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(Trent Nelson / The Salt Lake Tribune / Getty Images)

By Jackson Katz | The assassination of Charlie Kirk has sparked a flood of media commentary, yet almost no one has confronted the central fact: The alleged perpetrator is a young man. Across cable news, newspapers and social media, we hear the neutral terms—“shooter,” “suspect,” “killer”—as if the gender of the person committing the act is irrelevant. But it is far from irrelevant. 

The overwhelming majority of mass shootings and political violence in America are committed by men, and to ignore that fact is to blind ourselves to one of the most powerful forces shaping this culture of violence: the ways certain ideas of masculinity—particularly aggressive, white, and entitled masculinity—are cultivated and celebrated.

Charlie Kirk’s own career thrived on promoting exactly this kind of masculinity, while denigrating feminist ideas that offer the clearest tools for understanding it. 

The alleged killer is now in custody, a 22-year-old product of a culture that romanticizes violent masculine power, most visibly expressed through guns. To discuss prevention, motives or solutions without naming masculinity at the center of the conversation is a failure that repeats itself in nearly every post-incident analysis. Feminist and pro-feminist scholars have long emphasized that violence cannot be fully understood—or addressed—without examining its intricate ties to gender. 

And yet, here we are, once again, struggling to say the obvious: Men, and the cultural constructions of masculinity, matter profoundly in the story of political violence.

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(Josh Edelson / AFP via Getty Images)

By Emily Taylor | In America, the version of masculinity we celebrate is deadly—not just to women, children, immigrants and marginalized communities, but to the men who cling to it. White supremacy, misogyny and homophobia have been woven into the fabric of this country, and the result is a culture in which insecurity drives violence. Men are taught that to be powerful they must dominate, control and reject care, even when it puts their own lives at risk. 

From the rhetoric of Charlie Kirk to the actions of global leaders like Putin and Netanyahu, this obsession with proving manhood has created a death cult that thrives on fear, hatred and destruction.

But recognizing these truths gives us a path forward. Feminist and gender studies show that masculinity—and all gender—is socially constructed, revealing how the rigid rules of dominance imperil everyone. These disciplines aren’t the enemy; they are a lifeline, helping us understand why boys and men are dying prematurely and why violence continues to escalate. Protecting these fields, confronting the death cult of American masculinity, and refusing to normalize the horror around us is not optional. For the sake of our children, our communities, and ourselves, we must keep fighting—and hope that a different, more humane vision of masculinity can survive.

(Click here to read more)

(Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)

By Kathy Spillar | Weeks of shocking political violence has made one thing painfully clear: Whose suffering is taken seriously is deeply political. From the assassination of Charlie Kirk, to attacks on Democratic elected officials like Minnesota’s Melissa Hortman and her husband, the public and media response reveals a stark double standard.

While some deaths are weaponized to fuel extremism, others—like domestic violence victims, immigrants, and marginalized communities—are routinely ignored.

This selective attention reflects the gendered and ideological framing of violence in the U.S. Today, more than ever, it’s crucial to recognize how political rhetoric and societal blind spots shape which acts of violence are acknowledged—and which are dismissed, leaving vulnerable populations at heightened risk.

(Click here to read more)

Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on

Apple Podcasts + Spotify.

In this episode, host Michele Goodwin speaks directly to students, young scholars, and the next generation of leaders, and of course, the people who love them.  As she remarks, they are coming of age in a world that is complicated, challenging, and often unfair. This talk is about standing up when it’s easier to look away, holding your ground when the crowd moves in a different direction, and acting with empathy and accountability in a world that often forgets what those values actually mean.

We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!

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