As the challenge of garnering the youth vote becomes more relevant in the American electoral landscape, both the Democratic Party and the GOP have employed politically innovative tactics to sway young voters. Republicans specifically have entirely given up on the young female and LGBTQ+ demographic and now set their sights on young men. Donald Trump in the past year has appeared on numerous male-dominant podcasts, both in terms of host and viewership. His most notable appearances include the “Joe Rogan Experience,” “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von,” and “Bussin’ with the Boys,” hosted by two former NFL players. These efforts function as a political gambit for the Trump campaign to capture the young male vote and swing the election. More generally, we have seen the right rigorously try to exploit the aesthetics, sensibilities, and fears of the American male youth. But why exactly have they made this effort?
A good place to start is looking at the demographic itself. One of the most pressing issues men currently face is the idea of the “male loneliness epidemic,” which has grown more pervasive as mental health gains more spotlight in the mainstream. The idea has increasingly become more charged as it continuously fuels misogyny and casual chauvinism. Still, there is truth to the fact that men have become more isolated and suffer more than before. From 1990 to 2021, the rate of men who stated they did not have a close friend quintupled from 3 percent to 15 percent, according to a study by the American Enterprise Institute. Furthermore, the male suicide rate has risen from 18 per 100,000 in 2001 to 22 per 100,000 in 2021. Romantically, men are also worse off. Just over 60 percent of men ages 18-29 reported themselves as single in 2019.
These feelings of isolation often have a strong association with chauvinistic and sexist attitudes along with traditionalistic norms of patriarchy. A study from the Journal of Counseling Psychology found that men who believe in having power over women and feel the need to partake in immense self-reliance and a sort of machismo experience a high-risk of mental health issues, and suffer from body dysmorphia, isolation, and poor social skills. The patriarchal norms of male-dominance over women and lone wolf attitudes have put men in worse mental and social positions. Like most hateful ideologies, this patriarchal way of thinking often produces negative feedback loops and makes it harder for these men to grow and connect with those around them, which only begets more hateful thinking.
Donald Trump and the GOP are keenly aware of this phenomenon, and they plan on cashing in. Trump specifically has dipped his political presence deeply into what many dub as “the manosphere,” a large internet community of misogynistic or misogyny-coded creators that preach hateful beliefs veiled in “self help,” “advice,” or just male lifestyle-centered content. The manosphere exploits the aforementioned trends about men and uses them as a stepping stone for harmful rhetoric and content. A common feature of rhetoric from the manosphere is blaming social progress or a particular minority group for personal grievances. The villain in these narratives often becomes women in positions of power or simply in new societal roles that they previously could not partake in.
Donald Trump and the GOP recognize this, and they plan to weaponize it. Trump has interviewed content creators with primarily young male audiences such as the Nelk Boys and discussed a wide variety of topics. With Theo Von and the Nelk Boys, he has delved into misogyny and alt-right ideology to strengthen his political message to younger men.
Of course, the GOP, Trump, the Nelk Boys, and the rest of the manosphere cannot save these “lost” young men. Further, upon looking deeper into the issues mentioned above, women suffer immensely as well. The same study that revealed that the rate of men who have no close friends has quintupled also shows that that very same statistic for women quintupled. Though men commit suicide at a higher rate, far more women attempt suicide. In fact, one of the key differences is not that women or men are happier, rather it’s that women are simply more likely to get professional mental health help. However, these sufferings do not even begin to scratch the surface of the deeper systemic burdens and strifes of girlhood and womanhood in a society dominated by patriarchy.
Both men and women have only become worse off over the years, and the cause of this issue can clearly be recognized as the patriarchy. Patriarchy unequivocally represses women at all levels, but it also affects men who cannot meet the unrealistic and often unattainable standards it sets. Not all men can have immense wealth, objective good looks, and numerous possible romantic suitors. Patriarchy reinforces these norms which most men simply cannot attain and denigrates them for their inability. Forces like the Republican Party and the manosphere will push the blame of this inadequacy onto women and only strengthen the persistence of this ideology in order to bolster their supporters and fatten their wallets.
Unfortunately, as the election comes closer, the GOP has already done the work. They sent Donald Trump on his crusade to garner the vote of the young man, the “bro,” and they have invested heavily in the male market. But the actual electoral sway of this subsection of young men is questionable. Trump’s young male “voter base” is much less likely to vote than their Harris-backing peers. Furthermore, young men have overall swung in the direction of voting for Harris by 20 points since the spring. While the Harris campaign did not target the “manosphere” demographic specifically, their real political power may not produce enough return on investment to make it worth it. Meanwhile, the Trump campaign possibly alienated voters who are frightened by these outlandish decisions attempting to mobilize a generally politically inactive group. Though its implications for this election are likely lukewarm at best, this trend should alarm any onlookers who believe in equality and should inform the future decisions of political actors.
The Zeitgeist aims to publish ideas worth discussing. The views presented are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board.
