John,
Remember Trump’s irresponsible behavior following his coronavirus diagnosis?
According to Vox, his actions fit a pattern of what behavioral scientists call “precarious” or performative masculinity -- a phenomenon in which men “double down by performing risky and even self-damaging behaviors in order to compensate” when their masculinity is threatened. “The more public their actions, the more they feel like they’re reasserting their manhood.”
Donald Trump has thrived off of the toxic masculinity in this country. Trump has over 25 sexual assault allegations against him and openly bragged that he’s powerful enough to get away with it -- and millions of Americans are proud to have him as president. Trump has disparaged and demeaned women in power throughout his presidency, referring to women as “nasty,” “monsters,” and “disgusting” whenever they challenged him.
But according to Trump, women should love him for “getting [their] husbands back to work” -- an archaic sexist trope that overlooks the fact that over 800,000 of the 1.1 million people who lost their jobs this summer during the pandemic were women.
The problem is that some Americans seem to be loving the sexist rhetoric spewing from the misogynist in the White House -- more Americans voted for him this year than in 2016, and we’ve had plenty of time to figure out what his views of women are. In fact, Trump’s toxic masculinity only serves to drive his support. Today, we need to know if, like us, you refuse to grow accustomed to these attacks, as so many have. Please, tell us now:
Do you condemn Trumpian misogyny?
Thank you so much for taking our poll today.
