Manuel Betancourt on the word ‘throuple’ & the questionable value of friends with benefits

Manuel Betancourt. Photo by Jack Manning.

Author Manuel Betancourt knows a thing or two about intimate relationships. But he prefers to position himself (at least in the literary world) as the savvy inquisitor rather than the quintessential expert, despite earning a doctorate in English Literature and authoring the award-winning The Male Gazed: What Hunks, Heartthrobs and Pop Culture Taught Me About (Desiring) Men).

Betancourt’s latest work, Hello Stranger: Musings on Modern Intimacy (January 14, 2025, Catapult Books), continues his quest to dismantle our ideas around masculinity, intimacy, and the impact of culture and social media on our deepest relationships. A regular contributor to outlets like Variety and the Los Angeles Times, Betancourt’s vast film knowledge appears throughout the essay collection, with timely references spanning

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