tech bro
n
a disapproving term for a man working in tech
What does tech bro mean?
Tech bro is a usually disapproving term for a man works in tech or a related industry (such as AI, cryptocurrency, social media, etc.). It is sometimes used specifically for male tech entrepreneur, CEO, or other higher-up, characterized as arrogant bordering on megalomaniacal.
Examples of tech bro
It was no coincidence that the man bun later became synonymous with the Silicon Valley tech bro—“the type of guy that vapes, while riding an electric scooter to his job in tech”, said Charlie Teasdale, Esquire’s styling director …
—Priya Elan, The Guardian (London), 8 Jan. 2021
The commercial meteorite trade caters mostly to a small but fervid group of hobbyist collectors who will pay extraordinary prices to get a piece of the latest finds. In recent years, demand for space stones has come from wealthy Chinese collectors, who seem to want the largest showpiece they can get their hands on, and from tech bros, who pine for the rarest ones.
—The age of the girl boss cannot survive the reality of our tech-controlled oligarchy, in which the Nerd Reich has captured every sector of life and is actively seeking to remake it in his image. And it is always He—Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg, Ellison. That regular people even know their names says that the tech bro has fused with our celebrity culture. Tune into the news, the latest political crisis or the Met Gala, and you will see the same cast of too-wealthy, too-powerful characters. A-list celebrities hawking gambling apps and billionaire technocrats are selling the same vision: an economy and a culture that has already left hundreds of thousands of women behind.
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Where does tech bro come from?
Tech bro is a combination—get this—of tech and bro. We define the relevant sense of bro as “a young male who is part of a group of similar male friends stereotypically characterized as hearty, athletic, self-confident, party-loving, etc.). Those referred to as tech bros aren’t necessarily young—many of them are very much not—but other stereotypical bro traits often apply, including those covered by the “etc.”
The tech bro is, of course, a species within the broader bro genus. Generic bro-ishness is properly understood as a form of performative male camaraderie, typically involving an ostentatious commitment to partying and a mildly ironic preppy aesthetic. Bros are the opposite of hipsters: aggressively conformist, intentionally unfashionable, proudly loyal to institutions (whether it’s Penn State or Deutsche Bank). With its roots in fraternity life, bro culture can include a darker undertone of misogyny, although the textbook bro is more buffoonish than menacing.
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The term tech bro appears to have arisen around the early 2010s, as evidenced by its use in quotes around that time, and by discussion of the concept of what constitutes a tech bro—namely extreme wealth, arrogance, and insensitivity.
The Times notes there appears to be a “backlash developing” against successful tech companies like Amazon for driving up housing prices, contributing to income disparities and expanding a generally obnoxious bourgeois attitude among “tech bros.” For example, young Internet entrepreneur founder Peter Shih posted online a list of ten things he hates about San Francisco in August that included homeless people, the “constantly PMSing” weather and “girls who are obviously 4s and behave like they’re 9s.”
—… is this idea that you have this arrogant tech bro, the guy who’s building these companies or the girl who’s building these companies, that you need that in order to—in order to change the world?
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How is tech bro used?
In general, tech bro is used dismissively, disapprovingly, and even disparagingly.
We were going to reclaim the term ‘tech bro’ from being used as a pejorative.
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However, tech bro is sometimes used neutrally, and may even be self-applied, focusing more on the enthusiasm around the potential of technology.
A self-described “tech bro” and former leader in the Utah technology trade group called Silicon Slopes, McClary said in an interview he is running in hopes of making the city more family-friendly, not least with regard to adding affordable housing, green spaces and amenities - as well as enhancing public safety.
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