Off Campus’ Ethical Frat Boys Prove Masculinity Doesn’t Have to Be Toxic to Be Compelling

It feels like we’re up to our eyeballs in Young Adult and/or New Adult book-to-screen adaptations.

So when Off Campus debuted on Prime Video, it seemed like the streamer’s next attempt to tap into the audience they secured with previous seasons of The Summer I Turned Pretty. And it is, no doubt.

But it’s also proving to be a refreshing contribution to the genre because it produces necessary shifts and execution of various topics. And one of the most striking is what I call the “Ethical Frat Boy.”

I’ve previously discussed how TSITP explored toxic masculinity, particularly in what was celebrated in its male characters versus what was denigrated.

Then, Off Campus comes along and turns what we tend to expect about traditional depictions of new adult male characters on its head. Except it’s organic — the series is not going out of its way to prove a point or force anything.

And that’s probably one of the series’ greatest strengths. Because in doing so, it proves that some of the traditional tropes we’ve come to associate with the genre can exist without some of its most problematic elements.

Off Campus doesn’t so much subvert some of its archetypes but evolve them, and somehow manages to do so against the backdrop of a notoriously toxic sport.

It doesn’t pull any punches with standard archetypes; the Playboy, the Cocky Jock, and the Frat Boy are pretty defining traits of the series’ main male characters, but they don’t exist in such a negative or sexist framework.

To a lesser degree, it tries to do the same with the series’ extraneous women, too.

“Puck Bunny” has always been derogatory and associated with the abuse of women.

Off Campus attempts to reshape the concept, in which these women aren’t victims of exploitation by hockey players or gold diggers leeching off an up-and-coming athlete.

Instead, they’re women with sexual agency who have a love for the sport every bit as much as a desire to engage in consensual sex that is mutually beneficial.

And, as an aside, Off Campus’s sex positivity, consent-forward approach, and genuine dedication to female pleasure are handled with a thoughtfulness that feels like a breath of fresh air.

But Off Campus’s consistency is in displaying its male characters’ charisma, confidence, camaraderie, and sexual liberation without aggression, misogyny, and toxicity.

At the center of this is the space wherein a group of frat boys can exist under that banner without also being problematic.

The Briar U boys have a good time. They party, do dumb shit, drink too much, and some have copious amounts of sex.

Yeah, someone will clog up a drain with a used condom, and trash the house after a frat party, but their brotherhood is very much rooted in a genuine love for one another and a willingness to push each other to be better, too.

Dean is a playboy who calls himself “Six Flags,” but he’s not a womanizer. In fact, he emerges as one of the most emotionally intelligent young men of them all.

One of the most shockingly poignant scenes of the season is the advice he gives Garrett about pleasuring a woman. There’s no putting on airs and cocky bravado about his sexual prowess.

The entire conversation doesn’t center on either him or Garrett. Dean’s advice is as simple as ensuring that Garrett’s partner feels safe (with a cheeky but accurate addendum on not skipping out on foreplay).

It’s such an effortless, normal conversation among “bros.” There’s nothing self-congratulatory about it. Dean is a hot guy with a healthy sexual appetite and many partners, but he’s not an immoral sexual deviant putting on for his “boys.”

Similarly, Garrett also has plenty of sexual experience in the series. He is very much the “Big Man on Campus” type, with women flocking to him. And he’s a guy aware of the effect he has on others.

He gets to play into all of that, in a classic case of “women want him and men want to be him.” It’s peak masculinity.

But Off Campus allows him to be evolved without detracting from that. He’s allowed to be hardworking and studious. Being kind or respectful toward women doesn’t somehow make him less worthy of idolization.

His teammates understand the collective benefits of Garrett passing a class and what that means for their team, so these guys aren’t enabling bad behaviors but rather encouraging the good ones, whether it’s helping him study or calling him out when he needs it most.

Off Campus excels as much in friendship as it does in romance, with the frat boys being the most impressive. Their being decent, earnest, and emotionally healthy never makes them less compelling.

It dispels the notion that we have come to just accept that male co-ed life and jock culture are inherently dependent on and have to revolve around aggression, anger, domination, misogyny, and generally being a dick.

Oddly enough, there’s always commentary about what happens when women write men versus when men do. The implication is that women write fantasy versions of men.

But more often than not, women aren’t writing men based on what they want them to be, but rather what they’re capable of being.

They write men unencumbered by the rigid rules of masculinity and specifically the performance that so often comes with it.

It’s that performance that makes the show’s male characters fascinating to watch.

On campus, they create a blueprint because they have the power to do so, and they’re cognizant of that power. The Briar U boys drive the culture.

Hazing doesn’t look like humiliation, subjugation, or male aggression. It’s something as amusing as a Fruit baby.

Co-ed drinking culture isn’t something rooted in coercion or willful ignorance. No one has to explain to Logan or Garrett why Hannah wouldn’t want an open drink at a party, and there’s no pressure to get her to drink when she doesn’t want to.

The boys don’t always openly confide in each other about their feelings, and even have their fair share of communication issues.

But they have the space to do so if they need to, without judgment or implications that they’re being “too emotional.”

And when something reaches a point where communication is key, they call each other out on it and act accordingly.

Yet, Off Campus isn’t some utopia where the negative aspects of masculine culture don’t exist.

Garrett’s father is a prime example. As an abusive man who subscribes to the culture of what it means to be “manly,” that dark side is ever-present in the series.

An opposing hockey team embodies that culture as well. And while the Briar U boys are sex-positive, ethical men who respect women, outside their world, rape culture very much exists.

These evolved archetypes don’t actually exist in a vacuum, and that’s what makes Off Campus actually work so well.

There are still layers to a confident Dean, who essentially feels that all he has to offer is a good time sexually. Garrett’s anger is something he fears and actively manages because he never wants to become his father.

Logan’s self-righteousness is largely rooted in his insecurity about being in Garrett’s shadow.

They’re all flawed characters. Genuine ones. Ultimately, they’re what happens when you take an age-old trope and actually give it depth.

It’s as simple as the series quietly prompting viewers to question the status quo and pushing at why we’ve come to accept certain things as the norm in the first place.

Hell, it pushes back against the narrative that male characters have to be inherently problematic and misogynistic to be interesting or even sexy — to be the male characters people either desire or want to be.

There are many things that Off Campus gets right.

Whether it’s the killer soundtrack and John Hughes vibes that feel both modern and timeless, or the sense that it’s a production that actually cares about and respects the romance genre rather than solely wanting to capitalize on it.

But what remains a standout, especially for a YA series, is how it approaches the guys.

Off Campus breaks its male characters free from the confines of what we’ve been taught certain archetypes have to be in order to be interesting.

Ironically, letting their male characters stop performing and simply be works wonders.

Did you stream Off Campus on Prime Video?

If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts about the series, this piece, and whatever else. Comment below, share if you care, baby! And thanks for supporting indie sites and this sleep-deprived millennial who loves her Young/New Adult series. 💙

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