Sen. Josh Hawley claims masculinity is under attack. This historian disagrees
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley was the first lawmaker to publicly vow to challenge the 2020 presidential election results, and memorably raised his fist in solidarity with protesters outside the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Now he has a new focus: defending the men of America.
In a keynote speech at the National Conservatism Conference last month, Hawley accused the political left of seeking to redefine traditional masculinity as toxic, and called for a "revival of strong and healthy manhood in America."
"This is an effort that the left has been at for years now and they have had alarming success," he said. "American men are working less, they are getting married in fewer numbers, they're fathering fewer children, they're suffering more anxiety and depression, they're engaging in more substance abuse."
Hawley said he did not want to paint all men as victims. But he blamed the left for wanting to define "traditional masculine virtues" like courage, independence and assertiveness as "a danger to society."
"Can we be surprised that after years of being told they are the problem, that their manhood is the problem, more and more men are withdrawing into the enclave of idleness, and pornography, and video games?" he said at one point.
In a TV interview with Axios last week, Hawley again accused liberals of telling men that their masculinity is "inherently problematic." And he said he'll make masculinity a signature political issue.
When pressed on whether any of his claims are supported by data, Hawley said millions of men are idle in part because of liberal policies. He pointed to a lack of jobs, fatherlessness and the "social messages we teach our kids in school."
Others disagree — like Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a gender studies professor at Calvin University and author of the book Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation.
"I think there are many challenges that the younger generation is facing right now, women and men," Du Mez said. "But there are a lot of assumptions that Hawley's making that the problems are caused by some sort of destruction of manhood or destruction of masculinity, when we could look at: What are the expectations of masculinity that might be inappropriate, that might be outmoded, that are perhaps exacerbating this crisis?"
There are many ways in which liberals are actually working to strengthen fathers, she added, pointing to things like paid paternity leave and broader family leave policies.
"There can be ways to find common ground here rather than pitting half of America against the other half," she said. "And I think that white men actually have a really critical role to play in that respect."
Du Mez spoke to Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep about what she makes of Hawley's recent comments (NPR has invited him on the program too, Inskeep notes).
Hawley doesn't offer many specifics
So what is exactly is the ideal man, in Hawley's view?
"A man is a father. A man is a husband. A man is somebody who takes responsibility," he told Axios.
In his keynote speech, Hawley said society needs "the kind of men who make republics possible."
Hawley doesn't exactly define masculinity in his remarks, Du Mez said, though she noted a call to action.
"He is calling on conservative men to step up to their roles as providers and protectors — protectors of faith, family and nation and to protect what he calls 'our culture,'" she said.
Traditional gender roles and white Christian nationalism
Du Mez notes that Hawley's keynote remarks drew on the notion that God created men and women as distinct and even opposite, with men as more assertive and women as more submissive.
Though his speech focused on masculinity, Hawley did take a moment to acknowledge the role of women and to describe their virtues as "every bit as necessary to the success of our republic." (He also slammed liberal lawmakers and advocates for using the phrase "birthing people" instead of "mother" and "trying to destroy women's sports, as if women and men are somehow interchangeable.")
"Men are protectors, women are designed to be protected," Du Mez said. "This vision of gender difference really runs through conservative Christianity and through American conservatism more generally."
She cautioned that she was not speaking to Hawley's personal beliefs, but noted this line of thinking is a widespread religious belief that would "resonate powerfully" with conservatives, especially conservative evangelicals.
Traditional masculine virtues are in the service of white Christian nationalism, Du Mez argues. She described Hawley's language as "militant" and said militancy does sanction violence, something that would also resonate with much of his base.
She cited survey data that shows the majority of white evangelicals believe the 2020 election was stolen, with 39% of those believing political violence may be necessary to save the country. NPR reported on those findings earlier this year.
A note on race
Inskeep asked Du Mez why she is using the term "white Christian nationalism," anticipating that Hawley might point out he didn't bring up race himself.
Du Mez answered that it's important to understand how Hawley's words might resonate with this base in particular ways.
"With this calling on men to defend our 'shared culture,' in his words, he really does seem to be tapping into a distinctive notion of who real Americans are," she said. "And those are Americans who share his conservative values, not just around gender but arguably also around what this country is supposed to be, what this country is supposed to look like."
The audio version of this story was edited by Steve Mullis and produced by Barry Gordemer.
The digital version of this story originally appeared on the Morning Edition live blog.
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Transcript
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Senator Josh Hawley says he's defending men. The Missouri Republican spoke last week at the National Conservatism Conference. He attacked the political left, as many Republicans do, and alleged they are targeting masculinity.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOSH HAWLEY: This is an effort that the left has been at for years now, and they have had alarming success. American men are working less. They're getting married in fewer numbers. They're fathering fewer children. They're suffering more anxiety and depression. They're engaging in more substance abuse.
INSKEEP: In a TV interview with Axios, Hawley said he wants to make this a signature political issue. We heard a critique of Hawley's speech from Kristin Kobes Du Mez. She is the author of an acclaimed book on Christian nationalism called "Jesus And John Wayne." It argues that white evangelicals embraced an idea of men drawn more from Western movies than from the Bible. She teaches at Calvin University, which is a Christian school in Michigan. When she read Hawley's speech, she said something was missing.
KRISTIN KOBES DU MEZ: It's never entirely clear how he defines masculinity, even though he's quite certain that masculinity is under attack, and the left is trying to do away with real men. He uses words like courage, independence and assertiveness. He is calling on conservative men to step up to their roles as providers and protectors - protectors of faith, family and nation and to protect what he calls our culture.
INSKEEP: I want to ask how this compares to what's really going on in society because he seems to have keyed off of a Wall Street Journal article that interviewed a lot of men, and it's not the only article I've seen that's played on this theme. The September 6 article had the headline "A Generation Of American Men Give Up On College." And then there's a quote from a young man, I just feel lost. And they cite a real statistic that of college students right now, they're almost 60% women. Would you agree that something is going on or even going wrong there?
DU MEZ: I think that there are many challenges that the younger generation is facing right now, women and men. But there are a lot of assumptions that Hawley's making that the problems are caused by some sort of destruction of manhood or destruction of masculinity when we could look at, what are the expectations of masculinity that might be inappropriate, that might be outmoded that are perhaps exacerbating this crisis?
INSKEEP: I want to hear more of Senator Hawley's speech. Let's listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
HAWLEY: It's hard to accept that the pathologies gripping so many American men are good for American society. I'd argue just the opposite. Now, this is not to say that American women aren't central to this story - far from it. American women have shaped our culture every bit as much as men, and their virtues are every bit as necessary to the success of our republic.
DU MEZ: He's drawing on these notions of gender difference that women and men are created by God in very distinct ways, often kind of pitted as opposites. So men are to be courageous and independent and assertive or aggressive, whereas women are made by God to be dependent, to be submissive, to be delicate. Men are protectors. Women are designed to be protected. And so these - this vision of gender difference really runs through conservative Christianity and through American conservatism more generally.
INSKEEP: I guess we should be clear. We're not asserting exactly what Senator Hawley's religious belief is. But you're telling me this is a very widespread religious belief, and this is how a lot of people would read that speech.
DU MEZ: Exactly. It would resonate powerfully with conservative evangelicals in particular and with conservatives more broadly.
INSKEEP: I'm obliged to note that Senator Hawley made enormous news on January 6, 2021, when he held up a fist to protesters outside the Capitol who were soon inside the Capitol in an attack on democracy. And Senator Hawley voted to object to the election in which Donald Trump was defeated. How does Donald Trump and his story match up with these traditional masculine virtues?
DU MEZ: Well, it's a bit of a leap. Donald Trump isn't generally seen as a particularly virtuous man, but here we have to understand that these traditional masculine virtues are in the service of white Christian nationalism, really. And that's clear that for Hawley, he's really using this militant language. And that militancy does sanction violence, and that would resonate with many among his base. We have survey data that shows the majority of white evangelicals believe the election was stolen. And of those, 39% believe that violence may be necessary to save the country.
INSKEEP: You know, if Senator Hawley were with us here - and I should note we've invited him on the program; he is welcome - if he were here, I wonder if he would take issue with a word that you've used. You said white Christian nationalism. Senator Hawley might say, I didn't say anything about race here. And in fact, he can point to his speech in which he refers to dads at Southwood High School in Shreveport, La. These are, if I'm not mistaken, largely African American fathers who were concerned about school violence and went into the school to sort of patrol the hallways. Why do you use the word white when you're talking about this Christian nationalism?
DU MEZ: Yeah. With this calling on men to defend our shared culture, in his words, he really does seem to be tapping into a distinctive notion of who real Americans are. And those are Americans who share his conservative values, not just around gender, but arguably also around what this country is supposed to be, what this country is supposed to look like. I think we do need to understand how these words that he's using resonate in particular ways with his base.
INSKEEP: One other question - we're in this period of really intense identity politics, as you know. And there are a lot of social narratives and political narratives in which white men are explicitly made out to be the bad guys. What do you think white men should make of that?
DU MEZ: I can understand that, and I think it could be frustrating in some cases. If you're looking to strengthen fathers, there are many ways that, you know, the left is actually working to do so, such as paid paternity leave and broader family leave policies - and that there can be ways to find common ground here rather than pitting half of America against the other half. And I think that white men actually have a really critical role to play in that respect.
INSKEEP: Kristin Kobes Du Mez, it's always a pleasure talking with you. Thank you so much.
DU MEZ: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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