Titletown can now add a new accolade to its list of claims to fame, and it’s pretty sweet, dude.
Real estate website www.estately.com recently named Gainesville as the No. 3 city in the United States for bros.
The website’s criterion for bros includes “males between the ages of 16-25 … seemingly stuck in an awkward and extended puberty. These young men are easily identified by their shaved chests, perpetual posturing and false bravado,” the post reads.
Some of the reasons Estately chose Gainesville for third place include the city’s No. 10 “douchiest school” award from GQ Magazine, Ryan Lochte’s prominence and NPR’s labeling him the “ultimate bro.”
The first and second cities for bros are Los Angeles and Columbus, Ohio, respectively.
Billy Harris, an accounting junior at UF and member of Kappa Sigma, said he agrees the stereotype is alive and well in Gainesville, although it isn’t limited to fraternities.
“I think of a guy that’s young and doesn’t have a lot of cares,” he said. “He just has a good time, laughing, not necessarily caring about being nice to everyone.”
Ilan Shrira, UF social psychology expert who currently teaches at Loyola University in Chicago, said he anticipated bro culture would be stronger in southern cities, he said.
“That kind of subculture maybe would be stronger in the traditional South because you have more focus on fraternities,” he said. “I think you go to a college town, and there’s a lot of it, especially in Gainesville, being a city in the South.”
Tyler Blair, a 20-year-old UF civil engineering junior and Delta Tau Delta member said he more-or-less agreed when the website called Gainesville “a total brotopia.”
“I’d say it’s a little extreme,” he said. “But it’s also really suitable for bro life just because there’s plenty of places to hang out and go out and relax.”
While the website emphasizes some negative qualities of the subculture, 20-year-old Chris Sposito, a UF economics junior and Pi Kappa Alpha member, said he sees it as something that symbolizes a special bond between men in a fraternity.
“I generally think of it positively,” he said. “Sometimes being a bro and having bros means a lot of times you’ve gone through a lot of the same things and shared experiences. That’s what makes you bros.”
Shrira said there’s some truth to the stereotype but thinks it’s oversimplified.
“To the extent that they’re maybe saying they’re not conscientious, not very responsible — maybe that’s a big negative,” he said. “But frat culture and bro culture, I don’t think it’s offensive. It’s probably a positive thing for them.”
Contact Hanna Marcus at hmarcus@alligator.org.
