The TikTok account GetToThePointBro, inspired by AbrègeFrère, disproportionately targets women, compared to other content creators. A controversy similar to that which occurred in France, which does not seem to bother the person who started it, also French.
“ My neighbor’s dog was barking so much that… » Before the first sentence even ends, the video is abruptly interrupted. Instead, another videographer takes over, and finishes telling the story, quickly summarizing it in a few words: a TikToker filed a complaint against her neighbor because of her dog. This is not AbrègeFrère, the TikTok account which caused controversy in February 2024, but a copy: its equivalent in English, called GetToThePointBro (“GetToThePointBro”). get to the point, brother “).
GetToThePointBro is an account created at the beginning of 2024 by a French person speaking in English. With nearly 431,000 followers as of March 14, 2024, he has already produced more than 150 videos in a few months, with the same goal as AbrègeFrère: to save Internet users a few precious seconds, so that they do not don’t have to wait to get to the bottom of the story. If the intention may seem laudable, even funny, this tendency to abbreviate raises questions about the place left to women in the public space. Most of the people whose videos are cut short are women. GetToThePoint is accused, like AbrègeFrère before him, of sexism.
Questioned by Numerama, the man behind the account said he did not wish to “force to choose more men to please people ”, and urges viewers not to take his videos “ in the first degree “.
An original concept diverted
The concept of cutting Internet users’ stories short in order to save others time does not come from AbrègeFrère. Before him, HeyItsYoon made the first videos of this genre in 2022, with a slightly different style. The American creator, with more than 3.8 million subscribers on TikTok, primarily aimed for “clickbait” content, with misleading titles and cover images sometimes distorting reality to make Internet users click more. By summarizing these videos, generally much less impressive than the title suggested, HeyItsYoon has become a real phenomenon.
AbrègeFrère was largely inspired by it, going so far as to use the time saved counter, one of Yoon’s trademarks, in his videos. However, the videos are not identical: instead of choosing to summarize popular TikToks, AbrègeFrère mainly targeted videos from influencers. The majority of its videos thus condensed “story times”, life stories told by content creators, or videos in which they showed their outfits (a category of videos also called “outfit of the day”).
AbrègeFrère has been accused of misogyny by several Tiktokeuses, notably Chloé Gervais, an influencer specializing in fashion and beauty. She criticized him for having normalized the fact of silencing women who talk about makeup or fashion. The case, which was highly publicized, created a vast debate among French Internet users. AbrègeFrère finally justified himself, assuring that he did not “ at all be misogynistic “. However, AbrègeFrère’s style has inspired other creators, including GetToThePointBro.
The same problems as AbrègeFrère
Unlike HeyItsYoon, GetToThePointBro chooses to summarize only the story times, and disproportionately targets women: a simple glance at its thumbnails on TikTok shows that women are over-represented there. He admits it himself: “ The type of content I use is story times and “get ready with me”, because they are the most interesting “, he tells Numerama on the phone, referring to videos in which people film themselves getting ready for the day. Gold, ” This is content created 90% by women, so I am limited. »
However, he assures that he also uses videos from male creators, and does not have bad intentions. “ It’s just the concept, when we abbreviate, we summarize the story, but we don’t address what the story itself says. I don’t abbreviate to push people, the stories interest me too. »
However, like AbrègeFrère, GetToThePointBro also faces some criticism. The American TikToker Abraham Piper, 1.8 million subscribers, explained in particular in a video “ to hate “ the concept, “not just because of his sexism, which is embarrassing “, but because ” there is value in listening to a story “. GetToThePointBro responded on TikTok in a short video, cutting short his message.
“There really are people who hate women”
The Tiktoker refutes the accusations. “ It’s a concept, you shouldn’t take it at face value. I understand that people might take it the wrong way and I apologized to certain creators. I even reacted by forcing myself to make more videos of men “, he emphasizes. But the content creator still believes he is not at fault: “ I don’t do this with bad intention, and I have no animosity towards women. But I don’t want to force myself to choose more men to please people. »
However, his videos can have real negative impacts. GetToThePointBro thus relates an episode where a creator was directly attacked following one of her videos. “ I didn’t understand her story very well, there was a misunderstanding on my part, and as a result, there were a lot of negative comments against her » from his community, he explains. “ I tried to control them and make them understand that we are not here to make fun. But there are definitely people who hate women. »
In response, GetToThePointBro indicates that it has “ make a story », calling on his community to calm down, and to pay attention to the moderation of comments. “ I’m insulting no one, and I’m going to do my best to make sure everything goes well “. However, it is essential to remember that, if influencers are not guilty, they remain responsible for the actions of their community – whether it be cyberharassment or insulting messages.
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