To some people, the 2024 election seemed like a victory for masculinity. Trump participated in a lot of bro-ish stuff, like going to UFC bouts. There is an emerging but poorly evidenced narrative arguing that this stuff help Trump win the votes of some young men. In short, the zeitgeist right now is something like “traditional masculinity is winning!”
But less discussed in the fall of 2024 was this report from the Pew Research Center: ”How Americans See Men and Masculinity.” Reading it yesterday, I was struck by how many Americans, including men, seemed to have a pretty non-traditional view of masculinity.
Most Americans think we don’t value “feminine” traits enough in men
The Pew survey asked respondents whether “most people in the U.S.” value certain traits in men. What stands out is that most people think Americans don’t value stereotypically feminine traits enough: being caring, open about their emotions, soft-spoken, or affectionate. Relatively few people think that stereotypically masculine traits like being confident or physically strong aren’t valued enough.
And it isn’t just woke liberals who say this. Roughly half or more of Republicans said that most Americans don’t value traits like being affectionate in men. So, while there are some partisan differences – Democrats are a bit more likely than Republicans to think traits like being caring aren’t valued and to think that masculine traits are valued too much – there is more of a partisan consensus than on many other issues.
Americans don’t like laddish behaviors
Most American also think it’s not acceptable for men to behave like jerks:
Most people reject behaviors like men drinking too much with friends or fighting or sleeping around or talking about women in a sexual way. Majorities of both genders think this, although the majorities among women are about 10 points larger than among men.
And, notably, both Republicans and Democrats think this:
Now, of course this does not mean that people judge any specific person – or politician – on this basis! But there is not a lot of support in the abstract for a “boys will be boys” view.
Many Americans think it’s acceptable for men to be Mr. Mom
Another question asked whether it’s acceptable for men in a relationship with a woman to “take care of the home and children while their wife works for pay.” Notably, only 15% said that this was not acceptable. Over half (57%) said that it was extremely or very acceptable. Even 48% of Republicans said that it was acceptable.
Furthermore, when asked whether American society is accepting of men who take on traditional women’s roles, the plurality said that society was not accepting enough. Democrats were definitely more likely than Republicans to say this. But even among Republicans and Republican men, relatively few said that society had become “too accepting.” There was not any widespread sense that masculinity had changed too much.
There is a lot more in the survey. I’ve only focused on a few questions that speak to have people conceive of masculinity. The findings are consistent with longer-term trends in how people think about women’s roles. Many fewer people think, for example, that women should stay at home while men are the sole breadwinners.
Here’s a takeaway. After the election, you may have seen stories about how Trump’s victory was a win for the “manosphere” who celebrated the “hyper-masculine promise” of Trump. And maybe the candidate of these men won. But their vision of masculinity (hyper- or otherwise) isn’t winning.
