The Woke Bro
Earlier this year, the day of the Women's March, I was sick and couldn't make it out to support the incredible women in my life. So, like any good tech tactician, I bought a domain and built a website to show my support. Woke Bro was my response to what I wasn't able to do in the marching myself.
But, then as the buzz faded and I got a little better, I realized that as much as I believe in what I wrote and the work that I put into the site, I was not at all in a position to do anything with it or add one more thing to my list of things that I wanted to make a difference with this year. So, I shut down the site, but would be more than happy to gift it to someone else if in fact there is interest to take up that torc.
Below is what I wrote that day and what I believe the Woke Bro can symbolize in our world.
The Woke Bro knows it’s not about him but about pointing to every woman in his life and saying, “I’m With Her.”
“Women’s issues” have never been issues only affecting women. They affect everyone and the rising tide of acknowledgement by the collective Woke Bro is just the first step towards a complete and greater awareness of these issues on all of society.
Woke Bros don’t fight simply for their mothers, sisters, wives, girlfriends, coworkers, or the incredible community of empowered women that surround them, they fight for themselves and the impact they want these incredible women to continue to make. These women call them to be better men, to step up and show up whenever and wherever the status quo of locker room talk and casual sexism continues to root itself in the day to day of our society.
The Woke Bro is someone who has raised their hand to say, “I’m here, how can I help” and then shuts up and listens. The Woke Bro understands that the challenges facing the women in his life will be unique and different and there isn’t a fix all phrase that he can say. The Woke Bro knows it is a long haul fight but it is a fight for everything that is right and fair in the world becoming right, fair, and the rule, not the exception.
The Woke Bro isn’t a SNAG (Sensitive New Age Guy) looking for a way to meet strong women, have a better Bumble profile, or just be the more evolved man in the room. The Woke Bro is a man of action bringing his best to the cause, running along side powerful women as they fight for what’s theirs, and taking a stand when it means breaking bro code and pushing back against the misogynistic norms.
The Woke Bro knows they might be the first in their crew to get Woke, but they know that it is on them to keep the movement going forward and share the Woke with each Bro they know.