Fratire

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"Fratire" is a term used to denote a relatively new type of non-fiction literature written for and marketed to young men in a politically incorrect and masculine fashion. The genre's two founding authors are Tucker Max and Maddox.

Contents

[edit] The genre

Fratire features male protagonists, usually in their twenties and thirties, in their quest for masculinity. This can include involvement with women, alcohol and other subjects that may be considered immature by some. The genre was founded with Tucker Max's I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell and followed shortly thereafter by Maddox's Alphabet of Manliness. More generally, it is said to include the Miller Lite Man Laws and the Burger King "I Am Man" [2] commercial. According to one of the authors, "fratire as a genre represents the non-mainstream literary reaction to the feminization of masculinity," although not all the books address this so directly.[1]

[edit] Origins of the term

Fratire is a portmanteau of fraternity and satire. The term was introduced by The New York Times reporter Warren St. John in an article title "Dude, here's my book" in 2006, supposedly it was the only word allowed by the editor.[2][3] The term aimed to classify the recent publication of male-centric books that focused on alcohol and sexual themes. Publishers continued to push the genre as a sales tactic. After the success of the books published by Max and Maddox, publishers and reporters attempted to capitalize on the trend with new iterations of the word, including lad lit, "dicklit," "frat-lit" and "menaissance."[4][5][6][7]

[edit] Criticism of fratire

Tucker Max himself, after first hearing the term, was quoted as saying,

"Great Holy Jesus. Warren, that is awful. First off, I wasn't in a fraternity. Neither was Maddox. In fact, none of the writers you are profiling in your article was in a frat. Please, call it anything else."[8]

Melissa Lafsky of The New York Times described the genre as "misogyny for sale." [9]

[edit] Authors

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Tucker Max (6/08/2006). Pass the Beer: In Defense of "Fratire". The Huffington Post. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  2. ^ NYT: Dude, here's my book
  3. ^ Tucker Max (6/08/2006). Pass the Beer: In Defense of "Fratire". The Huffington Post. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  4. ^ Harkin, James. "The return of the real man", Financial Times, 2006-09-16. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  5. ^ Harris, Paul. "The Menaissance", The Observer, 2006-07-09. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  6. ^ Martens, Ellin. "The Menaissance", Time Magazine, 2006-06-11. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  7. ^ [1] Amazon.com: Fratire products
  8. ^ Tucker Max (6/08/2006). Pass the Beer: In Defense of "Fratire". The Huffington Post. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  9. ^ Melissa Lafsky (6/06/2006). Misogyny For Sale: The New "Frat-Lit" Trend. The Huffington Post. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.