The Wimp Factor: Gender Gaps, Holy Wars, and the Politics of Anxious Masculinity

(Paperback)

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Description

In this landmark exploration of how male anxiety has come to define our political culture, Stephen J. Ducat shows the link between the desperate macho strutting of male politicians, the gender gap in voting behavior, and fundamentalist holy wars. He argues that a direct association exists between the magnitude of a man's femiphobia-that is, his terror of being perceived as feminine-and his tendency to embrace right-wing political opinions. From the strenuous efforts by handlers to counter George H. W. Bush's "wimp factor" to the swaggering arrogance that led to the moral and military quagmire in U.S.-occupied Iraq, anxious masculinity has been a discernible subtext in politics. Ducat shows how this anxiety has been an underlying force in public life throughout the history of Western culture, and also explores why and how certain political issues get gendered. Analyzing various aspects of popular culture and drawing on pioneering research on the gender gap, The Wimp Factor is a fascinating expose that will alter our understanding of contemporary politics.

Reviews

'A deeply important insight in the hands of a gifted writer.'--Arlie Russell Hochschild, author of The Commercialization of Intimate Life

'[Ducat's] fresh and complex insights may reach a new generation of swing voters.'--Publishers Weekly

'Even those who disagree with Ducat's values can appreciate his skillful deployment of anecdotes, media, and wordplay.'--Psychology Today

Author Bio

Stephen J. Ducat is professor of psychology at the School of Humanities at New College of California, a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice, and a candidate at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area.