Talk about a gay-straight alliance! Bryce Richard, a gay nursing student in New Orleans, said his straight best friend, Trent Miller, offered to be Richard’s date to his school’s spring formal. And now gays the world over are posting photos of their own Trents.
I told my best friend I didn’t have a date to my nursing school formal…
Him: Why didn’t u ask me?
Me: Well Trent, because ur straight
Him: Bryce we’ve been buddies for years &it kinda hurts my feelings u think I still care what people sayIn my opinion, everyone needs a Trent! pic.twitter.com/dJP4OVIJYV
— in ariana we stan (@yuhhboybryce) April 7, 2019
Richard revealed the heart-warming story via Twitter on April 7, writing that Miller was confused when Richard told him he didn’t have a date to the gala. “Why didn’t [you] ask me?” Miller said, according to Richard. “We’ve been buddies for years [and] it kinda hurts my feelings [you] still think I care what people say.”
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His tweet — which also showed photos of the handsome duo on the big night — has been retweeted more than 22,000 times and “liked” more than 217,000 times. Plus, other users were eager to show off their own Trents.
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My Trent is an Erick. I have him at my worst and best as I am to his. Love you, ‘Bro’! ?? 7 years and more!!! pic.twitter.com/WKxDjRGlId
— aki (@aquilersmile) April 10, 2019
My (straight) roommate of 2 years and one of my best friends for the past 6 years, Charlie, literally held me in my lap while I cried uncontrollably. One of the best examples of what it means to be an ally and comfortable with their sexuality and masculinity in a non toxic way pic.twitter.com/BDzKtAaPya
— Dan (@heyydanielll) April 10, 2019
here is my Trent, but his name is Alex. Love you man ? pic.twitter.com/B0k3rTk3r8
— rubat0 ? (@TempoRubat0) April 9, 2019
me & my Trent!! @CraigWrightBro2 ? pic.twitter.com/syXvAESRqp
— Braden Dill (@bdill48) April 9, 2019
Richard, for his part, is amazed by the tweets his story inspired. “OK, seeing the responses of people who have someone in their life like my friend is honestly so reassuring,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet on April 7. “Like yes, men are trash. We get that. But there really are some gems out there [with] amazing hearts, who actually treat people as people (a concept you’d think everyone grasps).”
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He continued: “It’s just nice seeing other’s support systems regardless of what society labels them as, or how they personally identify themselves. There’s so much hate surrounding us in the world, but seeing some love shine through gives me hope for both the near [and] distant future.”
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
You took the words right off my phone!
I too pity loser trolls with NO life who can’t let a feel good thread go by without attempting to infect it with negativity….
iamru2
Lol you guys are such hypocrites but too caught up in your sanctimonious bs to see it!
jjose712
It’s because you are really tiresome. The type of person who feels bad when others are happy. And the worst part is that you feel the need to spread your negativity everywhere.
I feel pity for you too
DCguy
What a shock. The anti-LGBT account that routinely defends bigots as victims and attacks LGBT people as bullies, doesn’t like a story about LGBTs ad Hetero people getting along.
DCguy
@iamru2
Sweetie, if you’re going to post something that is cut and paste, try to make it at least deal with the topic. How exactly are they hypocrites? Details please Troll.
fur_hunter
Speaking of ‘attention-getting’, Aahhh…have you read any of your own posts? You are screaming out for attention so someone will respond to your ignorance and intolerance. Sad. So sad.
Hussain-TheCanadian
This brought a tear to my eyes, so cute and amazing – bigots need to rediscover their humanity and see that the world is a better place when we laugh together.
fur_hunter
You are so correct. Thank you.
Roan
Have you considered therapy for all of your misplaced anger for the world and people that hurt you?
Donston
Too many homosexual/homo-leaning/homo-romantic/gay men seem to be obsessed with receiving the approval and affections of straight identifying guys. It goes beyond mere acceptance for some. And we all know how obsessed many guys are with hooking up with straight identifying guys. So, while the idea of breaking down toxic masculinity and having “allies” is important, it’s also a thin line and a case-by-case situation. Folks just need to remember that you can’t indulge your romantic passions and relationship contentment through someone who does not truly want you. And a lot of this “allies” stuff reads more like desperation and validation. I acknowledge the “progress”, but I also acknowledge the other side of things.
badpappy
A beautiful story, despite Donston’s bitchy comments.
Donston
I knew it would come off cynical, but it’s hardly bitchy. And it’s something that needed to be said.
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems the greater of percentage of guys who constantly talk about “allies” and their “straight male friends” ain’t got nobody. Many of them stay so focused on getting the approval, attentions and affections of non-gay identifying dudes that they never cultivate friendships with gay men and never have legit and substantial romantic/sexual same-sex relationships. My whole point is- yes, take note of the supposed progress, but no one should get a cookie for being “open minded” and for not being hateful. Furthermore, guys who know that the romantic, sexual, affection, relationship parts of their orientation are overall homo-leaning and that they only truly want to be with a guy need to remember that “straight men” can’t carry them or fulfill them. Gay identifying guys seem to be the only “minority” that continues to go crazy every time someone acknowledges them and the only ones who constantly talks about “allies”. Every other group has grown up a bit, gotten less naive, become more non-nonchalant and has become less reliant on validation from “others”.
I get the gay-straight alliance stuff and trying to break down toxic masculinity and homophobia. But I don’t like covering up all the problematic nuances and patterns with social media’s idea of progression. I also don’t care for giving people praise for simply being decent human beings.
HowardGyUK
I think Donston you miss the point a bit. These guys are celebrating friendships that aren’t romantic in any way…And to be fair, with all the anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish stuff going on, I don’t think any of my Muslim or Jewish friends have ever objected to having an ally… or people (male or female) who’ve experienced sexually inappropriate behaviour from others for that matter. Speaking out or just showing you love and accept people who aren’t quite like you or have different experiences to you is never a waste of time
Lobby
I see no lies. you rained down the truth. Why do gay men need validation from guys not interested, Would have been more tear inducing if it was about an unexpected crush, that came out and decided to do the unthinkable, go for prom with him.
gossimer
This is so sweet and humbling. “Love is love”, also means platonic love between members of the same sex, as well as of the opposite sex, which is exactly what friendship is. <3
Black Pegasus
This is eye roll inducing.
Donston
Stuff like this is partially why “gay” will never be cool. So much thirst and search for validation and praising people for just being decent.
Josh447
Donston,
Sorry bud but you’re blowing a big bag of bad gas. Confusing the innocent. Again. There is absolutely no basis in fact for what you are saying for the general public. Everyone has their flaws regardless of sexual orientation. My sense is it’s all your own thoughts and fears in your own life that make you waggle on so negatively ad nauseum in a convoluted manor most cannot even understand. Please. Put down the crack pipe. Quit blowin smoke. Take a deep breath. And. Stop already.
Donston
Perhaps there’s some truth to what you say. Perhaps there’s some truth to what I say. We both have our own perspectives. And no one is right all the time.
I don’t ever wish to rain on anyone’s parade. But if people weren’t so uncomfortable discussing uncomfortable topics and so uncomfortable looking beyond the thin surface then there wouldn’t be any reason for me to go there. I’m going to keep saying what I feel like saying, just like you will keep talking about how I must have all this inner turmoil. I do apologize for how convoluted I can be and how I can take conversations into a variety of directions. Still, I’m pretty certain you comprehend most of what I say. And if you don’t that’s not my problem. I’m sorry that I am not a basic ass Pollyanna like yourself nor as easily dismissed bitter Betty like many others.
Josh447
As with most people in here, I don’t comprehend all the undefined loose ends you splay about. You’re pushing an agenda with undefined terms. It’s not so much about dismissing you as to get you to define your terms and yourself. Right now you’re eliciting eye rolls from most here.
You need to put on your writing English teacher app, and listen to the, how to write to be understood section. Right now the only person you are clear to is yourself.
Gary Q VV
This topic certainly has opened a veritable can of worms. Your comments have heighten my queries about my own straight BFF. Who knows what feelings hide within a guy who says he’s straight, yet prefers my company over that of his buddies; and I’m a conspicuous Gay activist. The preponderance of my friends say he’s Bi, but I don’t care. To me, a friend is a friend. But Queer friends are the best.
Diplomat-G
@ Gary Q VV
Perhaps your buddy simply likes you for who you are period. I have several frds and know there are some I simply prefer to spend more time with than others. Yet we are all still frds.
Donston
The whole “bromance” hype has helped to cover up the reality that there are guys who may just be hetero-leaning sexually but are overall homo-romantic, prefer persistent same-sex affections, prefer persistent love from their gender, persistent validation from their gender, prefer to persistently please and comfort someone of their gender, and have greater same-sex relationship contentment. You won’t really know what’s going on with your friend unless you ask. If he’s a true friend he won’t get offended and will have no problem keeping it real.
One thing that pandering, social media group-think, political correctness and obsession with identity has stifled is acknowledging that everyone has their own thing going on. As much as we talk about “progress” too many folks still allow attractions, sexual behaviors and/or sociology to dictate their lives or sense of self. This is partly why many men don’t come out and admit that they only really want to be with someone of their gender til they’re middle age. And it’s why understanding the romantic, sexual, affection, relationship spectrum is so important. However, yes, your friend could simply see you as a good friend.
PollyDarton
I hope there was a water fountain at their prom — to quench their thirst.
Donston
While I do talk a lot about the spectrum I acknowledge that there are quite a few people who are indeed inherently heterosexual or homosexual. Claiming there isn’t usually is just a reflection of homophobia or internalized homophobia or hetero/straight-leaning worship. Many people have no attractions, passions, romantic feelings, relationship fulfillment beyond one gender. However, I do see “straight” and “gay” (as opposed to heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual) as social constructs and are best used as representation of overall romantic, sexual, affection, relationship preferences/fulfillment/contentment rather than things to give strict meaning to or things to be aligned with hetero, homo, bi sexuality.
Aires the Ram
@Donston: I agree with 99% of what you’ve been saying in this thread. I am a firm believer that the so-called “gay community” has become toxic, not only amongst themselves, but in how the general population views them. I think this is why the younger generation of guys now, who are homo-leaning, are outright rejecting the label “gay”, because it does NOT represent the fact that they have romantic/sexual feelings towards other guys, it instead represents “Gay, Inc.” in the sense that they will not buy into the party-line of the gay community that if you like dick, you’re less of a man, you’re not a real man, and that you are somehow a separate species, a separate race from your straight-leaning buddies. A great dis-service is done to homo-leaning men when they’re told they can’t be in the club with “real men”, and to be in the “gay” club, they must tout the anti-male rhetoric of the radical feminists, the rhetoric of the leftists/Marxist, and they must swallow, hook, line & sinker, the idea that they’re just girls on the inside. All of that has become tired, very yesterday, and these young guys know it, and are choosing their associations accordingly.
Lobby
What the? dude did you really read Donston’s Comment or you wrote your own bias. Donston is stating that, the gay community is pandering to heteros’s validation. Instead of simply accepting themselves and holding a value to their self-worth. You don’t need some hetero dude to make you feel special on prom day, You only need someone that adores and respects you on a deeper level. Could be a crush etc This whole anti-fem rhetoric nonsense is the opposite of what a healthy gay community is about.Yours sounds like closet self hating rhetoric. Find some peace inside first, then you will understand the community. You sound insecure.
BGinBigD
@Donston GIRL, please, we get your point. Enough already! Let people be happy in their own way. Their story is their story to share. No analysis required.
ingyaom
When I see these pictures I wonder who is the gay one and who is straight, and if the gay one is secretly (or not-so-secretly) in love with his straight friend … and how painful that can be.
stuffedpuppy
Donston, For once that we could read a nice, feel-good story here on Queerty (where self loathing is too often ‘de rigueur’), you had to come and scrap it in your usual, confused psycho pop diatribes. How sad…
I can’t imagine for the sake of (your) sanity how you can come up with so many combinations of sexual orientations/ leanings/ terms that sound like you’ve either been reading bad psychology mags or simply intensely frustrated by something you’ve experienced developing same-sex attraction—or whatever you have diagnosed it…there has to be something, right?
Here’s one for you: growing up I had a straight best friend BFF. I admit I was attracted to him however he was not to me yet we had the same bond as straight friends. I always felt on his side a platonic, deeply respectful love towards me. Was it more? Who knows, who cares? Now, thirty years later, he knows I would be here for him and vice versa. He’s happily married with two beautiful children.
There’s no straight or gay; there’s sexual attraction and respect.
GayEGO
Wow! This shows that emotions are more important than sex!
Donston
I appreciate the responses to my posts, even the disagreeing ones. They’re at least pushing the conversation beyond the shallow and sentimental.
I’m not looking to sh*t on this story. I’m just looking at all the contradictions and hypocrisies we’re being sold. You have guys who claim that we shouldn’t place so much emphasis on “labels” and things should be more about honesty, freedom, self-understanding, and loving/being with who you truly want to love and be with. But some of those same guys will hype having straight-identifying male friends, will praise those male friends, and place those men on pedestals while viewing themselves as inferior. How do you want equality and respect if you’re still looking at yourself as a lesser, inferior being? You can’t preach equality and respect if you’re perpetuating this image of being different, inferior and desperate for approval/validation from the majority. As I said, this kind of stuff is partially why “gay” will never be cool.
Aires the Ram, your post comes off kinda misogynistic and effemi-phobic. However, I agree that stereotypes and trying to form a too specific definition of “gay” have helped keep embarrassment on that word. I also agree that some feminists and “queer politics” can be problematic. Feminists preach women not filtering themselves through the prism of men and not living their lives according to men. However, many of those same self-proclaimed feminists expect men to appease them and to filter their sense of self, their identities and often times their lives through women.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
FU Queerty CENSORING!!
Aires the Ram
@ Lobby: You said: “This whole anti-fem rhetoric nonsense is the opposite of what a healthy gay community is about.Yours sounds like closet self hating rhetoric. Find some peace inside first, then you will understand the community. You sound insecure.”
—First, the ‘anti-fem’ rhetoric you speak of, is in response to my saying that ‘Gay, Inc.’ forces their own radical feminist anti-male agenda down the throats of homosexual males, should they want to be accepted into the SO-CALLED gay community. Just by saying that young men don’t want to, and refuse to accept this, that they must be just girls on the inside, is not “anti-fem”. As far ‘closet self-hating rhetoric’, I’ve been out of the ‘closet’ for over 40 years, and have always liked myself in a healthy way. I have much peace inside, and your accusation that I do not ‘understand the community’ is pure folly on your part. Sounds to me like I hit a nerve with a card carrying member of “Gay, Inc.”. Typical, you don’t like what I said, so you come back with an ad hominem attack on me. Find some peace today Honey.
piriblue
Life is really wonderful. Always be yourself and don’t let ignorance make you feel bad. If you really look around there are a lot of people that really care for you.
batesmotel
This is amazing I love it! Although I disagree with his statement that men are trash. None of the men I know are trash. The straight men around me are more loyal than the gay ones that come around, which is ironic.