re: Where does the backlash against "bro country" come from?

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Full disclouse I am male in their mid 20s from rural Alabama so I fit the target demographic I guess.

But it seems to be that universally that despite it being the current trend in Nashville that it receives criticism from those who discuss music. Even places as disparate as a Glee Forum where music is a hot topic but not exactly country a good many posters don't seem to like it.

What are the reasons?

Because it is popular? Standard musical hipster backlash.

Because it is "derivative"? By now all works in popular culture are so I don't understand this particular one. After all even the guys like Garth Brooks and even earlier artists like Alabama sang about the same things. Trucks, Booze, Women, rural stuff.

Because it is not "country music"? Country music has always struggled with accepting new mediums. It seems every generation there is a new style that is not country music. I personally think the South culturally benefits from the genre bending. I know the traditionalists may not like it, but its simply making a melting pot of Southern musical heritage. While commercial country is definitely focused on some inclusion of hip hop (Nelly definitely wants to be a "country artist", while Jason Aldean wants to be a rapper) it is a good thing. In the more independent music scene, country, southern rock, hip hop, indy rock, blues, and RB seem to be collasceing into a single "Southern" genre as seen by the music of Tom Waits, Ben Nichols, and Jamie M Commons. Blending of music styles is something that has always been American. So is it just musical conservatism?

Or is it something deeper? A lot of people mock it because its "rural white males in their 20s singing about rural stuff while picking a guitar". How does that make it bad? You know what you call males in their mid 20s singing about urban situations? The entire hip hop industry. In fact its funny to see how country/rap mirror each other in the rural/urban divide. They sing about basically the same things.

I am more of a musical libertarian, in that I don't stick with genres just if I listen to it I like. I really do like some of the Florida Georgia line and Luke Bryan stuff. Again I am a rural person.

Is it simply cultural bias? An inevitable fact that more of the country every year becomes more urban/suburban style? So a kid listen to FGL in the burbs is seen as a poser because they are neither urban or rural.

Rural is seen as passe.

Which brings back the Glee issue. Like it or not, it has had big effects on the current music industry of the past few years. They've done basically everything (no matter how obscure or stupid) but only a token (1 maybe 2 songs a season) presence for country (and always crossovers usually the female driven stuff). Heck they did a "tribute episode" themed on Twerking but not Country (or its related genres Blues, RB, Southern Rock etc).

So because the music is "made" for rural white (presumably straight) southern males is it seen as not being relevant/politically correct?

Some kind of token feminism? Because Bro country seems to be the only counter-balance to the generic female led country pop in today's commercial country. And what is sad no one dismisses that genre especially since is so not country music, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood are simply pop artists that record in Nashville.

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