Boys to Men?

 

Boys to Men?

In Search of Masculinity Redefined by Donald Trump

In a world where physical strength was a determinant of domination and success, men ruled. Sure, wartime created temporary openings for women (like Rosie the Riveter in WWII) in formerly male physical labor, but technology seems to have leveled that factor. We even have women fighter pilots today. The reality for post-pandemic America is that women outnumber men in so many professional schools (like law schools), and in the arena of basic college education, as Pew Research reported in 2021: “The growing gender gap in higher education – both in enrollment and graduation rates – has been a topic of conversation and debate in recent months. Young women are more likely to be enrolled in college today than young men, and among those ages 25 and older, women are more likely than men to have a four-year college degree. The gap in college completion is even wider among younger adults ages 25 to 34.

“Women’s educational gains have occurred alongside their growing labor force participation as well as structural changes in the economy. The implications of the growing gap in educational attainment for men are significant, as research has shown the strong correlation between college completion and lifetime earnings and wealth accumulation.” “Breadwinner” is no longer a masculine descriptor. But notions of “woke,” DEI treating women in the work-world as minority hires (that glass ceiling still exists), and feminized “style values” for men, a new emphasis on “emotional intelligence” and a new Christian national emphasis on a traditional family structure have introduced new complicating vectors into the electorate. We are also learning that voters who were “expected” to support an inclusive Kamala Harris presidency… didn’t:

“National exit polls show that 53% of white women voted for an adjudicated rapist whose previous actions in office laid waste to Roe vs. Wade. So much for Democrats tapping into the hidden power of a ‘silent majority’ of women who were thought to be hiding their political views from their husbands. They were in step with white men, 59% of whom voted for the former president.” Los Angeles Times, November 8th. But the interesting new variable in this mix embraces men, beyond the shift in a segment of machismo-driven Hispanics, and in particular GenZ males who really did not experience any negativity at a time when they were too young to be political and, like most GenZ’s, simply did and do not get their information from traditional mass media. Henry Chandonnet, a GenZ male writing for the November 7th FastCompany.com, explains part of this pro-Trump shift within his peers:

“For years, young people were supposed to be a bastion of progressivism, the fearless luminaries saving older generations from their chosen demagogues. But, in 2024, four in 10 young people voted for Donald Trump… The stragglers here are young men, who broke for Trump en masse. Early estimates have Trump up 14 points among men 18-29. That might be shocking; after all, young men have voted blue consistently in previous elections, only descending to single-digit Democratic support in 2022.

“But the truth is, young men are in a political crisis. As a college student, I see it every day: Men my age are increasingly contained by their media bubbles, wrapped up in disregard for the political system and devastating economic outlooks. Pundits love to lament sociological issues like the ‘masculinity crisis,’ which certainly exists for some. But, on the ground, it looks like young men have lost their faith in democracy and, in turn, the Democratic party. Simply put, they stopped caring.

“Over the past four years, I’ve watched the young men around me increasingly disavow themselves from politics. Some of them had policy-oriented reasons, like American support of the war in Gaza. Most, though, simply began feeling like legislators did nothing at all. Almost no one in my generation is talking about Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, or Trump’s string of long-tailed executive orders. For many, the last significant policy change (outside of some landmark Supreme Court decisions) is still the Affordable Care Act, which happened about 14 years ago…

“Where these young ‘bros’ truly fell for Trump, then, was in friendlier spaces. Appearances on podcasts from Mark Calaway, Andrew Schulz, Theo Von, Adin Ross, and Lex Fridman made Trump seem more human. He wasn’t the violent insurrection-starter of late 2020; he was a laid-back guy talking wrestling. On TikTok, Trump moved from threatening to funny, with compilations of his most humorous moments racking up millions of likes.

“And then, the biggest get: Trump’s appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience. Many older liberals scoffed at the episode, opting to fixate on a gaff around his election denialism. But, among my own generation, I only heard positive things. I wasn’t surprised on Tuesday [11/5] night when NBC News showed a long line of MAGA hats at Arizona State University; some of those students said that the Rogan episode had tipped their vote.

“While pundits—myself included—attempt to break down the sociological dynamics of this voter bloc, we cannot ignore the underlying economic tension. Young people are wounded by the state of the economy. I’ve seen my grocery bill go up in the past few years, something more difficult to stomach on a college budget. With skyrocketing home prices, much of my generation has resigned ourselves to never being able to afford a home.” Add to this quagmire of manhood with highly filtered social media, a rising pressure from evangelical fundamentalists, effectively the stronghold of Trump’s base. As Sonya Gugliara, writing for the November 7th Daily Mail illustrates: “Protestors have caused outrage after turning up to a Texas college campus with despicable signs bearing derogatory messages about women.

“The religious demonstrators, self-identified as members of Official Street Preachers, arrived at Texas State University on Wednesday [11/6] afternoon with an array of signage which immediately sparked uproar among students… The protestors, who claim to 'share the gospel every day', were also heard shouting provocative religious-themed slogans at students,' a university spokesperson told Lonestar Live … 'Women are property,' one sign read. [see above picture]… Another man held a sign which stated: 'Types of property: women, slaves, animals, land, etc.'

“Another message seen at the San Marcos campus shared hatred about the LGBTQ + community… The group, called the Official Street Preachers, is not affiliated with the college, but was let on campus because it is considered a public space… A crowd of counter-protestors surrounded the street preachers until they eventually left campus. Campus police did get involved, but no arrests were made… Beyond the Texas campus community, the offensive signs have caught the attention of people across the country.”

Some fundamentalists are even questioning whether women should be able to vote and stretch to suggest slavery might have a place in our future. J.D. Vance excoriated Harris women voters as anti-family “childless cat ladies.” And the Trump social media machine, with lots of help from Elon “X-man” Musk and Charlie “Turning Point” Kirk, a Christian nationalist social media communicator. Is Trump an anomaly or simply the new Amerika?

I’m Peter Dekom, and somehow a MAGA movement pushing back to a past America was more tech-communications savvy than the purported “modern” Democratic Party machine, mired in the media vectors of the past; we have changed!