A Feminist's Guide to Brocalism

"Listen, sweetheart, sexism and racism are products of capitalism. If we take down capitalism, it'll be easier to solve those issues."

These were actual words muttered to me a few weeks ago, which played on my mind. Then it hit me, I had been subjected to the horror of a Brocalist.

Despite being left-wing, creative, and possessing a significant degree of crystalised intelligence, he was still a Brocalist.

Bumping into one is always disheartening. On the one hand, you have a somebody genuinely interested in fighting class inequality, helping to solve climate change, and supports socialist ideals. On the other hand, they will regularly undermine and patronise you, just like the majority of people in political debates.

What is a Brocalist?

When I asked people what they thought a Brocalist was, they'd all come out with the same thing:

You know, it's when a guy pretends to be a socialist, but he still believes he's better than everybody, which kind of undermines the very basis of socialism?

But then narcissism is something we're all guilty of every now and then.

So, I decided to make my own definition.

Brocalist: Somebody who is so obsessed with his progressive views of socialism that he becomes increasingly problematic.

"I met a Brocalist yesterday, he thought that fighting for diversity was distracting us from the socialist revolution."

The sad reality is, we've all come across a Brocalist. Somebody that believes the race or gender revolution should wait while the focus is on class issues.

How to spot a Brocalist

How do you know if you've come across a typical Brocalist?

There's no set "look" to a Brocalist, they can manifest as anybody. However, they tend to be white males, believed to be a consequence of their privilege.

They may sport "indie" brands, often unlabelled. They can be seen cycling or using public transportation as sustainability is at the top of their agenda. Simultaneously they fail to accept that climate change is a gender issue.

They will claim their diet is "plant-based" while still tucking into meat every week and steering away from the vegan diet. Because, well, cheese.

Importantly, they'll also refuse to conform to gender norms, so these "plant-based" meals will be cooked by them, and even cleaned up by them too. They do this to be praised.

Brocalists are often extremely educated and possess a geek-like charm. However, instead of your classic Minecraft-playing, cosplay type, they geek out on looking progressive.

They'll be the first to post about the amazing women in their life on International Women's Day, but fail to really notice women when they're outside of their immediate circle. In other words, they have to imagine that every female is their mother, sister, or daughter to feel anger or empathy.

They're pretty much everywhere, especially in indie bars, co-working spaces, and climate change protests.

Which type have you come across?

There are two types of Brocalist:

The charmer

These tend to use progressive ideas as a way to woo women. They'll tend to use social media to express their really progressive ideas.

Once they've lured in a woman by talking politics, he'll then proceed to hit on her. Sometimes, it is only in this moment that you realise you're talking to a Brocalist. It's not your fault.

The undercover sexist

These type of Brocalists are no different from your average sexist. They see women as an opportunity to mask their insecurities, and often they will patronise and harass women online, all in the name of socialism.

To the world, they will seem like somebody who is liberating the underdog. However, they remain safe under the patriarchal structure that is propping them up.

The majority of times, these Brocalists will also feel it is appropriate to tell people of colour that they don't understand what they're voting for. They will harass women who dare to critique their socialist leaders.

What is the goal of Brocalism?

The Brocalist, while extremely problematic, arguably does have some kind of moral compass.

Well, in today's world, it's nice to come across anybody who actually believes in climate change.

That being said, the Brocalist theory tends to put the class struggle over everything else. So much so that they believe with socialism, issues regarding race, gender, sexuality, and disability will melt away beautifully.

Of course, we know that socialism is nothing more than an economic system. It's not a cultural system, and issues like racism and sexism can still strive in socialist societies.

The Brocalist will, obviously, ignore that relatively "socialist" societies (particularly around Europe) still suffer from societal problems like gender inequality and racism.

If you try to direct the Brocalist's attention towards the fact that communism didn't solve racism in Cuba, in the same way that democratic socialism hasn't, they will more than likely tell you that you're losing focus.

Brocalists don't see racial or gender issues as big of a deal as class issues. Bernie Sanders and Morgan Freeman have both been guilty of projecting the idea that we shouldn't be focusing on colour or gender, but on politics.

Unfortunately, Brocalists push this idea rather aggressively on social media—especially to minorities and women who dare to try and debate. They see a debate regarding diversity or gender a distraction, so that the working classes remain at the bottom.

Their goal is to recentre the white working class in political debates. Anything subjectively positive such as intersectionality, identity politics, and diversity have been demonised by your typical Brocalist.

Why we should be wary

Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but Brocalism poses a threat to many.

While Brocalism cannot be defined as a movement that calls for true equality in society, it can easily be described as a call for white populism.

Brocalists are beginning to see an increasing amount of diverse people overtake the white working-class—mainly white working-class men.

There's a conflict of interest. They see minorities and women surpassing white working-class men, hence why they fight to direct the attention away from race and gender.

How to deal with a Brocalist

It's a tricky one, as dealing with a Brocalist can be infuriating and sometimes damaging.

They resort to what they know best—gaslighting. They will make you feel crazy, tragic and dumb, often telling you that you simply "don't understand," or that you're overreacting.

It's also incredibly hard to call out somebody that, on the outside, appears to have progressive and honourable intentions.

It's sporadic that a Brocalist will check their sexism, or acknowledge how damaging white populism is.

The best thing to do is to ignore them and stop giving them a platform. Sure, you can try to call them out, but as socialists, they'll agree that unpaid emotional labour isn't something you should partake in.

Speak to your friends and mutuals who are accidentally supporting Brocalists. Without their platform and followers, they'll move onto another popular trend in the social media sphere.

It's time to fight for diversity

Women, LGBTQ communities, minorities, and the disabled have been excluded from influencing government policy for generations.

We need to call out racism and sexism in the socialist communities and ensure that we're electing a leader that has everybody's best interests at heart—not just the white working-class men.

You will often come across an accidental Brocalist.

There's no denying that they're out there. Most of them have free reign to say whatever they want because of their outwardly noble beliefs.

We just need to team together and make sure that we strive towards a society that is genuinely equal for everybody—both economically and socially.