Straight women and gay men share a strong bond because of the trustworthy mating advice that passes between them.
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin found straight women and gay men enjoy a strong bond because of the honest and unbiased relationship advice they share with each other. The study was the first of its kind to prove that the bond between straight women and gay men was based on mating motivations without deception.
"Friendships between straight women and gay men are free of hidden mating agendas," said Eric Russell, lead author of the study and visiting psychology researcher at The University of Texas at Austin. "They may be able to develop a deeper level of honesty because their relationship isn't complicated by sexual attraction or mating competition."
The study was conducted on 58 homosexual men and 88 heterosexual women. Each of the participants was given a Facebook profile with the same name "Jordan" but with different genders and sexual orientation.
Participants were told that the study was to see how social networking sites influenced relationships. All participants were asked to imagine that they had met this "Jordan" at a party and he or she was giving them sex-related advice. Researchers wanted to see how much of this advice the participants believed to be true and effective.
Results of the study showed that gay men thought the advice from straight women to be more trustworthy than from straight men or a homosexual man or woman. Similarly, heterosexual women said that advice from homosexual men was more trustworthy than advice from a straight man or woman.
According to the study, researchers concluded that women see other women as competition and don't trust their advice. Also, they believe advice from other straight men may come with the intention to detach them from other men and lure them towards themselves. However, both straight women and gay men don't have this conflict with each other and hence find their advice more trustworthy.
