Masculinity and Politics

The political structure of the United States has been tainted by exclusion of women because of their lack of masculine qualities that voters lust for in a leader. From the beginning of American culture, like in most cultures, men played the dominant role and were accepted as the governing gender. Until women’s suffrage in the United States in the early twentieth century, they were perceived as being inferior in the testosterone driven society. With the rise in women rights as well as gay rights after the defeat in Vietnam, the definition of masculinity was rattled and became revolutionized in a “remasculinization” phase in the 70s and 80s (Messner 461). It was an era when American society revamped what a real man should be. With this drastic transformation, a new “hegemonic masculinity” or alpha persona that all men supposedly strive to become was created (Messner 461). The new image that evolved was magnified in by the entertainment business, especially in Hollywood. With the ex-action movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his current elected position, the effectiveness of masculine traits has been solidified as successful strategic campaigning. The effectiveness of using certain masculine traits in campaign could be increasing or decreasing with the current issues that face America especially since the country is involved in two wars. By using these gender selective attributes, it could give male candidates another tool to use against their female or, in some cases, other male opponents in various political campaigns in the United States. The result of this inequality is clear the discrimination seen in the ratio of men to women on the national level. Male candidate’s success at using masculinity in their campaign has affected the outcome of elections; and therefore influenced American history as well as the present and future. Masculinity has had a huge role on the political structure in the United States, even though its definition has changed with the shift in

Cited: Bingham, Dennis. Acting Male. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1994. Bragg, Richard. I am Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story. New York: Knopf, 2003. Ducat, Stephen J. Wimp Factor: Gender Gaps, Holy Wars, and the Politics of anxious Masculinity. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004. Euchner, Charles C. and John Anthony. Selecting the President. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1997. Han, Lori Cox and Caroline Heldmen. Rethinking Madam President: Are We Ready for a Woman in the White House. Colorado: Lynne Rienner, 2007. Hold, Douglas B. and Craig J. Thompson. “Man-of-Action Heroes: The Pursuit of Heroic Masculinity in Everyday Consumption.” Journal of Consumer Research 31 (2004): 425-440 Kilianski, Stephen E Messerschmidt, James. Masculinities and Crime. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1993. Messner, Michael A. “Masculinity of the Governator: Muscule and Compassion in American Politics.” Gender & Society 21 (2007) 461-80 Renshon, Stanely A Rosenthal, Cindy Simon, Jocelyn Jones and James A Rosenthal. “Gendered discourse in the political behavior of adolescents.” Political Research Quarterly 56 (2003): 97-104 Rosenwasser, Shirley M., et al Tucker, Mary L, Anne M. McCarthy and M. Colleen Jones. “Women and men politicians: are some of the best leaders dissatisfied” Leadership and Organization Development Journal 20 (1999) 285-290.