In some ways, the 'bro' is not new. He's there, for example, in Philip Roth's "Goodbye Columbus" as Ron Patimkin, the big athletic empty-headed brother of Brenda.
What's different is that in the 1960s, it seemed fundamentally untenable to be Ron for an extended period of time. Ron only really made sense as a college athlete, and now he's stuck with a bunch of mannerisms and interests that seem vaguely out of place.
Today's bros -- these are the guys with the popped collars, the backwards baseball hats, the high fives and the far more cutting edge handshakes -- seem determined to carry the vibe of college -- drinking games, video games, treating sexual conquest as a game -- forward toward their thirties.
This is also not a new idea, but rarely has its tribalism been so easily spotted.
GUESTS:
- Gene Demby - Writer for NPR’s Code Switch blog
- Shira Tarrant - Author of Men and Feminism and Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex, and Power
- Alex Deluca - Founder of GayBros, a reddit-based community for guys with “traditionally manly interests like sports, hunting, and beer”
- Josh Dean - Deputy head of Public Relations for BronyCon
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Chion Wolf and Patrick Skahill contributed to this show, which originally aired on June 26, 2013.
