as hanging out in a mostly-male circle. |
| 102 | %% * ''Series/UnhappilyEverAfter'' had Barry, one of Tiffany's best friends. |
| 103 | %% * Sasan on Tori Spelling's semi-autobiographical sitcom ''Series/SoNotorious''. The real person that the character is based on is one of her closest friends since childhood and serves as her business and assets manager. |
| 104 | * Maldwyn Novello Pughe in the 1978 BBC Wales comedy ''Series/GrandSlam''. He's a camp gay among a group of largely salt-of-the-earth heterosexual rugby fans who travel to Paris to see Wales play France. Although this is played for laughs to an extent, he's definitely "one of the gang" and accepted for who he is without being patronised. He's subjected to some good-natured teasing but no more than anyone else, proves he can give as good as he gets, and the viewer is left in no doubt that anyone who messed with him would have the rest of the guys to deal with too. |
| 105 | * Rather bitterly deconstructed on ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen'', with a self-declared FagHag character who appears in a few sketches. She blithely describes her gay friends in this manner, while they -- usually played by the openly-gay Creator/MarkGatiss -- roll their eyes and try to sneak away while she's not looking. The stage show takes this a step further, with a purely dramatic scene of Gatiss's character breaking up with his boyfriend over an infidelity before the FagHag shows up to talk about how [[AllGaysArePromiscuous gay men can all sleep with each other with no consequences]]. Gatiss snaps, delivering a pretty excellent [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech Reason You Suck Speech]]. |
| 106 | %% * Shane in ''Series/FakingIt'' is this to pretty much everyone in that school except for [[AlphaBitch Lauren]], including male Liam. Interestingly, Shane is played by Michael Willett, the Gay Best Friend in ''Film/{{GBF}}''. |
| 107 | * An InvokedTrope in ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'', where Claudia repeatedly refers to the StraightGay Steve Jinks as her "gay bestie". Since Jinksy hates all gay stereotypes, he's not amused by this, although he ''is'' her best friend. |
| 108 | * Played with in ''Series/HappyEndings''. Penny and Max are very close friends, but [[StraightGay due to Max's lack]] of stereotypical "gay" traits, their relationship isn't of the usual type associated with this trope. One episode has Penny deciding she wants a [[CampGay campy]] friend, but the guy she meets turns out to be a [[JerkAss total jerk]], so she dumps him. In the end, Max decides that Penny is closer to being ''his'' gay friend, despite Penny being a straight woman. |
| 109 | %% * Felix Dawkins, Sarah's foster brother, serves as this to the all-female "Clone Club" on ''Series/OrphanBlack'', especially to straight-laced Allison. He does at least get attempts at a love life and being played for sexy rather than ''only'' for comedy. |
| 110 | %% * The premise of ''Series/OneBigHappy'' is a straight guy and his lesbian best friend deciding to have a baby together. |
| 111 | * On ''Series/IZombie'', Lowell spends an episode playing this role for Liv after eating a gay brain. She starts out being weirded out by the way [[IncompatibleOrientation he's not interested in kissing her]], but once he explains the situation and promises that the next brain he eats will be "ludicrously straight", she ends up having fun with it. |
| 112 | * Albert is this to his wife Beatrice on ''Series/AnotherPeriod''. They're married, but because Albert is gay, their relationship is one of friends. Albert is having an affair with Beatrice's sister's husband -- who's also gay -- and Beatrice is having an affair with her [[{{Twincest}} twin]] [[BrotherSisterIncest brother]]. |
| 113 | %% * Kenny from ''Series/MyNameIsEarl''. |
| 114 | * Kevin in ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'' is friends with Betty and Veronica but doesn't count. Kevin in ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' however is an example. Though not quite CampGay, Kevin is more effeminate than his StraightGay comic counterpart and is presented more in this fashion. Cheryl even makes a crack at this. Unlike other Gay Best Friends, Kevin actually has an active sex life (much more than Betty's even). Although his boyfriend, Joaquin, leaves at the end of the first season. |
| 115 | -->'''Cheryl''': I'm senior captain of the River Vixens. |
| 116 | -->'''Kevin''': Is cheerleading still a thing? |
| 117 | -->'''Cheryl''': Is being a 'gay best friend' still a thing? |
| 118 | * Parodied to hilarious effect in the "Have You Heard About Our John?" sketches on ''Series/TheCatherineTateShow''. A young man named John comes out to his stereotypical Irish parents (long-suffering, stoic father and talkative, violent, gossipy mother)--and the first thing his "ma" asks him to do is see if she "has the hips" for a skirt she's bought. John, though, is as StraightGay as they come--he prefers watching football (soccer to U.S. viewers) and getting beers with his mates than anything stereotypical. But as the sketches progress, ''everyone'' in town, from a neighbor to some local thugs to a priest to John's grandmother, decides that John is their new Gay Best Friend: they ask him for advice on fashion and interior decorating, assume he must constantly think about sex (with his mother showing him scantily-clad men and his grandmother's Christmas present being money for a rent boy), and generally act as if he's the walking embodiment of every gay trope under the sun. The sheer disconnect between John's actual behavior and, apparently, the whole world's assumptions, drives the humor. |
| 119 | %% * In French sitcom ''Series/LesFillesDaCote'', CampGay gym manager Gérard is the GBF to the three girls who share the apartment. He also manages to be this to Daniel and Marc in the flat next door. |
| 120 | * Invoked in the ''Series/DesigningWomen'' episode "Killing All the Right People". Kendall Dobbs is the nicest, sweetest gay you'll ever meet, even giving up his weekend to help Mary Jo clean her garage for free. [[spoiler: He's dead of AIDS by the end of the episode.]] |
| 121 | * Played with on ''Series/SchittsCreek'' with main characters David and Stevie. Initially, Stevie assumes David is gay but after they sleep together he comes out as pansexual. Their attempt at a FriendsWithBenefits situation fails, and when Stevie develops feelings for David she is heartbroken when she realizes he can't or won't return them. They eventually settle into being the best of friends and with their friendship (or as show creator Creator/DanLevy calls it a "friendlationship") becoming a central part of the show's narrative. They even date the same guy, Jake, but reject the notion of ThreewaySex or {{Polyamory}}. Eventually, Stevie becomes TheMatchmaker for David and Patrick, and David serves as her {{Wingman}} as she pursues Emir. This subverts the trope in that David is a main character, has an active sex life and Stevie is, for a time, the third wheel to David and Patrick. |
| 122 | * ''Series/NeverHaveIEver'': Jonah becomes this to Eleanor and Fabiola. He's very camp and offers fashion advice, while never seen with a romantic/sex life (in fairness, at first he wasn't out, though [[TransparentCloset everybody knew]]). Eleanor is happy when Fabiola says she's gay too, as she always wanted a [=GBF=] (Fabiola however doesn't fit the stereotype). |
| 123 | * ''Series/BehindHerEyes'': Gay man Rob was straight woman Adele's when they were in psychiatric care. [[spoiler:But he's also a DepravedHomosexual and BigBadFriend who killed the real Adele and replaced her in her own body just so he could have Adele's husband David.]] |
| 124 | * ''Series/MotherlandFortSalem'': Byron becomes friends with Raelle at Fort Salem (herself a lesbian). Though he isn't comic relief and acts like a full, normal person overall, Byron's still got no sex life (they meet over the fact that neither hooks up with anyone for Beltane-she's in a relationship, while he's unable to find any queer guys there it seems). |
| 125 | * ''Series/BetterThings'': Rich is mildly CampGay and Sam's best male friend. He fits the boxes as a funny, lighthearted guy (mostly), whose love life remains entirely offscreen (granted, he isn't a main character). |
| 126 | * ''Series/{{Hanna}}'': Dan is this to Sophie. She feels safe confiding in him about her crush on Anton since he's not interested in girls. He has no sex or romantic life onscreen, existing only to give her advice. |
| 127 | * ''Series/ManhattanLoveStory'': Tucker, Dana's boss at the publishing company where she works. He mostly exists to hang out with her (sometimes much more than her own boyfriend Peter), giving her useful advice. Tucker's love life stays entirely offscreen, with him mentioning his boyfriend but never seeing him. It's somewhat justified as he's a supporting character, and he broke up with his boyfriend. |
| 128 | * ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', "Straight Male Friend": Parodied and inverted. A gay man laments that his female friends are draining, so he does his own unwinding with a Straight Male Friend, a heterosexual gamer jock who has no expectations about emotional effort, attachment, or spending money. |
| 129 | * ''Series/TheOtherTwo'': Parodied when Cary and Curtis both go up for the role of the heroine's supportive best friend for a pilot. The character was initially a woman, but the producers decide to turn it into a gay man at the last minute while changing very little else. Curtis muses that he booked the role of "Courtney No-last-name" because he's more effeminate than Cary. |
| 130 | [[/folder]] |
| 131 | |
| 132 | [[folder: Professional Wrestling]] |
| 133 | * Wrestling/TheAcclaimed is a noteworthy {{Inversion}}, with their character dynamic primarily involving the CampStraight Max Caster being kept in check by the StraightGay Anthony Bowens. |
| 134 | [[/folder]] |
| 135 | |
| 136 | [[folder: Stand Up Comedy]] |
| 137 | * Creator/PattonOswalt has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvCwY7EwMx4 bit]] on his ''Finest Hour'' CD where he recalls being asked to read for [[ClicheStorm a factory-produced rom com]] that had one of these. He decided to read the part as if he was the dumbest Gay Best Friend ever, constantly suggesting the wrong advice for his straight female friend and being unable to come up with the snappy quips that the Gay Best Friend cliche is notorious for. |
| 138 | -->It's 2011. I might as well [[ModernMinstrelsy put on blackface and do a tapdance]]. |
| 139 | -->"You and your two friends-- when the three of you get together, it's like... um. Who are the guys with the muskets, what do they call those guys? Are they ''called'' Musketeers? Was I ''that'' close?!" |
| 140 | * In his ''Raw'' special, Eddie Murphy cautioned straight men against allowing their women to have a GBF because they might give their GBF a peck and come home with "AIDS on they lips". This is of course not a valid disease vector. Whether it's humorous is left as an exercise for the reader. |
| 141 | [[/folder]] |
| 142 | |
| 143 | [[folder: Theatre]] |
| 144 | * ''Theatre/{{Fangirls}}'': Even though she only knows him online, Salty fills this role for Edna. Interestingly, outside of her mother, he is the person who expresses the most concern and offers the most support to her when she goes through her breakdown. |
| 145 | [[/folder]] |
| 146 | |
| 147 | [[folder: Video Games]] |
| 148 | * While it's never directly stated in-game, Tony in ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' is heavily implied by Creator/ShigesatoItoi (and eventually confirmed by English localization director Marcus Linbolm) to be gay. He's close friends with his roommate Jeff, one of the game's party members, and is implied to have a crush on him. While Tony's role in the game isn't particularly major compared to Jeff, he is still a crucial character, aiding Jeff in first reaching Ness & Paula and being the one who first jots down the name of you, the player, for a school project. Notably, Tony's characterization [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] much of the gay stereotypes usually present in this trope, being neither sassy nor a generic walking advice column, which is quite impressive for a character from a Japanese game released in 1994. |
| 149 | * ''VideoGame/HelixWaltz'' has Gonzalo Jorcastle, a flamboyant viscount whose main interests are fashion and the guard captain he fancies. The dossier on Finsel's nobility put together by [[PlayerCharacter Magda]]'s mother expresses doubt that he would be interested in her romantically, but encourages a friendship for the sake of his influence and discovering his cosmetics sources. The trope is subverted later as he's given a larger role in the progressing political plot, although this is only shown in the main and event stories and regular gameplay continues to portray him simply as a friendly (if somewhat proud) dandy. |
| 150 | * The ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' series has to include at least one Gay Best Friend who provides useful services per game. Wanderer Meiyuan from the original was only mildly flamboyant at most and rather predatory, but the travelling shopkeepers in ''Covenant'' and ''From the New World'' were incredibly over-the-top {{Flamboyant Gay}}s bordering dangerously on {{Camp Gay}}s. This is balanced by having a heroic gay superhero vampire wrestler (yes, all of those) party member. He's only camp in the superhero sense, his gayness isn't really played up that much except in the Great Gama sidequest, where you [[spoiler:[[UnusualEuphemism wrestle]] with him at the end, while Anastasia acts like a typical YaoiFangirl, and Yuri is nauseous (forgetting he can turn into a demon and fly away).]] |
| 151 | * Carla's neighbor in ''VideoGame/{{Fahrenheit}}'' is openly gay and his role in the plot (aside from assisting her investigation a little) is to provide eerily accurate prophetic foreshadowing, bringing him into MagicalQueer zone, as well. |
| 152 | * Trevor in ''VideoGame/PhantasmagoriaAPuzzleOfFlesh'' starts out as this, but as his character develops it starts to be subverted, as he turns into more of a StraightGay [[TheBarnum Humphrey]] deliberately playing up the CampGay. It's further subverted when main character Curtis confesses his attraction for Trevor. At one point in [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]]'s LetsPlay, he calls Trevor the one interesting character he liked [[spoiler:and didn't want to see brutally murdered]]. The same thing applied in the Website/SomethingAwful LP of the game, with the Goons managing to track down and get an interview with Trevor's actor. |
| 153 | * ''VideoGame/NightInTheWoods'' features Gregg, who operates as this for Mae. However, Mae is a {{tomboy}}, so she and the StraightGay Gregg tend to do more masculine, delinquent activities, like petty vandalism and loitering. The trope is somewhat subverted, however, since Mae is pansexual herself. |
| 154 | * If the player character of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' is female, Dorian Pavus may fill this role if his friendship is maxed. He flirts with her, offers encouragement for her romantic pursuits, and is generally one of the most supportive members of her inner circle; the relationship is an overlap between this and LikeBrotherAndSister. |
| 155 | [[/folder]] |
| 156 | |
| 157 | [[folder: Visual Novels]] |
| 158 | * In ''VisualNovel/MurderByNumbers2020'', the gay, flamboyant British K.C. is Honor's only major support before SCOUT enters the picture, and a drag queen bar he helps with makeup becomes the setting of case 3. |
| 159 | [[/folder]] |
| 160 | |
| 161 | [[folder: Webcomics]] |
| 162 | * ''Webcomic/BigEthelEnergy'': Tim Franco, protagonist Ethel's {{Satellite|Character}} New York bestie, is established as gay when he calls dibs on a man. |
| 163 | %% * Bang from ''Webcomic/{{Blip}}''. However, his relationship with K is a bit more [[WithFriendsLikeThese vitriolic]] than usual. |
| 164 | * Fitz from ''The Webcomic/CodeCrimson'', though subverted in that he's a main character, hardly camp, and we meet [[http://www.comics.thecodecrimson.com/?webcomic_post=issue-1-page-11/ Fitz's ex-boyfriend]] early on. It's Serena who gives him [[http://thecodecrimson.com/post/24996196275/issue-1-page-6-oh-fitz-we-missed-you-so-much/ romantic advice]], not the other way around. She's the one who [[http://thecodecrimson.com/post/18787733979/issue0-page2-3/ never seems to date]]. The comic is basically a girl and her gay best friend traveling through time and space, although the girl happens to be SharingABody with a violent cyborg assassin from the future. |
| 165 | %% * Szark from ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'' became one of these over his run. He still gets to handle important plot points regardless. ("Battle For Barthis", for one -- where he was vital to the plan -- took place well after his transformation started.) |
| 166 | * {{Discussed| trope}} in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' in [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2013-12-03 this]] conversation between Susan and Justin about some feelings Susan can't quite make sense of. |
| 167 | -->'''Susan:''' ''How did you know that!?'' |
| 168 | -->'''Justin:''' I'm your gay male best friend! If Hollywood has taught us ''anything,'' it's that I'm naturally insightful. |
| 169 | * In ''Webcomic/ItSucksToBeWeegie'', Link is this for Luigi, frequently drinking and discussing their personal problems at the local bar. |
| 170 | * ''Webcomic/MenageA3'' had a minor version of this at times between Zii and CampGay Dillon, although he didn't give her much advice (and he's fairly sexually active in the comic), and later a more significant friendship between Amber and Dillon, which became central to spin-off comic ''Webcomic/StickyDillyBuns''. |
| 171 | %% * Tai from ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'', in her earlier appearances. |
| 172 | * Rudy from ''Webcomic/Rain2010'' is a somewhat {{Downplayed}} example. He ''appears'' to fit this stereotype to a T and definitely has his sassy moments. But he's more often than not defined by his impulsive nature and CannotKeepASecret tendencies more than his sass. |
| 173 | * In ''[[Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}} Shortpacked!]]'': |
| 174 | ** When she learns that Ethan is gay, Robin pretends to be a lesbian in order to make him jealous and thus produces a 'partner' to whom she proudly refers as "My lesbian!" to the point of not even learning her real name. While the woman is not an exaggerated stereotype used for comic effect but a perfectly ordinary, rather quiet, and shy person, her entire purpose in the comic is based around her sexuality - and, it [[strike: is hinted]] has now been outright stated, has a crush on Robin, partially explaining why she puts up with Robin's insensitivity. Robin later apologises, explaining that she's merely insecure and something of a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, and the two become friends, and later lovers. (Just for completeness, the lesbian's name is eventually revealed to be [[PunnyName Leslie Bean]].) |
| 175 | ** Also hilariously discussed in an earlier joke: the recently un-closeted Ethan gets dragged into shoe-shopping with Robin and Amber. He's not very good at giving advice, leading Amber to call him "the worst gay friend ever". (Just for RuleOfFunny, he was also wearing a purple shirt with "Gay Friend" on it) |
| 176 | * ''Webcomic/StickyDillyBuns'' has the CampGay Dillon happy to be besties with any woman who comes within reach. He's quite sexually active, but otherwise he seems downright GenreSavvy about the trope: |
| 177 | ** His friendship with Amber is played, ahem, fairly straight. He doesn't seem to give her much advice, but she'd doubtless listen if he did. |
| 178 | ** Things get slightly more subversive with his relationship with Amber's uptight sister Ruby. He's determined to break through her shell and gives her some good advice when they first start talking, especially with regard to dressing for her attempts to get a serious job. She acknowledges his help, and [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/sticky-dilly-buns/rock-these-designer-jeans sounds as grateful as she ever manages for it.]] However, [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/sticky-dilly-buns/a-man-will-not-pay-my-bills the next day,]] he decides to give her a [[TheMakeover makeover]] to help her find a boyfriend, despite her attempts to tell him that she doesn't want one, and [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/sticky-dilly-buns/best-ease-back-there throws]] a [[DramaQueen blubbering tantrum]] at the idea that they aren't going to work through every component of the trope. |
| 179 | * Inverted in ''Webcomic/{{Sunkissed|2020}}''. Main character Stephen is a StraightGay man and his roommate is a [[CampStraight flamboyant, over-the-top yet undeniably straight]] dude who exists mainly as comic relief. |
| 180 | * In ''Webcomic/WelcomeToRoom305'' the only reason Kyung Ah shows an interest in Yoon Sung and Jung Hyun is because of the rumours that they're a gay couple (which isn't true and Jung Hyun is MistakenForGay anyway), of course neither of the two knows that she's like that. Rose points out that this is an extremely narrow viewpoint. |
| 181 | [[/folder]] |
| 182 | |
| 183 | [[folder: Web Original]] |
| 184 | * "Meet [[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} Ophelia]][=/=][[Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet Juliet]][=/=][[Theatre/{{Othello}} Desdemona]][=/=] [[Literature/TheBible Eve]][=/=]Literature/TheGivingTree[=/=][[Literature/GreatExpectations Ms Havisham]][=/=][[Theatre/{{Macbeth}} Lady Macbeth]][=/=][[Film/BlackSwan Nina]][=/=][[Literature/TheOdyssey Odysseus]][=/=][[Theatre/HenryVIII King Henry VIII]], from (insert book/movie/place in history), he or she is about do or has done something stupid. This fate [[https://www.youtube.com/show?p=kOyajvATiyE&tracker=show_av&s=1 could have been avoided if]] they had a ''WebVideo/SassyGayFriend''." |
| 185 | * The entire point of [[http://vimeo.com/user6312928/videos/ Disappointing Gay Best Friend]] is to parody this trope. |
| 186 | %% * Parodied/homaged by [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/supportive-gay-friend-to-counsel-american-people-o,443/ this article]] of Website/TheOnion. |
| 187 | * [[http://notalwaysright.com/stereo-griping/7735 This]] story from ''Website/NotAlwaysRight'' features a woman who has quite a bit of trouble understanding that her friend is StraightGay. |
| 188 | %% * ''WebAnimation/TheMostPopularGirlsInSchool'', a very queer-friendly StopMotion show: |
| 189 | %% ** [[CampGay Tristan McKie]] to Brittnay Matthews. |
| 190 | %% ** [[ManlyGay Tanner Christiansen]] to Matthew Derringer. |
| 191 | %% * WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob review of ''Dear Santa'' featured "Bearyan", a parody of this trope who gives terrible advice to people of all genders [[spoiler: which apparently often results in encouraging them to commit axe murders]] |
| 192 | * Parodied in WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick's crossover with WebVideo/NeedsMoreGay, where she tries to force Rantasmo reluctantly into the role, but is confused that his life revolves around her much less than advertised. |
| 193 | -->'''Chick''': (''complaining about makeup'') |
| 194 | -->'''Rantasmo''': My rights and dignity have been systematically marginalized... guuuurrrl. |
| 195 | -->'''Chick''': (''complaining about boys'') |
| 196 | -->'''Rantasmo''': I am going to be honest here, Lindsay. I have not been listening to anything you said. ...guurrrrl. |
| 197 | * ''Literature/{{Plonqmas}}'': Plonq's best friend, an otter morph named Giblet, is gay. He’s very much out of the closet and at times teasingly flirts with Plonq but is not seen in a relationship of any kind. |
| 198 | * ''WebVideo/SgtDucky'': Subverted, Ducky's secondary school friend, John, was gay but either didn't know it at the time or didn't completely out yet until he was 21. |
| 199 | * Jeanne Teasdale, a commentary writer for ''Website/TheOnion'', has a CampGay boss named Fulgencio, who runs a table selling thrifted fashions at an antique mall. He acts as a gay friend to her most of the time, though he turned against her once when she tried to sell her own handmade pom-pom creatures at his table. |
| 200 | * ''WebVideo/OutWithDad'': Nathan's best friend, Johnny. He had been close friends with the Miller family for years. Rose even refers to him as "Uncle Johnny". No relation. He's a nice CampGay guy who gives the two of them support and advice, while he has no onscreen love life at all. |
| 201 | [[/folder]] |
| 202 | |
| 203 | [[folder: Western Animation]] |
| 204 | %% * Xandir from ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' (although he and his sexuality were the focus of at least one story, so he's not quite always a supporting character). |
| 205 | %% * {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' with Sparky, Stan's gay dog. But played straight with Mr. Slave, a walking parody of virtually all the QueerAsTropes. |
| 206 | * Clarence, [=GameaVision=]'s audio designer, from ''WesternAnimation/CodeMonkeys''. He always wears sparkling jumpsuits, sings in place of speaking, and makes many and blatant references to gay sex. Also, has "gay magic" such as the ability to fly. |
| 207 | %% * Michael Collins from ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamily''. This being Disney, [[AmbiguouslyGay he is not explicitly stated]] as being gay but it's hard to view him as anything else. |
| 208 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': |
| 209 | ** Played literally in the episode "Road to the Multiverse", where Chris wins a "genuine living homosexual" at a carnival. (The original trope name was Pet Homosexual.) |
| 210 | ** In another episode, Stewie invokes this trope when he claims that he's not worried about high school, feeling that the "worst case scenario" for him is that he'll end up as the "effeminate male friend of all the popular girls." |
| 211 | * ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'': Angel Dust is this to Cherri Bomb, since the pilot while fighting with Sir Pentious and his Egg Boiz and ADDICT music video. |
| 212 | * ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'': William Clockwell is this to Mark, established as such from the first episode, while he came out much later in the comic. |
| 213 | * Miguel from ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' is this to Leni and her friends. |
| 214 | * On ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Julio carries business cards that say "Sassy Gay Friend". With the opposite side reading "Scheming Gay Enemy". |
| 215 | * Bowie from ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'' ''(2023)'' is this to Emma [[spoiler:at least before their friendship dissolves after Emma gets back together with Chase]]. |
| 216 | ** Raj is also this to Wayne, even after [[ComingOutStory he comes out as gay to him]]. |
| 217 | [[/folder]] |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Main / GayBestFriend
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
