Brother, or “bro,” is a versatile word—used to describe literal siblings, affectionately refer to a friend and most recently, group men with similar interests. This phenomenon has started to evolve into specific groups such as “bros” in finance, technology, media and even exercise.
Finance Bro
The idea of a “finance bro” primarily stems from the 2013 movie “The Wolf of Wall Street,” leading many to embrace the idea that making money off of risky means, especially investing in the stock market, is desirable. Senior Brennan Pavolotsky believes that this perception can be problematic.
“People go into the finance industry with the expectation that ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ is the reality,” Pavolotsky said. “In actuality, it’s completely different. A lot of people go in with just a small perspective, and they realize once they get [into finance] that it’s a lot harder. [Activities such as] investment banking, you’re [going to] be working 100 hours [per] week.”
Pavolotsky acknowledges the importance of genuine interest
“There’s also the finance bro who is a guy [who] is actually dedicated to the field and didn’t go in necessarily because he saw a movie about it, but because he generally likes the field and he wants to become better at it,” Pavolotsky said. “[Some finance bros] put in the hours making financial models and networking because they have a lot of ambition.”
Although the finance field is stereotyped to have a large male dominance, many women also take an interest.
“Anyone can be a bro, you don’t need to be a guy,” said junior Lucas Nguyen. “I have a lot of female friends who I consider my bros … because they fit the prerequisites. They’re loyal, good friends and they share the same cultures and interests in finance that I do.”
Gym Bro
The phrase “gym bro” is meant to represent a person who is enthusiastic or passionate about weightlifting and working out.
For Physical Education teacher Malcolm Davis, the phrase takes on a different meaning, one he doesn’t necessarily identify with.
“My vision for a gym bro is someone who is just picking up [working out as a hobby] and them and their buddies go together as a bonding experience,” Davis said. “I’ve been working out since I was 15 years old but for sports specifically. The ‘gym bro’ label is more on people who maybe aren’t necessarily athletes but are very into their physiques and being in shape.”
The stereotype of working out being something men primarily take an interest in is starting to change.
“[Society] is trying to change the term now, I think they call them ‘gym girlies,’” Davis said. “Phrases like ‘gym bro’ are a little bit more specific towards men, but it can include gym girls as well, it’s the same thing. Adding that extra element would help [with the gender differences].”
This phrase has started to evolve more into a person who helps someone else out in the gym.
“Considering someone else as a gym bro is almost like family,” said senior Diego Coronado. “[They] have trust and character, and [they are] a person who is willing to be there and take care of you.”
For people like Coronado, a gym bro is also someone who helps in ensuring a proper workout.
“[A gym bro] has your back for every single rep that you do,” Coronado said. “They’re going to push you to the max and they’re going to make sure not to baby you … Being there, making sure they’re comfortable with you and inspiring them to be able to strive for more determination is important.”
Tech Bro
Especially compared to other “bros,” “tech bros” stereotypically exhibit qualities that may not seem as desirable.
“The ‘tech bro’ is very committed to working in tech and they tend to be quite money [or] superficially oriented,” said senior Satvik Reddy. “They’re very capitalistic in a very unsavory and not self-aware way. The [tech] subculture promotes ideas that are generally not considered very acceptable to those outside the subculture, but because ‘tech bros’ hang out with other ‘tech bros,’ these ideas grow in a bad way.”
However, junior Charles Birkelund sees the idea of a tech bro in a different and more neutral light.
“Whenever I hear ‘tech bro’ I think of a computer scientist,” Birkelund said. “It’s not like somebody who fixes computers, it’s somebody who can get on your computer and write a program for you as well as help out with technology issues … It does have this connotation that their entire personality is tech, but you can be very proud of being a tech bro — that’s why they do tech, they really like it.”
For the tech field, the idea of a ‘tech bro’ being a female is harder than in other fields due to the gender disparity in the field.
“The fact that [terms like tech bros] is the language that is used is more a reflection upon the lack of diversity within the tech industry,” Reddy said. “It is a male-dominated field, so the fact that the word ‘bro’ is used is not a coincidence. Perhaps it does act as a deterrent to promoting diversity since it’s inherently an exclusive word.”
