The Rise of Dude Culture

"Sup Bro?"
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              Here we are in this post modern technologically literate Westernized culture. Young twenty somethings crowd the urban landscape with a sense of budding identity and youthful hope and ignorance. These kids are searching to be a part of something. They want to fit in and they want to be loved or at least just be "accepted". We live in a time of gender identity and what it means to live and understand one's innate sexuality. The world is witnessing how misconceptions of masculinity are manifesting itself in the young men of today.

Let's take a hard look at the young modern male today. I want to specifically shine the line on the contemporary sect of the modern male known as the "dude". This "dude" can also be associated, but not limited to terms such as "bro","Duder","Guy" or "bromigo". One can invent an unlimited amount of vacant terms for this type of male, but I want to focus on the "dude" for sanity's sake. The Dude can be found in all settings, but mostly in a city like type of industrial environment close to big colleges and youthful springs of recreational activities. This type of particular male seeks to fit into an identity that is nonetheless carefree, fun, frivolous, and surface. The dude makes a it a point in his disposition to be either "chill" or "partying". Sometimes these two states of limited mind are interchangeable based upon the context of the atmosphere such as a party or a well lived couch.

The typical dude likes to participate in several lackadaisical activities in order to fulfill his life.  Aside from working a menial next to minimum wage unsustainable job, the dude likes to be active in non active or productive events such as hanging by the pool, binge playing video games, going to the beach or the "lake", drinking beer outside, drinking and hanging out with friends at a local watering hole, bar or mid grade restaurant that may or may not serve chips and salsa before each entrée. The dude may casually respond to a call or a text with very little words and with a casual and slightly passive agreement to do something. The dude loves to "hang" with the other dudes and talk about the banalities of work and the treasures of vapid sexual conquests. The dude will get drunk and regret things the next day on a regular basis. After slightly recovering or mediating the hangover the next day, several dudes will roam outside and search for the nearest body of water or a fellow dude that promises the presentation of snacks and a mediocre movie most likely streaming on Netflix. The dude may find himself binging on tv shows a couple times a week unconsciously or consciously disregard any adult obligations. Dudes think that merely showing up to a menial job is creating enough value to a society and it's citizens.

Dude Wear

The fashion of the dude has a very limited spectrum. The dude likes to choose comfort over looks for about 90 percent of their daily existence. Most of them will reach for a sleeveless shirt, a ratty pearl snap, a semi ironic tshirt, a rock tshirt, or an un-ironed polo. Some in a time of emergency will reach for the least dirty shirt in the hamper because of the lack of time management skills to execute a successful laundry session. The disheveled shirts are usually accompanied with some cargo shorts or an occasional holy jean pant. The dude will occasionally upgrade to a wrinkled dress pant and a slightly too tight button up when obligated or when participating in a modern courting ritual such as dating or just "hanging out." " Are y'all dating?" " Nah, we're just hanging out."

The facial hair spectrum of the dude is very diverse. Some will stick to the lazy 5 o clock shadow bead that will occasionally be shaved every few days or so. Some of the dudes will go for the full on un-groomed beard thinking that it will enhance their downtrodden look or even add some value to their sexual potency. Occasionally, the dude will try out a sloppy soul patch or even a ratty moustache. The dude makes it a point to not show off too much and tread into hipster territory. It is not uncommon for a dude to try out different pieces of facial hair to experiment and play around with their identity.

The dude head hair index holds a great variety of shapes. Most of the time, the dude will settle for a middle of the line longer on top, but shorter on the side without getting too trendy type of hairstyle. There is a faction of dudes that like to grow out there hair to show off their lustrous mains and the ability to not conform to a short hair male mainstream standard. Some dudes bounce between short, long and in-between. The dude will sometimes stick to one hair style only in order to lock a comfortable and complacent identity in place.


Dude Talk

The dude contemporary vernacular is unique in itself. Dude conversation is initiated through short and sometimes ambiguous statements and questions. The dude mentality is to conserve mental energy and maximize their communication skills without getting too deep or sympathetic. Some common examples of semi-prosaic dude language are:

" Sup dude?"
" Chu up to?"
" How ya been, bro?"
" You hungry?"
" Where you at?"
"Just chillin."
"What you up to later?"
" That's tight."
"Cya!"
"Wanna hang?"

There are unlimited variations on all these short examples displayed above. The basis of all the dude language focuses on small talk type of conversation strategies with a definitive direction to a means to an end. The extent of deep conversation in the dude circle is sometimes not addressed unless otherwise motivated by a substance such as alcohol or marijuana. These drugs may allow for the dude to break away from his vanilla mind and look at the vast variations of perspective they wouldn't normally stumble upon.

Dude Nutrition

The dude nutrition relies more on pre packaged and easy to go meals than home cooked meals. The dude diet mostly relies on convenience and instance gratification of sustenance. A simple sandwich or a box of microwavable macaroni and cheese or pizza bites would suffice. They like to rely heavily on carbs, salt, sugar and low grade protein(most likely from a lunch meat variety). The microwave is the main tool for the dude. The stovetop often collects dust or stains depending on how much Campbells soup or Spaghettios are made. If the dude is sometimes exhausted, some dinners consist of a few bowls of cerealThe dude might occasionally crave a smoothie or eat an apple out of obligation to be "healthier" and "feel" better about themselves. Some dudes rely heavily on "grazing" and less on full and complete meals. The balance relies on the balance of nutritionally imbalanced and balanced foods in excessive moderation.

Dudercise

The modern dude tends to exercise out of the need of necessity to feel better about themselves and to feel a small sense of accomplishment in their bleak and slothful existence. He might go to the gym a few times a week and do a few leisurely sets often focusing too much on the pectoral and bicep muscles. The dude occasionally craves the testosterone boost, but does not adjust dietary or lifestyle needs to change or improve their overall well being. The dude may occasionally hop onto an elliptical or treadmill with a distraction of a screen right in front of him. The mirror is almost as important to the dude as exercise itself. The dude will make it a point to make constant glances into the mirror and check in on his illusory progress. " Man I look good."

Work Ethic?

The common work ethic for the dude focuses mainly on staying in comfort zones and procrastination. They might have some great ideas for a business or enhancing their "career", but won't implement a game plan to execute their goals. Their sense of ambition becomes a footnote of their identity. They will eventually "get around" to it. The dude will seldom be idea drunk. His head will spin with a false sense of inspiration, but nothing will be done to manifest these ideas. Granted, some of the dudes break free of the procrastination chains and become highly motivated later in life, but some will just "ride" the dude vibration to the grave. Scraping by becomes a common mantra for the dude. They make sure that their comfort comes first and that nothing will come in the way of their "carefree" lifestyle.

Mating Rituals

Dudes like to participate in casual and ambiguous romantic type of relationships that eventually just perpetuate the same behaviors. The dude tends to avoid commitment and hides when any type of emotional growth or intimacy arises. Dudes peacock their feathers and show off in order to get "laid" or even land a friends with benefits type of label. Dudes eventually become emotionally unavailable and move on to the next girl after suffering weeks or months of a "dry spell". Several dudes may graduate from dudedom and have healthy and fulfilling relationships. Dudes are in a constant state of dating and dumping. For the most part, dudes are about quantity over quality. The dude refuses to see the long term and is mostly interested in hanging out with women and looking forward towards the next ejaculation.

Whatever

Dudes live their life with a "whatever" mentality. They consciously avoids drama and tends to run away from their problems or confront them with aggression. Some dudes adopt the illusory ideal that the problems with sort themselves out and that the promise of things improving relies on them passively accepting their state without any proactive change. A dude may simply give up and move on from a challenging task and not try to push through his shortcomings to succeed.

In conclusion, the rise of Dude Culture is strong. Apathy is slowly replacing value and virtues from the minds of men. Society is creating the dude. Dude culture perpetuates dude culture. Dude culture will perpetuate another generation or generations of dude culture unless we educate and understand the viral nature of the dude. When you confront a dude, please be friendly. Learn to get along with dudes and understand their inherent nature. There is not need to try to change a dude, but by leading by example you might inspire a dude to change.

DG