Will Bittner, a BHS junior who works at DECA, was kind enough to explain to a little bit about the “bro code” and confirm some of the rules. Bittner explained the “bro code” as “a unwritten/written set of rules for all bros to follow.”
Among these: Bros never share dessert, wear fanny packs, or eat a vegan diet. Along with this, bros always start at least one fire a year and are only allowed to cry when a dog dies or when they break a bone. Bittner also explained to me that bros will never, under any circumstance, use an umbrella.
“Last time I used an umbrella I was 10,” Bittner said, and went on to explain that he was young and naive then and didn’t understand how much better a rain jacket is.
As a female, I have heard the phrase “bro code” passed around, but never fully understood what it means. So this month I decided to investigate.
My first step in exposing the “bro code” was to turn to the internet and see what it had to say. I looked up “the bro code” on Google and was not disappointed when I found a rule book (www.brocode.org). I did not, however, know if this book was legit or if any of the rules were outdated. Along with this, some of the rules I did not fully understand so I decided to interview some local bros to see what they had to say. So what exactly makes a bro?
Well, all men at birth are automatically considered a bro. If you are gay or a girl it gets a little more tricky. Cole Homan, a BHS student and official bro, explained that gay men are able to be bros “as long as he is not trying to pursue any of the bros in a bro group.”
Fellow classmates, Deklin Emmons and Garrett Cronin nodded their heads in agreement. (There is some controversy over this subject: not all bro groups will classify a gay guy as a bro).
Girl-bros however, are agreed upon across the board. Deklin Emmons, a BHS bro, explained that “girls can be bros, but they have to be chill and all other bros have to agree upon it.”
This statement was confirmed by bros nearby and the official “bro code” website.
It may be hard as a non-bro to understand what the point of bro-code even is. Bittner explains that when you meet a whole new group of people and “they don’t follow the bro code, how do you know that they will have your back?”
He says the code can also help you find friends more easily in college, when you move, or if you get in a traffic accident, when you can be sure that a fellow bro will ask, “dude is your car OK–and if it is can I have it if you’re dead?”