Masculinity in American Politics

Masculinity in American Politics
Author: Monika L. McDermott
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2025-02-25
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781479830701

How elements of masculinity manifest themselves in all aspects of American political life While hardly a new phenomenon, masculinity—which includes elements of toughness, independence, and leadership, among others—roared onto the national political stage in America with the 2016 candidacy, election, and presidency of Donald Trump. Research into masculinity dates back over a century, but little attention has been paid to the specific role of masculinity in politics beyond the conventional wisdom that it, rather than femininity, is the dominant force. This lack of research has led to a lack of knowledge on how exactly, and how much, masculinity shapes political structures, attitudes and behaviors, from children’s socialization to our masculine political world, to how a new generation views this traditional dominance. In Masculinity in American Politics, Monika L. McDermott and Dan Cassino bring together a prestigious group of interdisciplinary scholars to explore these questions and their implications for different aspects of political life. Topics include the challenge of defining and measuring masculinity, how perceptions of gender and masculinity can shape campaign messaging strategies and public opinion, and other discussions of political identity, including age, race, and ethnicity. With contributions from Melissa Deckman, Jill S. Greenlee, Amanda Bittner, and other high-profile scholars, this comprehensive volume provides insight into masculinity and its high-stakes political manifestations, particularly as Gen Z fights to redefine the contours of their own gender and sexuality. Drawing upon insights from politics, sociology, psychology, and the broader social sciences, Masculinity in American Politics pushes the field to look “beyond the binary” and illuminate this brave, new world of political conflict and possibility.

Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior

Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior
Author: Monika L. McDermott
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2016
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0190462809

What influences political behavior more -- one's gender or one's gendered personality traits? Certain gendered traits have long been associated with particular political leanings in American politics. For example, the Democratic Party is thought to have a compassionate, feminine nature while the Republican Party is deemed to have a tougher, more masculine nature. Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior, a first-of-its-kind analysis of the effects of individuals' gendered personality traits -- masculinity and femininity -- on their political attitudes and behavior, argues that gendered personalities, and not biological sex, are what drive the political behavior of individual citizens. Drawing on a groundbreaking national survey measuring gendered personality traits and political preferences, the book shows that individuals' levels of masculine and feminine personality traits help to determine their party identification, vote choice, ideology, and political engagement. And in conjunction with biological sex, these traits also influence attitudes about sex roles. For example, the more strongly an individual identifies with "feminine" characteristics, the more strongly they identify with the Democratic Party. Likewise, the more "masculine" an individual, the more they are drawn to the GOP. The book also demonstrates that, despite conventional wisdom, biological sex does not dictate gendered personalities. As such, the personality trait approach of the book moves gender and politics research well beyond the traditional male/female dichotomy. Moreover, Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior points to new and as yet underexplored strategies for candidate campaigns, get out the vote efforts, and officeholders' governing behavior.

Masculinity, Media, and the American Presidency

Masculinity, Media, and the American Presidency
Author: Meredith Conroy
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2016-04-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1137456450

This book analyzes the way media describe presidential candidates' character and the degree to which this discourse maintains a preference for masculinity in our politics, using content analysis of major print new media outlets.

Gender and American Politics

Gender and American Politics
Author: Sue Tolleson-Rinehart
Publisher: M.E. Sharpe
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2005
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780765615695

List of Tables and Figures; Acknowledgments; 1. Introduction: Gender, Sex, and American Political Life, Jyl J. Josephson and Sue Tolleson- Rinehart; Part I. Political Behavior; 2. Gender and Political Knowledge, Michael X. Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter; 3. Gender and Political Participation, M. Margaret Conway; 4.

The Culture and Politics of Populist Masculinities

The Culture and Politics of Populist Masculinities
Author: Outi Hakola
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2021-04-09
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1793635269

The ideologies and practices of various populist movements are centered on issues of gender, especially idealized notions of masculinity. Offering cultural, political, and historical approaches from a range of interdisciplinary and international perspectives, The Culture and Politics of Populist Masculinities analyzes articulations and performances that link populism to masculinity. In particular, the collection studies political participation in the form of public debates, media, and popular culture. The authors emphasize that in order to understand what can be defined as populism, we need to look at the culture that it inhabits and the efforts to claim, challenge, and reclaim the popular. Writing from a wide range of international contexts, the contributors to The Culture and Politics of Populist Masculinities explore how populist masculinities are articulated and performed, whether there is something problematic about a specifically masculine populism, and whether there is hope for a pluralist, inclusive, even progressive form of masculine populism. Culture and Politics of Populist Masculinities’ international range of contributors explore how populist masculinities are articulated and performed, whether there is something problematic about a specifically masculine populism, and whether there is hope for a pluralist, inclusive, even progressive form of masculine populism.

Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior

Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior
Author: Monika L. McDermott
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2016-07-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0190462825

What influences political behavior more -- one's gender or one's gendered personality traits? Certain gendered traits have long been associated with particular political leanings in American politics. For example, the Democratic Party is thought to have a compassionate, feminine nature while the Republican Party is deemed to have a tougher, more masculine nature. Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior, a first-of-its-kind analysis of the effects of individuals' gendered personality traits -- masculinity and femininity -- on their political attitudes and behavior, argues that gendered personalities, and not biological sex, are what drive the political behavior of individual citizens. Drawing on a groundbreaking national survey measuring gendered personality traits and political preferences, the book shows that individuals' levels of masculine and feminine personality traits help to determine their party identification, vote choice, ideology, and political engagement. And in conjunction with biological sex, these traits also influence attitudes about sex roles. For example, the more strongly an individual identifies with "feminine" characteristics, the more strongly they identify with the Democratic Party. Likewise, the more "masculine" an individual, the more they are drawn to the GOP. The book also demonstrates that, despite conventional wisdom, biological sex does not dictate gendered personalities. As such, the personality trait approach of the book moves gender and politics research well beyond the traditional male/female dichotomy. Moreover, Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior points to new and as yet underexplored strategies for candidate campaigns, get out the vote efforts, and officeholders' governing behavior.

Gender Threat

Gender Threat
Author: Yasemin Cassino
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2021-11-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1503629902

Against all evidence to the contrary, American men have come to believe that the world is tilted – economically, socially, politically – against them. A majority of men across the political spectrum feel that they face some amount of discrimination because of their sex. The authors of Gender Threat look at what reasoning lies behind their belief and how they respond to it. Many feel that there is a limited set of socially accepted ways for men to express their gender identity, and when circumstances make it difficult or impossible for them to do so, they search for another outlet to compensate. Sometimes these behaviors are socially positive, such as placing a greater emphasis on fatherhood, but other times they can be maladaptive, as in the case of increased sexual harassment at work. These trends have emerged, notably, since the Great Recession of 2008-09. Drawing on multiple data sources, the authors find that the specter of threats to their gender identity has important implications for men's behavior. Importantly, younger men are more likely to turn to nontraditional compensatory behaviors, such as increased involvement in cooking, parenting, and community leadership, suggesting that the conception of masculinity is likely to change in the decades to come.

Masculinities in Politics and War

Masculinities in Politics and War
Author: Stefan Dudink
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2004-07-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780719065217

In this collection, a group of historians explores the role of masculinity in the modern history of politics and war. Building on three decades of research in women's and gender history, the book opens up new avenues in the history of masculinity. The essays by social, political and cultural historians therefore map masculinity's part in making revolution, waging war, building nations, and constructing welfare states. Although the masculinity of modern politics and war is now generally acknowledged, few studies have traced the emergence and development of politics and war as masculine domains in the way this book does. Covering the period from the American Revolution to the Second World War and ranging over five continents, the essays in this book bring to light the many "masculinities" that shaped--and were shaped by--political and military modernity.

Gender and American Politics

Gender and American Politics
Author: Sue Tolleson-Rinehart
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 380
Release: 2016-09-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 131528975X

Studies of gender and American political life most often focus only on women. This book fills the gap by examining and comparing the roles and behavior of both men and women in political decision-making, public policy, and political institutions. Now updated and expanded, the book presents a full complement of empirical studies of real and imagined gender gaps. New to this edition are chapters on the media, legislative behavior, foreign policy, and the future of the gender dimension in American politics. The book is structured to parallel the typical course on the American political system.

Sentimental Men

Sentimental Men
Author: Mary Chapman
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 308
Release: 1999-10-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780520216228

This text analyses cultural forms to demonstrate the centrality of masculine sentiment in American literary and cultural history. They analyze sentimentalism not just as a literary game but as a structure of feeling manifested in many areas.