In popular culture, the Bro Code is a friendship
etiquette
Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...
to be followed among men or, more specifically, among members of the
bro subculture. The term was invented and popularized by
Barney Stinson
Barnabus Stinson is a fictional character portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris and created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series ''How I Met Your Mother'' (2005–2014).
One of the show's main characters, Barney is know ...
, a character from the television show ''
How I Met Your Mother
''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and ...
''. Katherine Connor Martin, head of content creation at
Oxford Dictionaries Oxford dictionary may refer to any dictionary published by Oxford University Press, particularly:
Historical dictionaries
* ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'')
* ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'', abridgement of the ''OED''
Single-volume d ...
, recognized Stinson as "the quintessence of a certain iteration of the contemporary bro".
The notion
Early references
The notion of an unwritten set of rules that govern the relationship between male friends is present in American popular culture at least since 1991. In the ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
'' episode "
The Stranded", which aired on November 27 that year,
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he created and wrote with Larr ...
says the following monologue, in one of his stand-up bits:
"Bros before hoes"
"
Bros before hoes" (that is, "man friends before women") is a well-known, slang expression about how men should not abandon their male friends for women they are interested in.
The "bros before hoes" expression is often regarded as the "golden rule" of male friendship, and it has been common slang at least since 2001. It was later used by ''
The Office
''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries.
The original series of ...
'' character
Michael Scott in "
A Benihana Christmas
"A Benihana Christmas" is the tenth and eleventh episodes of the third season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'', and the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth episodes overall. It was written by Jennifer Celotta and directed by Ha ...
" in 2006, and further popularized by the TV show character
Barney Stinson
Barnabus Stinson is a fictional character portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris and created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series ''How I Met Your Mother'' (2005–2014).
One of the show's main characters, Barney is know ...
from ''
How I Met Your Mother
''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and ...
''.
''The Bro Code''
Inspired by the notion of Bro Code that they developed in their sitcom, ''
How I Met Your Mother
''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and ...
'' creators
Carter Bays
Carter Loard Bays (born August 12, 1975) is an American author, composer and television showrunner.
Bays co-created the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' where he served as showrunner, writer and executive producer for all nine seasons. The ...
and
Craig Thomas, and one of the show's writers, Matt Kuhn, wrote a book called ''The Bro Code''. Published by
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pub ...
, the book covers 150 rules written in articles of what "bros" should or should not do.
The book was
penned by Barney Stinson and also credited with Kuhn, who also wrote the entries of Barney's blog, mentioned in the series. The book was first shown in the episode "
The Goat". Greig Dymond of
CBC.ca calls the book "a tongue-in-cheek guide to etiquette for horn-dog dudes."
At the end of each episode, a
vanity card is used to display a random rule from the Bro Code, similar to what is done on
Chuck Lorre
Charles Michael Lorre (; born Charles Michael Levine; October 18, 1952) is an American film & television director, writer, producer, composer and actor.
Called the "King of Sitcoms", he has created/co-created and produced sitcoms including '' ...
–produced shows.
See also
*
Bro (subculture)
Bro culture is a subculture of young people (originally young men, hence "brother culture") who spend time partying with others like themselves. Although the original image of the bro lifestyle is associated with sports apparel and fraternities, ...
*
Bromance
A bromance is a very close and non-sexual relationship between two or more men. It is an exceptionally tight, affectional, homosocial male bonding relationship exceeding that of usual friendship, and is distinguished from normal friendship by ...
*
Gentlemen's agreement
A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding agreement between two or more parties. It is typically oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or t ...
*
Man Laws Man Laws (Men of the Square Table) are a series of beer commercials for Miller Lite, inspired by the supposed unwritten codes by which men live. The "Men of the Square Table" are a parody of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table. The "Square Ta ...
*
What happens on tour, stays on tour
*
Wingman (social)
Wingman (or wingmate) is a role that a person may take when a friend needs support with approaching potential romantic partners. People who have a wingman can have more than one wingman. A wingman is someone who is on the "inside" and is used to h ...
References
{{How I Met Your Mother
Etiquette
How I Met Your Mother
Masculinity
2000s neologisms