The wimp factor : gender gaps, holy wars, and the politics of anxious masculinity / Stephen J. Ducat.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ducat, Stephen.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Masculinity--Political aspects.

Masculinity.

Politicians--United States--Psychology.

Politicians.

Sex role--Political aspects--United States.

Sex role.

International relations--Psychological aspects.

International relations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (304 p.)

Place of Publication:

Boston, MA : Beacon Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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 exposé that will alter our understanding of contemporary politics. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Preface

Fear and the Phallus: An Introduction

1. From Mama's Boy to He-Man: Developmental and Cultural Paths to Anxious Masculinity

2. The Miss Nancy Man in Nineteenth-century America: Historical Roots of Anxious Male Politics

3. The Wimp Factor: Performing Masculinity in the Presidential Career of George Herbert Walker Bush

4. Vaginas with Teeth and Castrating First Ladies: Fantasies of Feminine Danger from Eve to Hillary Clinton

5. Permutations of the Presidential Phallus: Representations of Bill Clinton, from Emasculated Househusband to Envied Stud Muffin

6. Voting Like a Man: The Psychodynamics of the Gender Gap in Political Attitudes

7. Gender in a Time of Holy War: Fundamentalist Femiphobia and Post-9/11 Masculinity

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

Afterword to the Paperback Edition.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [246]-272) and index.

ISBN:

0-8070-4346-X

OCLC:

568049749