The political divide in America runs deep, and researchers are finding that it鈥檚 not just because of differing opinions on tax policy, trade, or immigration.
The parties have become proxies for the gender wars, feminized and masculinized to suit political needs.
It's a dynamic that reached renewed intensity four years ago.
Remember the moment when one of the presidential debates went off the rails?
Donald Trump started talking about his hands and the conversation soon went south: 鈥淚f they鈥檙e small, something else must be small. I guarantee you, there鈥檚 no problem.鈥�
It鈥檚 the type of exchange every man is familiar with, according to University of Akron psychology researcher , except it usually happens on the school playground.
鈥淢asculinity has a tremendous hold on people largely because boys are made to feel that they鈥檙e obligated to be masculine; it鈥檚 mandatory,鈥� Levant said.
With something so deep-seated, it鈥檚 no wonder that our concepts of masculinity can influence our political leanings.
Masculinity and the conservative mind
Levant鈥檚 soon-to-be published paper takes a closer look at how that might work.
His team surveyed around 1,000 men and women for their views of what he calls "" to see how they related to their political and personal identities.
Levant found that of the seven traditional they studied, two stood out as pairing with conservative ideology, respect for toughness, and homophobia.
鈥淭he equation with and conservativism boils down to a respect for traditional roles,鈥� he said.
Levant also found that this conservative bent may stem from how a person鈥檚 is formed.
That is, whether they鈥檙e more or less open to exploring other ideas and beliefs.
And in the political realm Levant says this may explain the sort of emotions seen at, say, a Trump rally.
鈥淐onservative men have been forced to accept things that violate their belief system,鈥� he said.
Gay marriage, Black Lives Matter, equal rights for women, he says, all challenge the authority straight white men have wielded for most of our history.
He said voters this year were presented with very different versions of manliness.
鈥淭he masculinity of Trump, which is toughness and domination, and the masculinity of Biden, which is compassionate and empathetic, which is very feminine,鈥� Levant said.
Republicans are from Mars, Democrats are from Venus
The two parties, according to Case Western Reserve University political science professor , have become .
鈥淭he Republican Party is seen by many voters as being 鈥榤asculine鈥� and better at handling so-called 鈥榤asculine鈥� issues like the economy, foreign policy ... military conflict,鈥� she said.
The Democrats on the other hand are seen as feminine because of the issues they tend to pursue.
鈥淓ducation, that鈥檚 an example of a 鈥榝eminine鈥� issue," she said.
"Health care is a feminine issue. Issues that involve that involve children or that involve social welfare or social justice,鈥� Beckwith said.
She says beyond the issues, the fact that even with a elected to Congress this year, only one-in-four are Republican.
鈥淪o when people look at the parties and they look at who sits for the parties in Congress, they see a big difference,鈥� she said.
And many of the GOP women elected this year ran on masculine issues, like gun rights, and tried to appear tougher than their Democratic opponents.
鈥淧arties vary on electing women. Parties are viewed different as a result. Sexism predicts vote choice, and political context makes a difference,鈥� Beckwith said.
A different brand of masculinity
So where does this all lead?
Beckwith says that the economic struggles many Americans have faced in recent decades, the loss of well-paying manufacturing jobs, stagnant wages, the decline of city centers, what Trump called the American carnage, made many .
鈥淔or an individual that鈥檚 a very hard thing to accept," Beckwith said. "And so one thing you can accept is you can blame it on someone else.鈥�
It鈥檚 a message that acknowledges pent-up resentments.
鈥淲hen you have leaders that say racist things, that insult ethnic groups, that blame economic circumstances on other countries or other groups of people, this can give people some relief,鈥� Beckwith said.
But we live in a time when toughness and blame are powerless against an enemy that can鈥檛 be cowed: the coronavirus.
And while Levant says that masculinity was on the ballot this year, voters appear to have chosen the brand of masculinity that protects rather than attacks.
