"Never sleep with your mate's ex-girlfriend." Or so says one of the rules of the Bro Code: a set of unspoken regulations that exist between men and their mates, which are put in place in the hope of keeping the peace between Bros everywhere. Just ask a loyal Bro (as I did the other day at my local gym) although he almost broke a cardinal rule: you don't talk about the Bro Code ... especially with women. Yet, while it seems many blokes adhere to the Bro Code, (after all, we are home of the origin of "mateship"), blokes in other parts of the globe just don't seem to be as diligent.
Take John Terry, former captain of England's football team, who, after being outed as having been ensconced in an affair with his teammate ex-girlfriend, became the subject of a nation-wide smear campaign.Now, aside from Terry doing the wrong thing by his wife and kids, his actions and behaviour have led many to ask the inevitable question: how unforgivable should it be when one bonk's a mate's ex-girlfriend? ...While we all know the answer to that, it astounds me to see this sort of behaviour being played out time and time again without care or thought for the friendship involved.
Or, in the case of soap star Lorenzo Lamas and his son, family relations. Yep, according to Star magazine, Lorenzo's son A.J. had an affair with his father's odd-looking third ex-wife Playboy Playmate Shauna Sand. Classy.
Then there's my mate Jed, who, despite being a loyal friend to his best mate Kade, seemed to have little regard when it came to kissing Kade's ex-girlfriend two weeks after they broke up. Ouch. While they say all is fair in love and war, it seems, when it comes to the Bro Code, rules are rules and when one decides to violate those rules, you can bet your Bromance that there'll be hell to pay.
Hence the apparent desperate need for the official Bro Code book, authored by (the fictional) Barney Stinson, the serial womaniser (played by Neil Patrick Harris) in the hit TV show How I Met Your Mother. Stinson - who rotates his women as often as he changes his underwear - lives his life by his self-created Bro Code and continually quotes it to his mates when he feels they're doing wrong by him.
The rules of his code include:
* Bros before Hos.
* Bros cannot make eye contact during a "Devil's Three-Way". (Two men.)
* The mom of a Bro is always off-limits but the stepmom of a Bro is fair game if she initiates it and/or is wearing at least one article of leopard print clothing.
* A Bro never sends a greeting card to another Bro.
* A Bro will drop whatever he's doing and rush to help his Bro dump a chick.
* When in a public restroom, a Bro (1) stares straight ahead when using the urinal; (2) makes the obligatory comment, "What is this, a chicks' restroom?" if there are more than two dudes waiting to pee; and (3) attempts to shoot his used paper towel into the trash can like a basketball ... rebounding is optional.
* If a Bro forgets a guy's name he may call him "brah", "dude", or "man" but never "Bro".
And there's plenty more here.
But all this Bro Code chatter got me wondering: in the case of the recent advertisement for Hahns Super Dry beer, where a man refuses to date his mate's sister in fear of violating the Code, would a woman ever consider ignoring the advances of her best friend's brother simply because her best friend wasn't super keen on her friend dating her brother?
In many cases (especially since there's a supposed "man drought" situation), I think not. So in a bid to find out how men and women differ when it comes to standards of friendship, I'll let the dudes out there decide the verdict on these ones...
* How long after your mate has broken up with his girlfriend can you date him?
* Is it ever OK for guys to hug one another?
* Can a man leave his friends to see a girl?
* Can a man leave his girl to see his friends?
* If it is raining, can a guy hold an umbrella up for another guy?
* Are there any rules for going together on a "mancation"?
* Can dudes call each other "just to say hi"?
* Can men sit in each other's car after a sporting event/beer night out to carry on their conversation?
* If a man doesn't have a date to a wedding/work event, is it ever OK for him to bring another male mate?
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