Students Note Bro Culture Affecting PEA

From locker rooms to dormitories, students find evidence of a bro culture on PEA’s campus.

“Bro culture”—hypermasculinity perpetrated by an exclusive group of males, has recently been under scrutiny due to its association with rape culture in high schools and college fraternities. Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, was part of Yale’s Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and attended the all-boys prep school Georgetown Prep, where he partook in parties with drugs and alcohol. Whether such a bro culture exists at Exeter, however, depends largely on one’s friend group and perception.

“These macho-men often had a disregard for a lot of things,” [Silva] said. “This was angering. The attitude of these people towards a lot of things which was very relaxed and complacent makes me upset.”

Upper Francisco Silva, a former resident of Knight House, believed bro culture is most prevalent in the dorms. “The dorm was very conformist, and there was a sink or swim mentality among the students,” Silva said. “If you did not fit in with the ‘bros’ of the dorm, then you couldn’t really hang out in the dorm either.”

Silva identified his disdain for female-objextification as one of the key factors that distinguished him from the ‘bros’ of his previous dorm. “These macho-men often had a disregard for a lot of things,” he said. “This was angering. The attitude of these people towards a lot of things which was very relaxed and complacent makes me upset.”

Bro culture can have negative effects on the community. Upper Beth Brown* believes it causes disrespect towards women, especially. “I know a girl who hooked up with three guys from different sports teams,” she said. “They started talking about how she was ‘getting around.’ Then she asked someone else if he wanted to hook up, and he responded with, ‘haven’t the other guys been enough for you?’ ”

On the other hand, some pointed out that such behavior does not fairly reflect bro culture. Lower Seth Amofa, for one, believed it was a nurturing force. “The bro culture has affected me in a positive way. I feel comfortable talking with my guy friends,” Amofa said. “We support one another and have fun.”

This culture can also create a division within dorms, however. Tom Smith*, a senior in Wentworth Hall, commented on how “the athletic guys” in his dorm hang out together, while the rest of the dorm usually just stay in their rooms “because they don’t have anyone to talk to.” “Some of the less athletic guys have been thinking of moving out. Some people, including me, don’t feel like we belong in the dorm,” he said

However, some students like senior Toby Abelmann do not feel that bro culture plays a noticeably significant role at Exeter or in the school culture, especially in public spaces. “Whatever bro culture is present at Exeter doesn’t seem to frequently escape dorm rooms. I don’t think it’s a dominating culture,” Abelmann said. “I don’t really notice it.”

Uppers James Long and Cameron Frary agreed, noting how they observed bro culture only in dorms and sports teams. Frary described how he had heard of behaviors related to bro culture on campus but had never experienced it himself. “I think it exists in some circles, but it doesn’t dominate dorm life,” Frary said.

Some have had different experiences with bro culture, however. Upper Khine Win felt that classmates valued her points less because of a hypermasculine classroom environment. “I feel like, unfortunately, there are hints of sexism in the classroom,” she said. “Guys mansplain.”

Similarly, senior Jane Thompson* recalled an uncomfortable incident in her classroom. “Today in speechmaking, we watched a commercial by Carl’s Junior with a naked women walking through, which was clearly speaking to the sex appeal,” she said. “We were talking about how the ad was specifically targeted to men. The guys were laughing at it, but the girls sitting there were very uncomfortable.”

Upper Nick Schwarz reflected on the prevalence of bro culture, explaining that while most forms of the culture are easily avoided, some values of bro culture exist in many social groups across campus. “I was taught to be friends with all different kinds of people, even if they have very little in common with me,” Schwarz said. “Other people here say they believe that, too, but don’t seem to act on it. And that has ultimately been the biggest disappointment of my Exeter career.”

However, whether this bro culture negatively affects the school is a matter of perception. Senior Dhruva Nistane cautioned against overgeneralizing the term.

“I don’t think bro culture exists to a big degree and even if it does, I think it only exists in the sports setting mainly. More importantly, I think the harmful actions of some students can be misconstrued as the actions of a large majority of students,” Nistane said.

As for why the culture continues, good or bad, Beth put it simply: “They kind of just accept it because they’re all bros.”

*Asterisks denote name change to protect anonymity.