I'm sure we've all heard of the TV show friends, and probably many of us have seen a couple of episodes. It's one of my favorite shows ever - my sister and I own the entire series and used to watch it pretty often to pass the time (before I got to NYU).
Cultural ideologies of male masculinity, and even more broadly, heterosexuality are a very large part of the show and its humor. One rather specific example of this is Joey and Chandler's friendship, and more particularly, the way that they engage each other emotionally and to a certain extent physically. A major running gag in the series is Joey and Chandler's occasional propensity to hug each other after an event that somehow shows the strength of their friendship.
Throughout the show, and evidenced by the hugging sequences, there's a pretty distinct polarization in categorizing male friendships - on the one hand there is a normative, conventional and heterosexual 'buddies' friendship and on the other there's an undertone of a homosexual, 'this is weird, let's stop hugging' ideology.
Part of the humor lies in Chandler and Joey's characters, the former is constantly referred to as effeminate while the latter is (maybe in every episode) referred to as a womanizer. It's funny, as well as problematic, because the situation is displayed and treated in a way that is intentionally pointing out a cultural and gender taboo - that the conventional, heterosexual man doesn't hug.
Extra: Joey and Ross taking naps
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