The Great Manliness Flip-Flop [The Atlantic]

[IronLionZion]

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/07/the-quiet-confident-men-of-american-politics/679227/

When it comes to masculinity, Republicans have become everything they once accused Democrats of being.

The men leading Kamala Harris’s shortlist right now illustrate the differences in how the two major parties define modern masculinity.

America after World War II celebrated traditional masculinity. It venerated images of the strong, silent types in popular culture, characters who exuded confidence without being braggarts and who sent the message that being an honorable man meant doing your job, being good to your family, and keeping your feelings to yourself. Heroes in that postwar culture were cowboys, soldiers, cops, and other tough guys.

....

More than 40 years ago, the British singer Joe Jackson wrote a song about men, their changing roles, and sexual identity. “But now and then,” he sang, “we wonder who the real men are.” I don’t know the answer; like most men, I have tried to find my own way as a man, as a husband, and as a father. I’ve tried to learn from my own father’s mistakes while emulating his better qualities. I know that, like many men, I’ve failed more often than I’ve succeeded. But I keep trying.

I also know this: The real men are not the ones who have to keep crowing about manliness and putting down women. Real men serve their nation, their community, and their family, and unlike Trump and his elected Republican coterie, they do it without whining or demanding credit.

Republicans clearly have something to prove since they talk about it so much.