Comment by TulliusCicero | Hacker News Reader

Comment by TulliusCicero | Hacker News Reader

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> I'm hoping that the culture of Oakland is just an overwhelming wave against any type of invading horde of 'tech bros' coming in,

I've worked at Amazon and Google, and I don't know where this idea of the "tech bro" or "brogrammer" being omnipresent in tech companies came from. I know maybe one person who might fit this description. It just seems like an insulting label that someone came up with because they hate tech companies and gentrification, and then the media decided to run with it because it made for entertaining news. Is there any actual data showing that "tech bros" constitute a substantial % of the tech industry?

The way I see "brogrammer" used these days is basically like "hipster": it means 'people in [incredibly broad category] that I don't like'. For the hipsters, the category was young adults in urban areas, and for brogrammers, it's young adults at tech companies. It's just a way for people to pretend that their personal prejudices are actually the fault of the people they're prejudiced against (similar to the old "welfare queen" stereotype).

"bro" is a stereotype that, for some reason, is OK to openly deride in the techy areas. The fact a term of endearment was able to became a pejorative, suggests that even if there are "bros" in tech, they don't feel comfortable displaying traits that would characterize themselves bros in a professional environment or online or in hackerspaces (in SV).

My personal theory is that the idea of a brogrammer is a scapegoat boogieman that exist so people can talk trash. "Hipster" isn't a bad analogy, I think there are some gaps in the comparison but will have to think about how to articulate them.

"Brogrammer" seems to me to be a reaction to the increasing number of "finance" types into the startup/tech world.

The perception, if not reality, was that software development was the domain of "nerds" and it was a sort of safe zone where most people were like minded fellow nerds. Nowadays, as startups and entrepreneurship have gained momentum, the sphere of people that are coming into the tech world has widened. A portion of those "newcomers" are the people that previously would have found jobs in areas like finance.

So now you have this nerd paradise enclave (tm) being "invaded" by young frat guys in pink pastel button ups who captained their high school football team. And the nerds are reacting a little poorly to that and giving those guys the "bro" and "brogrammer" name.

It's funny sitting between those two worlds (nerdy prep school grad athlete). I'm guilty of making fun of "bros" and people who live in the marina (in sf), but for me it's just poking fun. I think the more traditionally nerdy of us aren't being so charitable with the term.

Have worked at two separate medium sized tech companies, in other words worked closely with about twenty different developers, and never met someone I would characterize as a tech bro. Perhaps I'm one of them and one of their characteristics is not being able to recognize the quality in themselves or others?

I think it's a spectrum.

For me the ones I consider "more bro" than myself are those that exhibit subtle sexism that they are clearly trying to be joking about but it just comes off as ... PC bro. But I'm sure I have plenty of Bro qualities myself.

I've seen enough unintentional sexism in my experience to think the claims of prevalent bro'ness are not entirely unfounded.

Agree based on my experience at Amazon. 95% of the devs I met were extremely professional. Very little joking around, beer drinking, ping-pong, etc compared to other places I've worked. Granted 90% were white/asian males, so not a lot of diversity. Diversity issues - yes, brogrammers - not IMO. Brogrammer seems to be a slur for white males in their 20s.

Stop questioning The Official Narrative.

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