Fragile masculinity is a term which comprises the main point in an intriguing article in The Washington Post today. Authors of the article theorize that men who have strong insecurities related to their masculinity would likely be attracted to a candidate like Trump. Trump, after all exudes the type of hyper domineering, attacking style connected with notions of manhood.
Their conclusion is that yes there is a connection – insecure men seem to cling to Trump like barnacles on a ship. And this fact really will not be viewed as much of a surprise. But what readers may find fascinating is the manner in which the authors went about their research.
They outlined a research study which would attempt to correlate fragile masculinity and voting for Trump by using people’s internet searches. They did this by looking at where in the country people were searching for topics such as “hair loss”, “testosterone” and “erectile dysfunction”. These words were chosen as markers for people worrying about possible manhood issues. Then they looked at voting trends for Trump in the 2016 election. And voila, these two separate behaviors appear to show a definite link.
The authors point out that people’s most guarded and secret personal concerns do have a way of showing up overtly in some of the topics they search for on google. People often dwell on their perceived weaknesses. If they worry about excess weight, they search for diet methods. If they fear they somehow annoy people, they look up ways to become more popular. These are such deeply held insecurities that they would not want anyone, even a loved to know. Search activities on the internet then can provide a window into some of these deep seated concerns individuals carry around with them. (No one’s individual searches were breached in this study, just large scale trends.)
And so the revelation that a great deal of Trump’s appeal derives from his intense bullying, hyper attacking style seems particularly apt. All authoritarian leaders know how to brand their style and message to the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of their constituents. Trump is no exception. The more he rails against his enemies, uses vulgar and crude attacks against women, the more he strengthens the bonds with many males in his base.
When one looks at the oppressive weight placed on boys to conform to the notions of manhood, one can certainly understand how they can grow up to be insecure men. The same could be said of women and the standard of physical attractiveness. That men are out there secretly searching for solutions to their perceived inadequacies as men and simultaneously liking Trump is proof that they are simply human. All humans, to varying degrees, can compare themselves to impossibly high cultural standards and find themselves wanting. It is remarkable that the authors are able to show that there is a correlation between two separate behaviors, internet searches and voting choices.
Who knows, maybe the authors will use their google technique to do the same kind of research on liberal women to see if there is a link between self concept concerns and how they vote. Check out the map included in the article to see if their conclusions match your perceptions about certain sections of the country. (In Michigan, it looks like the Alpena region on the northeast side of the lower peninsula stands out as a place where masculine fragility is high.) If nothing else, it is an intriguing way to consider emotions and voting patterns.