I Heart Pop Culture Tuesdays Vol. 3. {A Girl and Her Gay Man: A Love Story.}

Let's dig right in on this one.

Every girl has her go-to boy. And, no, I'm not talking about her boyfriend. I'm talking about her best gay male friend. Anybody who's anybody has one. If you don't, well, I'm not even sure why you're here. Honestly, if a girl doesn't have a gay male sidekick/soul mate, I'm just not sure we have anything in common.

You see... Next to every great woman is a great gay man. Period. The end.

Now I don't want to generalize here. There are all kinds of fantastic gay men and lots of them don't know a thing about labels or skincare. However, the gay sidekick is a particular kind of gay man. This is the guy who will hold your hand while your heart is breaking and then take you out for a cosmo and tell you how fantastic your hair looks.

This man has been captured on television and in film in some of my favorite roles ever. Like so many great Tuesdays before (okay, there were two), let's make a list.

- Ricky Vasquez - My So-Called Life

It's hard to leave out characters from My So-Called Life for any of my little lists. This show was beautifully written and acted. With the exception of Six Feet Under and Sex and the City, I can't think of better television. The show was iconic and so was the character of Ricky. He battled homophobia, homelessness and Rayanne Graff's teenage alcoholism. He had style and, man, he had heart. He made us cry and he made us dance.

- George - My Best Friend's Wedding



Rupert Everett played George in My Best Friend's Wedding and he stole the show from Julia and all that hair. The premise of this film is that Julia is in love with her best friend, but anyone who's ever seen it (that's pretty much all of us, right?) knows that her real best friend was George. George plotted with her to get her man, told her when she was acting crazy (because this is hallmark behavior for all sidekicks), advised her when it was time to walk away and comforted her when she finally did. And that's a best friend for you.

- Stanford Blatch/Anthony Marentino - Sex and the City

The heart of Sex and the City is the women and their friendships with one another. However, Carrie's love for Stanford and Charlotte's for Anthony should never be overlooked. Because Carrie is the star of SATC, one would assume Stanford is the shinier of the two sidekick characters, but I gotta tell you - I heart Anthony Marentino. Stanford's cute, but Anthony stole my love when he first screamed out, "I am sleeping and walking! Sleeping and walking!" Either way, these men were always their for our girls.

- Will Truman - Will & Grace

Will & Grace, more than anything else, was a love story. A love story between two best friends, between two soul mates. Finally, a television show got it right. This show wasn't about sexuality, it was about relationships. Gay or straight, love is love and these two had it.

As any GWAGBF (girl with a gay best friend) will tell you, there is no love like it. Even though it's Tuesday, let's push pop culture aside for just a minute and get a little personal...

{oldies, but goodies... and like all photos I scan, there are little pieces of dirt and/or hair scanned right on in}

I have my own sidekick/soul mate, Danny. I remember him from elementary school because he would rock his parakeet yellow jacket with a confidence I had never seen in another third grader. In junior high, we would exchange En Vogue CDs and by high school, he was recreating Kevyn Aucoin's makeup artistry on my face and making me sit through Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" video premiere (and then telling me - with tears in his eyes - how disappointed he was). He's known every boy I've ever cared about and made fun of almost every one. I knew Jenner just might be long-term relationship material when Danny met him and after five minutes said, "I love you, Jenner. I think I want a boyfriend just like you."

Ah, to have the unconditional love of a good (gay) man is a beautiful thing. I hope you have your own special someone or two.

Happy Pop Culture Tuesday! Tell me, do you have a best gay male friend/sidekick/soul mate?