With the use of the internet, the spread of information is quicker than ever before. Powerful men in the media play significant roles in perpetuating ‘bro culture,’ with its inherent biases and stereotypes, hindering progress towards gender equality.
In the digital age, the power of information dissemination has reached unprecedented levels. With the beginning of social media and online platforms, information spreads at rapid rates, shaping collective opinions and influencing societal norms. We have seen amazing levels of passion and change through the internet such as the #MeToo movement and BlackLivesMatter. However, this incredible connectivity comes with a dark side. ‘Bro culture,’ with its inherent biases and stereotypes, has found fertile ground for amplification through the sharing of information and collective opinion (mostly amongst men). This blog post will examine how powerful men such as Andrew Tate and Mark Zuckerberg influence the durability of ‘bro culture’ in the 21st century, undermining the female experience. Fred Turner and Tim Burners -Lee’s readings will be used to support the argument through their comprehensive analysis about the future of sharing information.
Walters, J. (2022). Gender Inequality still reigns. [image]. HRD. CC01.0
What is ‘bro culture‘
Bro culture refers to a set of social norms, attitudes, and behaviours that are often associated with young men, particularly in certain social or online environments. Traditional gender roles are on full display where ‘boys will be boys’ and women will essentially, shut up. This culture is characterised by an emphasis on physical strength, “bravado and competitiveness” (Garn, 2021). Shared interests such as video games, sports and music are key in shaping their identity and they usually possess a chilled/ laid back attitude. The main problem with bro culture is how their strong sense of self and comradery amongst ‘the boys’ results in humour and opinions deemed as “irrelevant” (Garn, 2021) or unfunny. This is usually picking fun at the feminine experience through stereotyping and politically incorrect ideas.
Silicon Valley, where ‘bro culture’ resides
In Silicon Valley, the persistence of ‘bro culture’ within tech giants like Google and Facebook remains a concerning issue, primarily stemming from the industry’s glaring lack of diversity. The tech sector has become synonymous with ‘bro culture’ because of the disproportionately low representation of women and minority groups. Distressingly, allegations of harassment and discrimination are far from uncommon. Former Google employee Loretta Lee’s accounts of daily experiences with “lewd comments, pranks, and even physical violence” during her time at the company between 2008 and 2016 (Bearnstead, 2023).
The #MeToo movement has shed light on this deeply entrenched issue. Reports have unveiled widespread harassment, discrimination, and a culture of silence in Silicon Valley. Notable figures in the industry, including powerful investors and executives have been accused of misconduct, exposing the extent of the problem (Griffith, 2022). Emily Chang’s book “Brotopia” provides a comprehensive examination of the tech industry’s “entrenched sexism, connecting history lessons with today’s dismal diversity reports” (Griffith, 2022).
Laine, N. (2023). Elon Musk acquired Twitter nearly a year ago after a court battle prompted by his attempt to back out of the $44 billion deal. [image] Getty Images. CC1.02
“The Tech industry still operates like an old boys club”
(Griffith, 2022).
Insider reported that Elon Musk paid a settlement to a flight attendant who has accused him of sexual misconduct. It was reported that Musk had offered to buy the worker a horse in exchange for an erotic massage. Chad Hurley, the founder of YouTube tweeted to Musk, “Stop horsing around and close this Twitter deal…We all want a happy ending” to which Musk responded, “fine touch my wiener, you can have a horse”. This public conversation perpetuates the belittlement and ridicule of women highlighting how men in Silicon Valley will get away with ‘bro culture’ because of their power.
What’s concerning is that despite growing awareness and efforts to address ‘bro culture’, it persists. Turners reading expresses the echoing patterns of exclusion and marginalisation seen in earlier communal movements, such as the male-dominated and hetero-normative communes of the 1960s. “We see Silicon Valley tech workers landing and imaging that they are arriving in a Bay Area that is only built for them.” (Turner, 2021). Silicon Valley is pushing aside the diverse population that already exists in the Bay Area. This pattern not only ‘alienates these communities’ but also leads to ‘extensive commuting’ for those displaced by the tech industry’s unchecked growth (Turner, 2021). It’s clear that ‘bro culture’ continues to be a significant obstacle to achieving true diversity and inclusivity in the tech world, and addressing this issue remains an ongoing challenge. “That’s not quite the society that we hoped we were going to build” (Turner, 2021).
Andrew Tate and his Army of ‘Bros’
Andrew Tate is a 36-year-old male known for his controversial and provocative statements on various topics. These include gender roles, relationships, and success. His views have ignited criticism and backlash from various groups as he has been accused of promoting misogyny and sexism. He is labelled by women as ‘the scariest man on the internet’ due to the detrimental effects he is having on gender equality.
Tate believes “women belong in the home, can’t drive and are a man’s property” (Tate, 2022). All outdated ideologies from the 1960s yet with his public presence he demonstrates how information sharing fuels a power imbalance.
Tate, A. (2023). Andrew Tate [image]. ABC. CC1.10
In July of 2022 there were more searches for Tate’s name than Donald Trump or Kim Kardashian. In August of 2022 clips tagged with his name have been watched more than a billion times. (Das, 2022). He had around 4.6 million Instagram followers before his account was banned but what is confronting is that these posts do not come from Tate’s account, they come from hundreds of other ‘copycat’ accounts run by his fans using his name and photos for clout. His business ‘Hustlers University’, with members as young as 13 are told they can earn up to £10,000 a month through lessons on crypto, drop shipping and recruiting friends, earning 48% commission for each person they refer. (Artsy, 2022). They are encouraged to promote videos of Tate that are the ‘most controversial’ to obtain views and comments. ‘Students’ are told that “attracting comments and controversy is the key to success: What you ideally want is a mix of 60-70% fans and 40-30% haters. You want arguments, you want war.” (Artsy, 2022).
He Advocates male supremacy and celebrates violence against women. These men do exist in our world, there is no denying this but when he shares his ideologies on such a widespread scale about how “rape victims must bear responsibility” for their attacks or that you should be with a younger woman because they have “less bodies to their name” he is perpetuating a collective opinion.
“28% of teenage boys said they look up to Andrew Tate”
(Pead, 2023).
If Tate believes that females are less than males, these young men are susceptible to these thoughts themselves. Society has been working to eradicate this ideology for the last 100 years. This ‘bro culture’ is fundamentally disseminating 100 years of feminist progression, and it won’t stop there.
The Ripple Effect
There is a new trend of twitter right now called ‘that phase where you slowly start hating your girlfriend’ where men share in similar experiences about uncalled for annoyances surrounding their girlfriends. This tweet was shared on the 1st of October 2023 and already has 147,000 likes. The men share post like “When you can’t let her go because you haven’t found her replacement yet” (Twitter @Lou219, 2023) or “You be having a bad day and then she hugs you and it gets even worse” (Twitter, @user375283858, 2023). This trend echoes the conversations started by Tate as one-man comments “Andrew Tate would love this rn brothers” (Twitter, @eeee69, 2023).
Tea. (2023). That phase where you slowly start hating your girlfriend is crazy – Twitter men hate women comments. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqAUaBdn5YE
To Conclude
The internet has proven to be remarkable for giving marginalised voices a platform, but we cannot overlook the inherent Bro culture that is currently dominating the media. Tech giants in Silicon Valley are creating workplace environments unfit for women to feel comfortable in and powerful men such as Andrew Tate are encouraging the 1960s values of a women, to serve a man and be submissive. “We hold the power to change it. It won’t be easy. But if we dream a little and work a lot, we can get the web we want.” (Berners-Lee, 2019). It is time to put a stop to this culture and turn the internet back to a useful tool for sharing information.
References
Artsy, A. (2023). How Andrew Tate sells men on Toxic Masculinity. Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/2023/1/10/23547393/andrew-tate-toxic-masculinity-qa
Berners- Lee, T. (2019). 30 years on, what’s next #ForTheWeb?. World Wide Web Foundation. https://webfoundation.org/2019/03/web-birthday-30/
Bernstead, S. (2023). ‘Bro Culture’ and why it’s still an issue. Breathe. https://www.breathehr.com/en-gb/blog/topic/company-culture/bro-culture-and-why-its-an-issue-for-startups
Das, S. (2022). Inside the violent, misogynistic world of new TikTok star, Andrew Tate. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/06/andrew-tate-violent-misogynistic-world-of-tiktok-new-star
Forbes. (2023). Mark Zuckerberg Profile. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/profile/mark-zuckerberg/?sh=397fe7ac3e06
Franco, D. (2022). Who is Andrew Tate, the misogynist hero to millions of men?. The Economist. https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2022/12/30/who-is-andrew-tate-the-misogynist-hero-to-millions-of-young-men?utm_medium=cpc.adword.pd&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=a.io_apac_freetrial&utm_content=conversion.non-brand.anonymous.apac_au_en_free-trial_na_non-brand_google_subs_pmax_other_na_na&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvfmoBhAwEiwAG2tqzG1E7v6bFOo7vriBLvVh0Y0qutVlzp7mnyAjQmPV-brv4KA8VkacYxoCgZsQAvD_BwE
Garn, E. (2021). 5 Signs of a Bro Culture. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-signs-bro-culture-elisa-garn-shrm-scp-sphr
Griffith, E. (2022). Silicon Valley slides back into ‘Bro’ Culture. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/24/technology/silicon-valley-slides-back-into-bro-culture.html
Kelty, C. (2014). The Fog of Freedom. (p196-220). The MIT Press.
Laine, N. (2023). Elon Musk acquired Twitter nearly a year ago after a court battle prompted by his attempt to back out of the $44 billion deal. [image] Getty Images. https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/sec-probes-elon-musks-twitter-takeover
Pead, A. (2023). Survey finds a third of teen boys look up to internet celebrity and self-described misogynist Andrew Tate. ABC. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-25/andrew-tate-admired-by-teenage-boys-survey-shows/101885940
Tate, A. (2023). Andrew Tate [image]. ABC. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-25/andrew-tate-admired-by-teenage-boys-survey-shows/101885940
Tea. (2023). That phase where you slowly start hating your girlfriend is crazy – Twitter men hate women comments. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqAUaBdn5YE
TikTok Dino. (2022). Andrew Tate about women: TikTok compilation. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qb_0Vw4_t4
Turner, F. (2021). “It’s an ongoing bromance”: counterculture and cyber culture in the Silicon Valley- An interview with Fred Turner. Journal of management enquiry. (p235-242).
Walters, J. (2022). Gender Inequality still reigns. [image]. HRD. https://www.hcamag.com/asia/specialisation/employee-engagement/gender-inequality-still-reigns-but-employers-are-making-some-headway-in-asia/416719
