We have a hipster thread, so it's time to do one on their long-standing rivals, the bros!

 

The United States of Bros: A Map and Field Guide

 

Like "hipster" and "douchebag," the word "bro" has been applied to such a vast swath of American culture that it seems no one is really sure what it means anymore. Turns out, much of that confusion can be attributed to the fact that a bro is different depending on where in the Bronited States of Bromerica you're currently bro'ing down.

 

Before we enter the brozone, we must answer, for our purposes, the age-old question: What is a bro? The most practical, workable definition: An adult male whose social life revolves around collegiate homosocial bonding and who also presents himself in a way that assimilates to the prevailing aesthetic of men with similar socialization patterns. Or, if I was going to put it in a way that sounded less like a student who didn't do the reading trying to fill out the essay portion of a sociology exam, a bro is a young, usually unmarried, often immature guy who just does what everyone else his age seems to be doing. He's not necessarily a bad guy, he's not necessarily worthy of derision (some of my best friends are bros!). He's just figuring life out and trying to enjoy himself in the process (unfortunately, this pursuit of enjoyment combined with a lack of self awareness, can, in the case of some bros, result in asshole behavior), and he's not secure or confident enough to do it on his own.

 

Overall, bros just wanna have fun! In a group of 5 or 6 other, similarly dressed bros!

 

Interestingly enough, what's required for bro-ing down in, say, Chicago would not fly in a bro bar in, say, New York City. And imagine a New York City bro rolling into a gathering of Portland bros. Imagine a Red State Frat Bro trying to kick it with an LA Bro. A DC bro and a Cowbro. Bros, like liquor, rarely mix well, if at all.

 

So, without further ado, a brief survey of regional bros and their aesthetic ideals.

 

CONTINUED

http://jezebel.com/the-united-states-of-bros-a-map-and-field-guide-1550563737

Pot. Bales and bales of pot.

I feel like bros live in an eternal 2005.

I'm pretty sure I live in an eternal 2005.

I live in an eternal 1987

Wow, one minority "bro" in the bunch!

It’s Jezebel, so the hipster, relatively racist/sexist author kept the descriptions to men, but failed to mention they are almost always opposite a similar group of girls, donned in too-short, too-tight dresses, with too-tan skin and too-blonde hair.

 

There’s a window of around 15 minutes or so at Neon’s, in Cincinnati, that one can literally watch the place transform from a hipster paradise to bro bar. I don’t know of a better way to visualize the stereotype of both hipsters and bros than to stand outside of Neon’s around midnight on a weekend.

 

...There’s a window of around 15 minutes or so at Neon’s, in Cincinnati, that one can literally watch the place transform from a hipster paradise to bro bar....

 

 

lol

It’s Jezebel, so the hipster, relatively racist/sexist author kept the descriptions to men, but failed to mention they are almost always opposite a similar group of girls, donned in too-short, too-tight dresses, with too-tan skin and too-blonde hair.

 

I was thinking the same thing.  Jezebel doing a piece trying to pin down "bro" culture is a bit like Maxim doing a survey of the modern feminism movement.

LOL this is hilarious.  Since I have been here for a year and a half, I think I can make a good description of Cincinnati bros:

 

The Cincinnati Bro

 

Uniform: Ralph Lauren Polo / Button Down, finely pressed dress shorts, probably J Crew, definitely boat shoes or thongs, no socks.  Gelled hair for sure, $100 watch on left wrist.

Job: Finance at 5/3rd, marketing at P&G, marketing at P&G, Finance at 5/3rd

Hobbies: Getting blackout drunk every weekend, Reds games, creeping at Japs, Dinner at Mt. Adams Tavern, "Casual" drinks at Lackmann, chewing tobacco.

Secret shame: Has one very best bro friend and if said bro friend is not going out neither is the bro.  The bro does not act the same without said best bro friend and looks lost

Celeb brospiration: Not sure, Nick Lachey?

 

It’s Jezebel, so the hipster, relatively racist/sexist author kept the descriptions to men, but failed to mention they are almost always opposite a similar group of girls, donned in too-short, too-tight dresses, with too-tan skin and too-blonde hair.

 

There’s a window of around 15 minutes or so at Neon’s, in Cincinnati, that one can literally watch the place transform from a hipster paradise to bro bar. I don’t know of a better way to visualize the stereotype of both hipsters and bros than to stand outside of Neon’s around midnight on a weekend.

 

 

Yep. I too have witnessed this crowd transition at Neon's. Usually on a Saturday night between 5:30 to 7. Its like one minute you're around ten people you know from the neighborhood and the next the pedal wagon arrives with the bros and woo-girls and everyone you know leaves!

It’s Jezebel, so the hipster, relatively racist/sexist author kept the descriptions to men, but failed to mention they are almost always opposite a similar group of girls, donned in too-short, too-tight dresses, with too-tan skin and too-blonde hair.

 

Trixies

Cincinnati has a diverse and complex bro population (bropulation?) due to our unique geography and regional placement. In the wild you can spot preppy-bros (both affected and inherited), nascar-bros, all-boys catholic high school alumbros, and much more. I look forward to analyzing this delightful yet frightening category with all of you.

 

I also relish the opportunity to learn more about bros in other corners of our state and throughout our great nation.

Oh NASCAR bros. When I lived in Cincinnati (mid-late 2000s) I first moved there and realized that no one was into NASCAR. Then slowly as NASCAR lost popularity in the mainstream, interest in NASCAR began to ramp up in and around Cincinnati. I don't know if it's because Kentucky Speedway reached maturity and got a Cup race OR if they're just into it in order to claim higher Republican status. Probably a little of both.

So a bro is basically the stereotypical alpha male.

 

It’s Jezebel, so the hipster, relatively racist/sexist author kept the descriptions to men, but failed to mention they are almost always opposite a similar group of girls, donned in too-short, too-tight dresses, with too-tan skin and too-blonde hair.

"Too"? :drunk:

It’s Jezebel, so the hipster, relatively racist/sexist author kept the descriptions to men, but failed to mention they are almost always opposite a similar group of girls, donned in too-short, too-tight dresses, with too-tan skin and too-blonde hair.

 

I was thinking the same thing.  Jezebel doing a piece trying to pin down "bro" culture is a bit like Maxim doing a survey of the modern feminism movement.

 

ROFL Glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read this.

Yes, as JYP mentioned, the female counterpart of the bro is the woo girl.

 

There is a solution to the brovercrowding at Neon's. Someone must set up a decoy bar elsewhere in OTR with a name like Paddy McDooligan's Irish Pub to lure the bros/woo girls away.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Do%20you%20even%20lift%20bro%3F

 

Do you even lift bro?

 

Male greeting. Used most often among a group in a chat room. Depending on the answer, the person will be judged to be "in" or "out". This is normally followed by an extended boasting session. However, the boasting is reversed and as a person is accepted into the group, a tall tale is told about them.

 

Cyborg walks into a room and says "Hey everyone"

Nova responds with "Hey Bro"

Cyborg say "Do you even lift bro?"

Adabear says "I lifted your mom last night, does that count?"

**Now accepted as part of the group**

Cyborg says "Adabear is so big he once lifted the ocean, just cause he dropped his sunglasses while Jetskiing!"

 

After appropriate laughter, this continues as a greting

It’s Jezebel, so the hipster, relatively racist/sexist author kept the descriptions to men, but failed to mention they are almost always opposite a similar group of girls, donned in too-short, too-tight dresses, with too-tan skin and too-blonde hair.

 

Trixies

 

We always call them bitties, but I like trixie as a term for female bros. The one problem with the bro term is that it's gendered whereas hipster is gender-neutral. I usually just refer to my female bro friends as "bros," or more commonly, homegirl. Homegirl is a great sign of respect, and reserved for women who hold a high place in my life.

 

In the Marina District of San Francisco, by far NorCal's greatest concentration of bros and trixies, the bro scene has a heavy Chubbies and sailing theme (Chubbies are headquartered in San Francisco and produce a lot of bro fashion). America's Cup was also pretty awesomely bro. Kiwis and Aussies are American bros on steroids.

 

The problem with the Marina District is that a crappy 2-bed apartment starts at $5,000 a month (and gets way higher). It's well beyond even Wall Street bros and can match the rents of hipster areas like Lower Haight and the Mission District (though the Marina is a much higher quality neighborhood). Lots of 25-year-old millionaires live in the Marina, but the girls are amazing. It's like Santa Monica Del Norte- gorgeous women with much better game than the rest of San Francisco. As a neighborhood, it stands in direct contrast with the rest of San Francisco and rest of the Bay Area (though Palo Alto and San Jose have some bros too...I just wish Oakland did). The Marina is to bros as the Mission is to hipsters.

 

My favorite Marina pickup lines are below. The girls do in fact approach guys there sometimes, which as any man in San Francisco will tell you, has become a rarity (it's getting rare for any strangers to talk to each other since they're staring at their iPhones 24/7- people get robbed on crowded streets in SF and there are no witnesses). The Marina is the exception to this rule (and all San Francisco rules). It's all about leaning in!

 

"Where do you want to go after this place?"

"Do you do coke?"

"Hi," (immediately start making out)

"I like your muscles."

"I like your girlfriend. Oh wait, are you two dating?"

No words, just start making out after making eye contact

 

The Marina rocks and is always a good time. The women are very confident and sexually open by SF standards. It is a beautiful neighborhood with sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and by far the best nightlife in the Bay Area. The only negative is its horrific public transit...but people there don't use it much, except for the "Dirty 30," which is one of Muni's best pickup busses (along with late-night 38 Geary busses with Polk Street bar crowd).

It’s Jezebel, so the hipster, relatively racist/sexist author kept the descriptions to men, but failed to mention they are almost always opposite a similar group of girls, donned in too-short, too-tight dresses, with too-tan skin and too-blonde hair.

 

There’s a window of around 15 minutes or so at Neon’s, in Cincinnati, that one can literally watch the place transform from a hipster paradise to bro bar. I don’t know of a better way to visualize the stereotype of both hipsters and bros than to stand outside of Neon’s around midnight on a weekend.

 

 

I started driving for Uber earlier this summer, and most trips consist of shuttling Bros and their female counterparts back and forth between some combination of Neon's, Japp's, Igby's, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Lookout Square. 

 

As you can imagine the conversations that are overheard are shockingly primitive.  The thing is that all of these people are 100% supported emotionally and financially by their parents.  Their parents raised them to be the a-holes they are today.  There is absolutely no chance that the money or emotional support will dry up.  All of that is what makes their attitudes possible. 

 

San Francisco bros:

 

http://www.chubbiesshorts.com

 

And a classic article on what happened when the National Park Service opened up Fort Mason for rent.

 

New S.F. neighborhood like a campus fraternity row

Nellie Bowles

Updated 4:51 pm, Monday, September 16, 2013

 

Fort Mason, a 237-year-old military post turned national park, has some of the city's most beautiful coastal views, conference venues, a high-end restaurant and, recently, luxury apartments.

 

But, despite the efforts of Park Service members, the place has been getting quite the reputation. And a new nickname: Frat Mason.

 

On a recent weekend afternoon, several hundred people - most of them young men - packed the lawn of the Great Meadow, an enormous expanse of green at the corner of Octavia and Bay (conveniently located across the street from the Marina Safeway).

 

Some were residents of the historic buildings, which were converted into upscale rentals in January 2012 - but most just came for the party. Young men in salmon-colored shorts lounged on a picnic blanket next to heavy red coolers. A few strung hammocks between the lawn's palm trees. Others had set up corn-hole tables, horseshoe ranges, bocce ball and a volleyball court.

 

It's where you find the all the frat stars, especially on a Fraturday.

 

" 'Cause it's like the fratty, preppy Dolores Park," said 24-year-old Armando Anido Jr., an investment banker who dropped in from his South of Market pad.

 

Dolores Park is known for its craft beer and proximity to Bi-Rite artisanal ice cream. Crissy Field is often packed with middle school birthday parties and Lululemon-clad joggers. The Great Meadow at Fort Mason is a Bud Light Lime kind of spot. There are hardly any children.

 

... "It's the 'sun's out, guns (biceps) out; sun's gone, shirts on' crowd," Bertuccelli said. "I'll walk to the edge (next to her apartment) and just be like, 'There are a thousand people here in our backyard.' And the lawn games are great - we got a tepee last week."

 

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/New-S-F-neighborhood-like-a-campus-fraternity-row-4814000.php

And it being Cincinnati, their personal networks are probably stacked with people that can get them good jobs.

And it being Cincinnati, their personal networks are probably stacked with people that can get them good jobs.

 

Yeah.  There is definitely a lot of city-jumping among the bro class, though. 

For the Midwest (which is arguably the most "bro" region), North Side Chicago is super bro. Nothing on the West Coast bro circuit can compete with that, not even Santa Barbara, USC, or Marina District San Francisco. Miami of Ohio has just been funneling thousands of frat bros into Chicago for decades. Not to mention, Northwestern is kind of bro too (bro lite). Wrigleyville is a fraternity/sorority row.

 

I imagine Cincinnati also picks up some of these Miami bros?

Miami J. Crew U.

For the Midwest (which is arguably the most "bro" region), North Side Chicago is super bro. Nothing on the West Coast bro circuit can compete with that, not even Santa Barbara, USC, or Marina District San Francisco. Miami of Ohio has just been funneling thousands of frat bros into Chicago for decades. Not to mention, Northwestern is kind of bro too (bro lite). Wrigleyville is a fraternity/sorority row.

 

I imagine Cincinnati also picks up some of these Miami bros?

 

Miami has the broiest of bros and they take over Mt. Adams and OTR every Friday night lol.  Lots of Miami bros in Cincinnati, lots.  Though I am friends with some, hard to tell a lot of them apart.  Good guys though, even though they are very bro.

For the Midwest (which is arguably the most "bro" region), North Side Chicago is super bro. Nothing on the West Coast bro circuit can compete with that, not even Santa Barbara, USC, or Marina District San Francisco. Miami of Ohio has just been funneling thousands of frat bros into Chicago for decades. Not to mention, Northwestern is kind of bro too (bro lite). Wrigleyville is a fraternity/sorority row.

 

This is the truth for sure! And the term Trixie is a Chicago term.

 

 

One "bro" label not considered is one that I heard when living in San Diego. Although, this version of bro is not much like the others and is kind of like a blue-collar SoCal redneck meets skater punk. I have only seen this type of bro in SoCal and Vegas, but they used to be pretty common there. Not sure how big this scene still is though.This version of bro is also called a flatbiller by some.

 

http://www.flatbiller.com/

 

Being into motorcycles will introduce you to plenty of flatbillers for sure. Though the ones around here don't have the bro trucks.

For the Midwest (which is arguably the most "bro" region), North Side Chicago is super bro. Nothing on the West Coast bro circuit can compete with that, not even Santa Barbara, USC, or Marina District San Francisco. Miami of Ohio has just been funneling thousands of frat bros into Chicago for decades. Not to mention, Northwestern is kind of bro too (bro lite). Wrigleyville is a fraternity/sorority row.

 

This is the truth for sure! And the term Trixie is a Chicago term.

 

 

One "bro" label not considered is one that I heard when living in San Diego. Although, this version of bro is not much like the others and is kind of like a blue-collar SoCal redneck meets skater punk. I have only seen this type of bro in SoCal and Vegas, but they used to be pretty common there. Not sure how big this scene still is though.This version of bro is also called a flatbiller by some.

 

http://www.flatbiller.com/

 

 

I don't think these guys are bros.  Bros are more middle/upper class WASP-y schmucks.  These guys just seem like a white trash/wannabe gangsta hybrid.

You ever notice how poorer kids like to wear clothes (often very cheap clothes) which (they think) makes them look like they have money, while richer kids like to wear clothes (often very expensive clothes) which are designed to make them look poorer?

 

Back more on topic, we have now established there are bros and hipsters.  I don't think I fit either.  Are there other options available so that I can enjoy a label as well?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Do%20you%20even%20lift%20bro%3F

 

Do you even lift bro?

 

Male greeting. Used most often among a group in a chat room. Depending on the answer, the person will be judged to be "in" or "out". This is normally followed by an extended boasting session. However, the boasting is reversed and as a person is accepted into the group, a tall tale is told about them.

 

Cyborg walks into a room and says "Hey everyone"

Nova responds with "Hey Bro"

Cyborg say "Do you even lift bro.

I think you meant," do you lyft bro? " ;)

You ever notice how poorer kids like to wear clothes (often very cheap clothes) which (they think) makes them look like they have money, while richer kids like to wear clothes (often very expensive clothes) which are designed to make them look poorer?

 

Back more on topic, we have now established there are bros and hipsters.  I don't think I fit either.  Are there other options available so that I can enjoy a label as well?

 

Well what Bros and Hipsters have in common is that they are both usually wise-asses if not full-blown bullies.  The way they frame social interactions might differ (at least superficially), but the end goal is to control social situations and blow out challengers and weak bystanders in their endless need for social domination. 

 

For the Midwest (which is arguably the most "bro" region), North Side Chicago is super bro. Nothing on the West Coast bro circuit can compete with that, not even Santa Barbara, USC, or Marina District San Francisco. Miami of Ohio has just been funneling thousands of frat bros into Chicago for decades. Not to mention, Northwestern is kind of bro too (bro lite). Wrigleyville is a fraternity/sorority row.

 

This is the truth for sure! And the term Trixie is a Chicago term.

 

 

One "bro" label not considered is one that I heard when living in San Diego. Although, this version of bro is not much like the others and is kind of like a blue-collar SoCal redneck meets skater punk. I have only seen this type of bro in SoCal and Vegas, but they used to be pretty common there. Not sure how big this scene still is though.This version of bro is also called a flatbiller by some.

 

http://www.flatbiller.com/

 

 

HAHAHA! Yeah, I know exactly what they're talking about. This does seem more common in suburban areas of Southern California, but it's really a general California cultural subset.

 

I don't see many of these dudes in San Francisco, Oakland, or Berkeley (extremely high rent areas dominated by brogrammers, hipsters, and regular bros), but I've seen them in San Jose, East Bay suburbs, Sacramento, and the Central Valley.

One of the more common bros in the Bay is the Brogrammer.

 

In tech, some bemoan the rise of 'brogrammer' culture

Doug Gross, CNN

By Doug Gross, CNN

updated 10:31 AM EDT, Mon May 7, 2012 | Filed under: Web

 

(CNN) -- At one of the world's biggest gatherings of Web culture, a 28-year-old executive talks about landing a tech job by sending a CEO "bikini shots" from a "nudie calendar" he created.

 

On campus at Stanford University, a hot startup attracts recruits with a poster asking if they want to 'bro down and crush some code.'"

 

And the world's largest Internet registration company entices Web entrepreneurs with a Super Bowl ad in which two female celebrities paint its logo onto the body of an apparently naked model.

 

Forget what you think you know about the benignly geeky computer programmer who lives for the thrill of finding a single misplaced semicolon in thousands of lines of code.

 

And welcome to the world of the "brogrammer."

 

As tech startup culture increasingly enters the mainstream consciousness through movies like "The Social Network" or headlines about the latest 20-something to cash in a dorm-room idea for millions of dollars, the field is attracting a whole new host of personality types.

 

And some in the tech community complain that its anything-goes structure and sky's-the-limit earning potential has turned the environment at some companies into something akin to your worst stereotype of a booze-soaked frat party.

 

CONTINUED

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/07/tech/web/brogrammers/

I went to one of those body paint tech parties at John Collins in SOMA once, and it was pretty amazing. I was dancing with the hottest girl there...she was totally nude and kept backing up towards me for a grind....

 

Lots of brogrammers, but I was able to steal the scene. Some of those brogrammer parties are fun. I love all the excess. San Francisco knows no limits these days. It's like Athens with money.

 

Some of those Facebook IPO parties???? Good God, nothing safe to write here, but I'll just say anybody who wanted to get laid got laid.

I don't think these guys are bros.  Bros are more middle/upper class WASP-y schmucks.  These guys just seem like a white trash/wannabe gangsta hybrid.

 

Yeah, I agree they're not what is now considered a "bro" by most. However, this is what these types were called when I lived in San Diego. It's very specific to SoCal and I see how it would create confusion.

Back more on topic, we have now established there are bros and hipsters.  I don't think I fit either.  Are there other options available so that I can enjoy a label as well?

 

I don't fit either myself, so was wondering the same. 

 

Having lived in major hipster neighborhoods and bro neighborhoods, I can say that bros annoy me more than hipsters. At least hipsters generally have a broader range of interests and don't act like meatheads. Although, occasionally a pretentious hipster douche will surface. Or the hipster who is just trying way too hard to be "original."

I did some field research this evening:

 

It's 2014 and this scene is identical to any from 2004 or 1994 or 1984.  The style and attitudes don't change.  The music is basically the same. 

 

Back more on topic, we have now established there are bros and hipsters.  I don't think I fit either.  Are there other options available so that I can enjoy a label as well?

 

We're Al Bundy's. Married with children.

but failed to mention they are almost always opposite a similar group of girls, donned in too-short, too-tight dresses, with too-tan skin and too-blonde hair.

 

I seriously want Trixie to be a national term not just Chicago.  There is no good term in other cities for these people.

 

As to the comment about the West coast not being as bro as the midwest?  I'd argue LA is extremely bro, but like everything else there its a very different brand of bro.  Lots of them are "Beautiful People" with ties to the entertainment industry but still have the same sort of attitude only difference being they are better dressed.  Just listen to the LA dance music scene and don't tell me that its not like the ultimate endgame of bro culture.

Yes, as JYP mentioned, the female counterpart of the bro is the woo girl.

 

There is a solution to the brovercrowding at Neon's. Someone must set up a decoy bar elsewhere in OTR with a name like Paddy McDooligan's Irish Pub to lure the bros/woo girls away.

 

There is a bar like this on a side street in my neighborhood, it used to be a quiet neighborhood bar, but then like a year ago the bros found it >:( - I think it was when the blackhawks won the championship is when they came there, it was a bro-verflow bar for some of the other ones on the north side.

 

Last night I heard the most obnoxious circle jerk conversation ever when walking by there on my way home.

but failed to mention they are almost always opposite a similar group of girls, donned in too-short, too-tight dresses, with too-tan skin and too-blonde hair.

 

I seriously want Trixie to be a national term not just Chicago.  There is no good term in other cities for these people.

 

As to the comment about the West coast not being as bro as the midwest?  I'd argue LA is extremely bro, but like everything else there its a very different brand of bro.  Lots of them are "Beautiful People" with ties to the entertainment industry but still have the same sort of attitude only difference being they are better dressed.  Just listen to the LA dance music scene and don't tell me that its not like the ultimate endgame of bro culture.

 

*Warning, this is long.

 

Like how LA hipsters are less douchey than hipsters in other cities, LA bros are also less douchey than bros in other cities. As someone who is 25-50% LA bro, I can easily handle the scene there. And the whole dance music scene is better in LA...and Vegas. People party better in LA and Vegas, and the bro/trixie scene has a fashionable, sexy, positive vibe. San Francisco's bro and hipster scenes both have too much Burning Man influence. Despite the orgies at some of the Burner events, the dance music is not sexual enough. Burning Man messes up San Francisco and keeps some of its dance clubs in a different era. There is a significant contingent of people obsessed with trying to recreate the Playa in the city. It just doesn't translate to an urban area very well. That's why I typically avoid the grimier SOMA dance clubs and stick to nice Union Square clubs (big with French and Italian hostel kids), Polk Street, the Marina, Russian Hill if I'm going mature bro, and Inner Richmond if I'm going college bro. The Burner clubs are more expensive and darker (literally and socially). The effect on parts of San Francisco's dance club scene is obvious in some districts...like Folsom Street.

 

Coachella doesn't do that to LA since it's much cleaner, has fewer orgies, is seemingly less creepy/deviant, and is more modern. It's mainstream for sure. Burning Man may be popular with corporate executives, but I still wouldn't call it mainstream outside of San Francisco. The Burner scene will never lose its dirty edge or sexual deviancy. It is one of the rare social scenes that appeals to both bros and hipsters equally. It's funded heavily by both of those groups in San Francisco.

 

In LA, there are a lot of general fashionable areas that are neither bro nor hipster. Santa Monica, for example, doesn't fall into either category. I've always considered myself most aligned with West LA culture. I am very much a fan of Santa Monica culture. It seems the least influenced by these trends. I think it's due to it being old money. I've noticed the same thing in Pacific Heights San Francisco.

 

Old Money California doesn't seem impressed by all these bros and hipsters moving to the state. They think it's stupid and all part of the same Gen Y white cultural coin. To quote a wealthy person I know in Pac Heights, "These new kids have no class and dress like crap."

 

I think we all have something to learn from Old Money California...it's far less trend-obsessed and concerned with image than you'd expect. It also seems less douchey than Old Money in the Midwest and Northeast. I've been pleasantly surprised by the Old Money I've partied with in California...they have been very nice people and quite hospitable...nicer than bros (OK) and much nicer than hipsters (never again).

 

I'm OK with bros and have fun in the Marina District, but I'm only bro lite, a West LA-style bro. In fact, people in NorCal have told me I look like a walking stereotype of Hollywood...which can be an insult depending on who it's coming from. That makes me kind of bro, but not really Marina or Midwest bro. I could never, ever handle Miami of Ohio. That school is just downright disturbing. I top off at Ohio University or Santa Barbara. That's the height of bro I think is reasonable. I've never been a big fan of North Side Chicago culture since I find its bro/trixie scene reeks of frat/sorority the most (though I do typically find myself dating sorority girls). The North Side Chicabro is the most interesting of the big city breeds, since despite the early marriages of the Midwest, they seem to still be in college mode. It is true that a lot of these guys root on college football teams well into their 30's and 40's. Dudes rock those college shirts long after they graduated. Jezebel hit the nail on the head. My brother was a Chicabro for a while, and even he found it to be a bit much. Something about Chicabros and trixies is just different. Maybe the Midwest cares about college more?

 

*Though I'll be the first to concede there are a lot of hot trixies in Chicago. It seems like a good city for dating, not LA-level or NY-level, but probably superior overall to San Francisco. And people in Chicago no doubt are nicer than average transplant San Franciscans these days. Chicago is a very underrated city on the West Coast. I find many of my friends have never been there and know little about its huge pull in the Midwest or the glory of Lake Michigan. But I think I liked 1990's Chicago more than today's Chicago. I was a kid back then, but I remember it being really cool, and more native. 1990's Chicago was filled with energy, still had some grit, and dare I say was less segregated? Now that I think about it, has any city gotten cooler since then? One could argue all of America is douchier now...

 

I've never been to Boston, but I've heard it's the other city like Chicago (with Massholes). By contrast, I think San Francisco, New York, and LA change more as residents age. They do feel more cosmopolitan. The college shirts aren't cool to wear and people's interests are in different places. So much of San Francisco's bro and trixie scene is obsessed with Tahoe and hiking. LA's scene is obsessed with "the industry," and hitting the beaches. My impression of Midwestern bros is that their tastes are simpler, with sports bars still playing a major role.

 

Again, these are just opinions, but it has been my bro experience. And in my bro experience, LA wins for best bros just like it wins for best hipsters. What's cool about Hollywood, is that despite its pull with bro and trixie types, it still has metal/punk bars like Loaded right in the middle of the neighborhood. Hollywood is a really diverse neighborhood- a mix of tourists from all over the world, bros, trixies, hipster lites, punk kids, models, musicians, and yes, still some people in the film industry. It leans more bro than anything else, but the LA breed is less douchey than outsiders believe. Everyone manages to get along in Hollywood. As a very culturally important neighborhood and huge tourist draw, it needs to be open to outsiders. Most of LA is like that. I think anyone can move there and find their scene, which is what makes it such a great city.

 

What's amazing to me is the amount of hatred bros experience from hipsters up in the Bay Area. I've had hipster girls in the Bay tell me I'm undateable because I don't have tattoos or a beard. I get hit on regularly by Marina girls and West LA girls. At least I know my target market...thank God I'm attracted to the types of girls who like me. I prefer high-maintenance girls who are clean and tattoo-free (the antithesis of hipsters). There is nothing worse than being a hipster who likes Marina girls or being a bro who likes Mission girls. It's as bad as being a gay Castro resident and being into straight men. These sexual preference mismatches seem more common in San Francisco than other cities and cause all sorts of sexual frustrations in people. SF is simultaneously the most oversexed and undersexed city.

 

Believe it or not, there a good number of bros who are into hipster girls. That's fine by me- less competition! :evil:

*Also, we haven't discussed it, but gay bros are getting to be a big thing. The Castro is arguably the second most bro neighborhood in San Francisco after the Marina (alright, North Beach is up there too). A lot of the best gyms are in the Castro and it's a fashionable neighborhood by SF standards. It also is home to what seems like the only body-builder scene in the city. Most of the current Castro generation comes off straighter and more bro than any hipster in the Mission or Oakland. Women tell me it confuses the hell out of them. Unfortunately, the Bernal Heights lesbian scene has not taken a similar trixie path. The lesbian scene leans more hipster. We still need a good LA lipstick scene to take off in the Bay to balance things out. Some of my straight female friends tell me the sexual ambiguity of San Francisco men makes them scared to ever hit on anybody (I think that's a lame cop out, but it's true there are not many cues to tell if someone is gay or straight). As a straight male who has had gay roommates, even I have no idea who is gay or straight anymore. I lived with one dude (a super bro Castro dude) who none of us knew was gay until a naked dude he picked up in the Castro was walking around our house at 3am.

 

Jonathan Groff in "Looking" is the modern face of the Castro (that show nailed it) while hipsters have co-opted nearly all local gay fashions in San Francisco. When locals say San Francisco hipsters look "gay," it's because some of that fashion is straight out of 1980's Castro mixed with overcompensating beards. The hatred towards hipsters is arguably strongest in the Castro...the gay bro versus Mission hipster divide is fierce because the neighborhoods border each other and people are crossing over more and more into each other's territories. Hipsters are being blamed for gentrification and wrecking San Francisco's gay community. The reason Marina bros aren't being blamed as much is because they don't compete for that same housing. They've always preferred the north side.

 

The thing about the Marina and other north side neighborhoods is that they are somewhat cut off from the rest of the city by hills, not to mention weak public transit. In a way, that makes people accept their existence since they don't want to live there (Bay Area hipsters hate SF's north side, but rarely do hipsters travel up there). The cultural divide between Castro bros versus Lower Haight/Mission hipsters is fiercer. Mission and Lower Haight hipsters are competing for the same housing as Castro bros. Marina bros stay in their own world for the most part, but all the bros come together in a big way during major day drinking events like Bay to Breakers and SF Pride.

 

SF Pride is easily one of the Bay's top bro and trixie events. It's like every fraternity, sorority, and tech company within 100 miles shows up to get hammered in the streets. The blending of straight bro and gay bro is becoming more visible during these events.

 

Technology’s Rainbow Connection

Silicon Valley’s Embrace of the Gay and Lesbian Community

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/fashion/silicon-valley-embrace-gay-and-lesbian-community.html?_r=0

 

Social media companies like Snapchat and Tinder have been bedeviled by leaks and lawsuits painting their executives as immature and fratlike. The epithet “brogrammer” is thrown around to describe the loutish behavior sometimes exhibited by young, moneyed tech workers, and some gays and lesbians find the culture around tech less than comfortable.

 

“You see this young bro culture emerging,” said Sean Howell, founder of Hornet, a gay social networking app. “When you go to an event, you see all the bro dudes in one corner, all the geeks in one spot. You also see this rising group of gay people. Which makes networking easier.”

 

C-D-O-Double G, you always post these long msg's on topix like this ... lol

but failed to mention they are almost always opposite a similar group of girls, donned in too-short, too-tight dresses, with too-tan skin and too-blonde hair.

 

I seriously want Trixie to be a national term not just Chicago.  There is no good term in other cities for these people.

 

As to the comment about the West coast not being as bro as the midwest?  I'd argue LA is extremely bro, but like everything else there its a very different brand of bro.  Lots of them are "Beautiful People" with ties to the entertainment industry but still have the same sort of attitude only difference being they are better dressed.  Just listen to the LA dance music scene and don't tell me that its not like the ultimate endgame of bro culture.

 

*Warning, this is long.

 

Like how LA hipsters are less douchey than hipsters in other cities, LA bros are also less douchey than bros in other cities. As someone who is 25-50% LA bro, I can easily handle the scene there. And the whole dance music scene is better in LA...and Vegas. People party better in LA and Vegas, and the bro/trixie scene has a fashionable, sexy, positive vibe. San Francisco's bro and hipster scenes both have too much Burning Man influence. Despite the orgies at some of the Burner events, the dance music is not sexual enough. Burning Man messes up San Francisco and keeps some of its dance clubs in a different era. There is a significant contingent of people obsessed with trying to recreate the Playa in the city. It just doesn't translate to an urban area very well. That's why I typically avoid the grimier SOMA dance clubs and stick to nice Union Square clubs (big with French and Italian hostel kids), Polk Street, the Marina, Russian Hill if I'm going mature bro, and Inner Richmond if I'm going college bro. The Burner clubs are more expensive and darker (literally and socially). The effect on parts of San Francisco's dance club scene is obvious in some districts...like Folsom Street.

 

Coachella doesn't do that to LA since it's much cleaner, has fewer orgies, is seemingly less creepy/deviant, and is more modern. It's mainstream for sure. Burning Man may be popular with corporate executives, but I still wouldn't call it mainstream outside of San Francisco. The Burner scene will never lose its dirty edge or sexual deviancy. It is one of the rare social scenes that appeals to both bros and hipsters equally. It's funded heavily by both of those groups in San Francisco.

 

In LA, there are a lot of general fashionable areas that are neither bro nor hipster. Santa Monica, for example, doesn't fall into either category. I've always considered myself most aligned with West LA culture. I am very much a fan of Santa Monica culture. It seems the least influenced by these trends. I think it's due to it being old money. I've noticed the same thing in Pacific Heights San Francisco.

 

Old Money California doesn't seem impressed by all these bros and hipsters moving to the state. They think it's stupid and all part of the same Gen Y white cultural coin. To quote a wealthy person I know in Pac Heights, "These new kids have no class and dress like crap."

 

I think we all have something to learn from Old Money California...it's far less trend-obsessed and concerned with image than you'd expect. It also seems less douchey than Old Money in the Midwest and Northeast. I've been pleasantly surprised by the Old Money I've partied with in California...they have been very nice people and quite hospitable...nicer than bros (OK) and much nicer than hipsters (never again).

 

I'm OK with bros and have fun in the Marina District, but I'm only bro lite, a West LA-style bro. In fact, people in NorCal have told me I look like a walking stereotype of Hollywood...which can be an insult depending on who it's coming from. That makes me kind of bro, but not really Marina or Midwest bro. I could never, ever handle Miami of Ohio. That school is just downright disturbing. I top off at Ohio University or Santa Barbara. That's the height of bro I think is reasonable. I've never been a big fan of North Side Chicago culture since I find its bro/trixie scene reeks of frat/sorority the most (though I do typically find myself dating sorority girls). The North Side Chicabro is the most interesting of the big city breeds, since despite the early marriages of the Midwest, they seem to still be in college mode. It is true that a lot of these guys root on college football teams well into their 30's and 40's. Dudes rock those college shirts long after they graduated. Jezebel hit the nail on the head. My brother was a Chicabro for a while, and even he found it to be a bit much. Something about Chicabros and trixies is just different. Maybe the Midwest cares about college more?

 

*Though I'll be the first to concede there are a lot of hot trixies in Chicago. It seems like a good city for dating, not LA-level or NY-level, but probably superior overall to San Francisco. And people in Chicago no doubt are nicer than average transplant San Franciscans these days. Chicago is a very underrated city on the West Coast. I find many of my friends have never been there and know little about its huge pull in the Midwest or the glory of Lake Michigan. But I think I liked 1990's Chicago more than today's Chicago. I was a kid back then, but I remember it being really cool, and more native. 1990's Chicago was filled with energy, still had some grit, and dare I say was less segregated? Now that I think about it, has any city gotten cooler since then? One could argue all of America is douchier now...

 

I've never been to Boston, but I've heard it's the other city like Chicago (with Massholes). By contrast, I think San Francisco, New York, and LA change more as residents age. They do feel more cosmopolitan. The college shirts aren't cool to wear and people's interests are in different places. So much of San Francisco's bro and trixie scene is obsessed with Tahoe and hiking. LA's scene is obsessed with "the industry," and hitting the beaches. My impression of Midwestern bros is that their tastes are simpler, with sports bars still playing a major role.

 

Again, these are just opinions, but it has been my bro experience. And in my bro experience, LA wins for best bros just like it wins for best hipsters. What's cool about Hollywood, is that despite its pull with bro and trixie types, it still has metal/punk bars like Loaded right in the middle of the neighborhood. Hollywood is a really diverse neighborhood- a mix of tourists from all over the world, bros, trixies, hipster lites, punk kids, models, musicians, and yes, still some people in the film industry. It leans more bro than anything else, but the LA breed is less douchey than outsiders believe. Everyone manages to get along in Hollywood. As a very culturally important neighborhood and huge tourist draw, it needs to be open to outsiders. Most of LA is like that. I think anyone can move there and find their scene, which is what makes it such a great city.

 

What's amazing to me is the amount of hatred bros experience from hipsters up in the Bay Area. I've had hipster girls in the Bay tell me I'm undateable because I don't have tattoos or a beard. I get hit on regularly by Marina girls and West LA girls. At least I know my target market...thank God I'm attracted to the types of girls who like me. I prefer high-maintenance girls who are clean and tattoo-free (the antithesis of hipsters). There is nothing worse than being a hipster who likes Marina girls or being a bro who likes Mission girls. It's as bad as being a gay Castro resident and being into straight men. These sexual preference mismatches seem more common in San Francisco than other cities and cause all sorts of sexual frustrations in people. SF is simultaneously the most oversexed and undersexed city.

 

Believe it or not, there a good number of bros who are into hipster girls. That's fine by me- less competition! :evil:

 

 

I emailed this to my brother.  He remarked that in his city "trixies" are known as "sparkle ponies". 

 

Urbancali

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1mVDLsK_3c

I emailed this to my brother.  He remarked that in his city "trixies" are known as "sparkle ponies". 

 

I'm starting to use trixie, because we don't have a general term like that in the Bay other than "Marina girl" (we're too PC even for trixie)! I've always used bitties, but trixie has a nice ring to it. Good job, Chicago!

 

Tipsy Pig is our strongest bro and bitty bar, though Bar None gives it a run for its money. Bar None is in both San Francisco and New York. Same frat scene, different city. I would say San Francisco's bro and marina girl scene has a lot in common with New York...just with some UCSB, USC, and Stanford splashed in.

 

Bouncer Imbibes Among the Marina Girls at the Tipsy Pig

By Katy St. Clair

Wednesday, Sep 7 2011

 

The Marina gets a lot of flak for being a meat market for dumbasses, but it's really no different than any other area of the city. Every bar's clientele is, basically, people who want to sleep with one another. We go to the bars populated by the kinds of people we find attractive: Hipsters like hipsters, so they go to the Casanova; trendy people with money go to Bar Agricole; Financial District singles hit the happy hour at the Rickhouse; folks who have given up on ever having sex again go to Cotters Corner, or any of the other dives in the Excelsior.

 

The main go-to spot in the Marina for sex with other people like you is the Tipsy Pig. The place got its name from the phenomenon of wandering swine noshing on apples that have fallen from trees and fermented on the ground. No one ever seems offended at the metaphor.

 

San Francisco can be a lonely place for young transplants who don't consider themselves hip, gay, liberal, or artistic. You have to really dig to find other people like you. It's no surprise that many of them end up in the Marina, where you can discuss lip gloss, Republicanism, or a preference for Folger's crystals without being sneered at by judgmental city folk. I got a good window into Marina culture when I picked up the self-published book Marina Girl, by Heather Joy Hampton, at the Papyrus on Chestnut last week. I have been collecting as many self-published biographical novels and autobiographies as I can lately; they are usually great reads, especially if their delusional authors haven't been edited. Hampton is not delusional, nor is she a shitty writer, but the focus of her book was probably too narrow to attract the eyes of big publishers. Also, the narrative is not exactly fresh. Based on Hampton's own life, it is about a girl from Texas who moves to S.F. to work at an architecture firm. There are, of course, a few typos that a professional editor would have caught, my favorite being this sentence: "Even the homeless man dropping a stinky code brown on the sidewalk couldn't muster my excitement for starting a new job in downtown San Francisco." Unless she is into scat (which would be an awesome read), I think she meant "muss."

 

At first the protagonist, Olivia, has no friends, but then she moves into the Marina with two other young women and finally starts to feel at home. Olivia is conservative, a bit freaked out by all the homeless people who "reek," unused to gay people, and taken aback by the brutal S.F. dating scene. I like any book about someone who feels like an outsider and has to struggle to fit in, so I enjoyed Marina Girl. Hampton included a glossary of Marina terms, which I found helpful while I sat in the Tipsy Pig with my motley crew, waiting for the server to come take our order.

 

MORE MARINA

http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/bouncer-imbibes-among-the-marina-girls-at-the-tipsy-pig/Content?oid=2182511

 

And one of the biggest social media blogs is MarinaGirlSays. It is damn hilarious and covers the Marina scene well...

 

https://twitter.com/MarinaGirlSays

 

Who's That (Marina) Girl?

Jenna Scatena | Photo: Christian Bernal | January 31, 2013

Getting to know the city's newest internet phenomenon, the woman (or is it a man?) behind Marina Girl Says.

 

San Francisco's newest media darling may be a fabricated online persona, but Marina Girl Says is gaining hundreds of fans a day (6,000 Facebook friends, 2,000 Twitter followers, and counting) and inspiring copy cats around the city (yeah you, Russian Hill Girl Says). Here, we try to get behind the flaky facade as she weighs in on Fernet shots, "Roman Numeral Men," and what life as a Marina girl is really like.

 

San Francisco: How long have you lived in SF?

Marina Girl Says: Since 2004. My sorority wouldn't let me stay after I graduated, so I came here instead.

 

SF: Why did you move to the Marina?

MGS: I Googled "hot guys in San Francisco, not gay" and a map of the Marina popped up.

 

SF: Do you have a job?

MGS: Yes, otherwise my dad won't pay my AMEX!!

 

SF: Since no one knows your real identity, some people have speculated that you're actually a guy…

MGS: I'm not a guy. I'm a really, really pretty girl.

 

SF: Why do you use a profile picture of Cameron Diaz?

MGS: [Crickets]

 

SF: Some of your followers have complained that you're perpetuating the stereotype that women in the Marina only care about LuluLemon, start-up founders, and Tahoe vacation homes. What’s your response to that?

MGS: Complaining gives you wrinkles.

 

SF: Do you have any hobbies besides taking Fernet shots at Balboa and speed dating?

MGS: I’d like to clarify that I don't drink brown liquor, so I never take Fernet shots. My current hobbies include but are not limited to riding around town in Uber cabs, part-time modeling, collecting yoga pants, texting, and planning my wedding to Prince Harry.

 

See more at: http://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/whos-marina-girl#sthash.asbaMLls.dpuf

What category does this fall in?