We Love 'Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys'

Have you ever watched a show like "Will and Grace" or "Glee" and thought, Hey, that's not what gay BFF relationships are like at all? Well, the Sundance Channel is hoping to fix that with their new show "Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys," which premieres tonight. 

The reality show follows four pairs of gay men and their straight female BFFs in different stages of their lives, and seeks to make men and women shout either "Yes, this is us!" or "I wish I had that!" -- all while being just as squirmy and heartfelt and charming as reality TV can be. 

We had the joy of speaking with Rosebud and Sahil, the youngest of the couples on the show, as they talked all over each other to tell us about love, friendship, and GBFFery.

Lemondrop: Rosebud and Sahil, tell me everything. How did you guys meet?
Sahil: We met in college, in the theater program. I think it was the first day of class...
Rosebud: It was before classes had even started! I was like "We have to be friends" and we just became close instantly!

When you met, Sahil, were you out yet?
Sahil: Not at all. 
Rosebud: But I knew.
Sahil: That's what was so funny, everyone knew. I was so convinced that I was playing the part so well. I was just really in the clouds thinking that I was fooling everyone.

How did that affect your friendship?
Rosebud: I finally broke down and talked to him about actually coming out. We'd always been very very close, and I kind of knew that it was bubbling up to the surface, that he was very uncomfortable being in the closet, so I said "If you don't come out, i'm going to push you out, because you're acting like a jerk." 
Sahil: I was incredulous, she was the first person who had ever said anything to me about being gay, so I swore her to secrecy about it. But she was right, it was affecting everything, even my education. I was a theater student, and I wasn't present in scenes at all because I had this big thing I was hiding. 
Rosebud: It was very hard to do, and awkward, but it eventually made us closer.
Sahil: Yeah, and eventually I saw that in our large social group, everyone started hooking up with each other, except for me. In my head I was like "Why don't these girls want to hook up with me?" It was because they all knew that I was gay!

What's the appeal, for those that have never been in a gay BFF relationship, for both people?
Rosebud: This relationship is all things. Sahil is my parent, child, cousin, boyfriend, brother, stylist, best friend, artistic collaborator -- he can be every single member of my family at some point in the day.... and possibly my arch nemesis.
Sahil: Oh yes definitely. We get in huge fights, and I always say to her "I am so internally pissed off" --
Rosebud: Which is hilarious because it is so obvious when you are pissed off, it's not internal at all.
Sahil: Girl-girl friendship has a weird cattiness to it, there's always some level of competition. That is completely eliminated with a gay man and a straight woman. There is no competition, we're going after different things. Being a gay guy and having a straight girlfriend also means that there's a lot of information we can trade with each other, a lot of new perspectives.

So if those are the best parts of it, what are the less than great parts about a gay guy-straight girl friendship?
Sahil: It can get too close, maybe. I mean, the formula really works, you can hang out forever just making each other happy, but you know, maybe a boyfriend gets jealous... 
Rosebud: Or maybe Sahil gets jealous more than my boyfriend! I mean, I understand it, if Sahil got a boyfriend, I'd be like "Get away from him, he's mine!" If I have to take second place, I get bent out of shape.
Sahil: That is true, for either one of us. We both want to be in first place. 

What do movies and TV shows get right about this kind of relationship, and what do they get wrong?
Sahil: Movies and shows are not showing the full range of the relationship. Usually they just show a very stereotypical couple- a weak, insecure female and her doting feminine gay guy. There are all kinds of straight girls, from tomboys to girlie girls, with all kinds of gay men, from butch to girlie. The straight girls in movies are so unable to handle things, they have to have their gay guy around. Rosebud doesn't have to have me around, she can function just fine without me.
Rosebud: They make the woman seem weak and alone, and the gay friend is her pet friend, an accessory.
Sahil: It's disgraceful for gay rights to show them that way. That's what's great about "Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys"- it gives a range of what this relationship really is- the women are all strong, independent, and beautiful, and the men are cultured, standup guys who are not just yes men. 

So what kinds of adventures can we expect from you two this season?
Sahil: Oh, lots. There's a breakup for Rosebud, a journey in my life...
Rosebud: Lots of spiciness on his end, and stuff that brought up things about our relationship that we needed to get out in the open. Being on a show like this holds a mirror up to yourself, you get to see everything, and it inspires you to make changes.
Sahil: You'll see how obsessed we are with each other, for better or worse, and you'll see that gay guys are not just walking happy Ken dolls, who can only support their straight best friends. Ours is a back and forth relationship.

I could have talked to Rosebud and Sahil for hours, and you can find them onlineuntil the show premieres. Watch Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys on the Sundance Channel starting tonight. Here's a clip of these two in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AcHV8rhi4U&feature=player_embedded

 By Emily V. Gordon