“From boasting about the size of his penis on national television to releasing records of his high testosterone levels, President Trump’s rhetoric and behavior exude machismo. His behavior also seems to have struck a chord with some male voters. See, for example, the ‘Donald Trump: Finally Someone With Balls’ T‑shirts common at Trump rallies. But our research suggests that Trump is not necessarily attracting male supporters who are as confidently masculine as the president presents himself to be. Instead, Trump appears to appeal more to men who are secretly insecure about their manhood. We call this the ‘fragile masculinity hypothesis.’”
—Eric Knowles, Sarah DiMuccio, The Washington Post
It’s easy to reflexively go well, yeah to this. That’s not news.
I get that.
But let’s look like one or two levels deeper: What are common traits you’ve seen in Trumpist dudes you’ve run into online?
· Car as profile pic
· Fishing/hunting presented as a conspicuously outsized facet of their identity
· The perennial ‘School of Hard Knocks’ appeals to rugged common sense
· When all else fails (as it invariably does) the laughable ‘you wouldn’t say that to my face keyboard tough guy’ (often to someone hundreds of miles away)
So you add all this up and the picture it paints is of dudes that are grasping desperately for external identifiers of masculinity as they tread water in a world that doesn’t really need that shit anymore.
As we become more evolved, more interconnected, and hell I’ll just say it: Smarter, we no longer place much value in the outmoded tropes of traditional 20th century American masculinity.
Why would we?
So naturally these guys can’t navigate a world where draping yourself in all that tired drag doesn’t get you very far (nor should it) and rather than evolve and join the rest of us in the 21st century they double down on toxic 8th grader logic and retreat further into cartoons of Uber Masculinty and survival fantasies and good guy with gun daydreams and Bass Pro Shop gift cards and find their beacon in leaders that likewise can’t make a case for themselves beyond chest-thumping.
What are the far-right Proud Boys if not the He Man Woman Haters Club with hashtags?
It’s a front, and not a terribly good one.
—jason malmberg
Flommist Jason Malmberg is a simple man who believes in brown liquor and small dogs. He also makes art sometimes. Copyright © 2019 Jason Malmberg.
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