Not a bro Dad

[Anonymous]

There are genuinely nice bro dads and passive aggressive bro dads. If I were a man, I would probably steer clear regardless. There are whole memes out there of non-bro men trying to interact successfully with the bros. Half of the men coaching basketball are pro dads but, hey, at least they are pitching in and contributing.

DC bro dad version, I've found, usually tend to be fairly successful. Someone mentioned bringing up their frat in the first few minutes of conversation. I agree that would be tedious. I was in a sorority and it would never occur to me to bring it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are bro dads in the DC Metro area. 100%.

It's not just an interest in sports and drinking beer. It's the lack of intellectual curiosity and inability to have conversation that aren't sports/complain or boast about kids' sports/beer/college days. It's the heavy consumption of beer any time it is available.

They don't have one eye on their kids at a function - that's the mom's job.

They have lots of "toys."

They are generally in sales and into white guy conspicuous consumption.

OMG this.
We have a dad bro on our block. When a neighbor got a new pickup truck, first thing dad bro said was "He calls that a truck? That's nothing compared to mine!"
He went to UMD and is trying to relive those days any chance he gets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like any other bro, the bro dad melts down at the first hint of real adversity. See, e.g., how angry they get when I, a non-bro dad, flirt with their wives. Inevitably, they cease what they are doing and head over with a “hey” excuse.

I don't think they're that worried about a boring middle aged man with a bald spot and a paunch. Because the wives won't be into you. Maybe they're there to rescue the wife from your desperate attempts at flirting with married women?

I’m neither bald nor overweight. But I was not in a fraternity. If they weren’t worried they wouldn’t react they way they do. It cuts the playground boredom for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are bro dads in the DC Metro area. 100%.

It's not just an interest in sports and drinking beer. It's the lack of intellectual curiosity and inability to have conversation that aren't sports/complain or boast about kids' sports/beer/college days. It's the heavy consumption of beer any time it is available.

They don't have one eye on their kids at a function - that's the mom's job.

They have lots of "toys."

They are generally in sales and into white guy conspicuous consumption.

OMG this.
We have a dad bro on our block. When a neighbor got a new pickup truck, first thing dad bro said was "He calls that a truck? That's nothing compared to mine!"
He went to UMD and is trying to relive those days any chance he gets.

Funny. I would think that one would try to forget going there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are genuinely nice bro dads and passive aggressive bro dads. If I were a man, I would probably steer clear regardless. There are whole memes out there of non-bro men trying to interact successfully with the bros. Half of the men coaching basketball are pro dads but, hey, at least they are pitching in and contributing.

DC bro dad version, I've found, usually tend to be fairly successful. Someone mentioned bringing up their frat in the first few minutes of conversation. I agree that would be tedious. I was in a sorority and it would never occur to me to bring it up.

Why would you bring up your sorority in a conversation with a man?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are bro dads in the DC Metro area. 100%.

It's not just an interest in sports and drinking beer. It's the lack of intellectual curiosity and inability to have conversation that aren't sports/complain or boast about kids' sports/beer/college days. It's the heavy consumption of beer any time it is available.

They don't have one eye on their kids at a function - that's the mom's job.

They have lots of "toys."

They are generally in sales and into white guy conspicuous consumption.

OMG this.
We have a dad bro on our block. When a neighbor got a new pickup truck, first thing dad bro said was "He calls that a truck? That's nothing compared to mine!"
He went to UMD and is trying to relive those days any chance he gets.

Funny. I would think that one would try to forget going there.

Sergey Brin certainly ran off as quickly as he could.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like any other bro, the bro dad melts down at the first hint of real adversity. See, e.g., how angry they get when I, a non-bro dad, flirt with their wives. Inevitably, they cease what they are doing and head over with a “hey” excuse.

I don't think they're that worried about a boring middle aged man with a bald spot and a paunch. Because the wives won't be into you. Maybe they're there to rescue the wife from your desperate attempts at flirting with married women?

I’m neither bald nor overweight. But I was not in a fraternity. If they weren’t worried they wouldn’t react they way they do. It cuts the playground boredom for me.

So why are you flirting with their wives?

As a woman there is nothing creepier than a man trying to flirt with me while knowing I'm married. And, yes, I'm aware of the difference between compliment and flirting.

That aside, I've come across plenty of the east coast version (lacrosse players who still relive their prep school days, which is impossible to avoid if you grew up in the private school world). Some I don't like, others are pleasant and hospitable. We only have one life on this earth, let people try to be as happy as they can and if being a "bro" is their way of eking out happiness in this world then frankly most of them are doing a better job than many uptight judgmental people who get perverse pleasure seeking flaws in others.

[Anonymous]

My niece's DH is a bro dad. He's experiencing a bit of failure to launch with his bros (i mean DCs who should be in college but have dropped out)

My DH is definitely not a bro dad, much to the chagrin of our teen DCs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm from Southern California (Orange County area) and there's definitely a type of Bro Dad here. Basically, they dress like high school surfer boys but they are in their late 30s and have two kids.

Typical SoCal Bro Dad:
-Drives a lifted 4x4 pick-up truck with a Monster Energy sticker on the back window, blasting Sublime or System of a Down
-Always sporting a Hurley baseball cap with a flat rim
-A plaid Billabong button up shirt and dark colored pants are what he wears to "dress up" for holiday cards
-Vans sneakers
-Owns a few pairs of Dickies shorts
-"Vacations" consist of going to Glamis for off-roading, camping at Pismo Beach, or heading to Big Bear to snowboard on 6 inches of man-made snow in the freestyle park
-Constantly bitches about "how crowded SoCal has become" and un-ironically throws out a bit of casual racism by blaming "the Mexicans"

I've yet to find similar Bro Dads anywhere else in the U.S. It's a bizarre combination of privilege, Peter Pan syndrome, being culturally stuck in the late 1990s.

I’m in LA and I do agree that this list is quite accurate in describing certain types of dads.

[Anonymous]

Bro Dads are all over the OC... they are everywhere!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like any other bro, the bro dad melts down at the first hint of real adversity. See, e.g., how angry they get when I, a non-bro dad, flirt with their wives. Inevitably, they cease what they are doing and head over with a “hey” excuse.

I don't think they're that worried about a boring middle aged man with a bald spot and a paunch. Because the wives won't be into you. Maybe they're there to rescue the wife from your desperate attempts at flirting with married women?

I’m neither bald nor overweight. But I was not in a fraternity. If they weren’t worried they wouldn’t react they way they do. It cuts the playground boredom for me.

So why are you flirting with their wives?

As a woman there is nothing creepier than a man trying to flirt with me while knowing I'm married. And, yes, I'm aware of the difference between compliment and flirting.

That aside, I've come across plenty of the east coast version (lacrosse players who still relive their prep school days, which is impossible to avoid if you grew up in the private school world). Some I don't like, others are pleasant and hospitable. We only have one life on this earth, let people try to be as happy as they can and if being a "bro" is their way of eking out happiness in this world then frankly most of them are doing a better job than many uptight judgmental people who get perverse pleasure seeking flaws in others.

You, um, sound uptight and judgmental.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm from Southern California (Orange County area) and there's definitely a type of Bro Dad here. Basically, they dress like high school surfer boys but they are in their late 30s and have two kids.

Typical SoCal Bro Dad:
-Drives a lifted 4x4 pick-up truck with a Monster Energy sticker on the back window, blasting Sublime or System of a Down
-Always sporting a Hurley baseball cap with a flat rim
-A plaid Billabong button up shirt and dark colored pants are what he wears to "dress up" for holiday cards
-Vans sneakers
-Owns a few pairs of Dickies shorts
-"Vacations" consist of going to Glamis for off-roading, camping at Pismo Beach, or heading to Big Bear to snowboard on 6 inches of man-made snow in the freestyle park
-Constantly bitches about "how crowded SoCal has become" and un-ironically throws out a bit of casual racism by blaming "the Mexicans"

I've yet to find similar Bro Dads anywhere else in the U.S. It's a bizarre combination of privilege, Peter Pan syndrome, being culturally stuck in the late 1990s.

I lived in L.A. for a few years after college and met thousands of these dudes. They run the family restaurant or work for the old man's insurance agency or construction business. They have attractive wives and cute kids.

They tend to be incredibly kind because a) they have a pretty good life and they know it and b) they're laid back and not trying to jockey for status. Very much a "the more the merrier" type guy for welcoming new people.

Except Mexicans apparently.

No matter how friendly & laid back someone seems, it is impossible to be both racist & "incredibly kind."

Hmm. History proves you otherwise. Kindness is not related to being non-racist. You can be kind to a person but still think them inferior.

Hmm. Basic morals & human decency proves otherwise. You can be an outwardly kind person but if you believe someone's race &/or ethnicity makes him or her innately inferior to you, you are not, at your core, a kind or decent person. And, trust me,those who you believe to be inferior to you know it.

[Anonymous]

The ultimate Bro Dad, actually a caricature, is Justin Bieber's dad.

[Anonymous]

I was the person who mentioned friendly and kind.

I missed the bullet point on the racism, but never heard that from the guys I was around. Also, it was a mostly white group, but never exclusively white, unlike so much of East Coast crowds.

[Anonymous]

Bro dads at soccer for five year olds, they are so into and yelling insane instructions for their kid from the sidelines even those its just a scrimmage and half the kids don't even knwo what direction is their goal. They have good hipster facial hair and actually do the a dap hug to other white bro dads.