Precarious Manhood Predicts Support for Aggressive Policies and Politicians

Precarious manhood theory posits that males are expected to actively maintain their reputations as “real men.” We propose that men’s fear of failing to meet masculine standards leads them to embrace aggressive politics—specifically, policies and politicians that facilitate dominance over others. Three correlational studies support this claim. In Study 1, men’s fear of failing to meet masculine expectations predicted their support for aggressive policies (e.g., the death penalty), but not policies unrelated to aggression (e.g., affirmative action). Studies 2 and 3 utilized Google searches to assess the relationship between regional levels of precarious manhood and real-world electoral behavior. Consistent with preregistered predictions, the use of search terms related to masculine anxieties correlated with Donald Trump’s vote share in the 2016 general election (Study 2) and Republican candidates’ vote shares in 2018 congressional elections (Study 3). We close by discussing potential sources of variation in precarious manhood.