Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Immediately after the presidential debate on Sept. 10, I had a conversation with a neighbor on my dorm’s floor. He told me that while he felt that Kamala Harris had performed better in the debate and that he more closely aligned with many of her ideas, he still planned to vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming November general election.

When I asked him why, it seemed the best answer he could give was that “it just felt right” to him. He said most other men in his life were voting for Trump and he would feel a little out of place voting for Harris. This mentality is representative of the large swath of young men that identify themselves as Trump voters. In fact, many Gen Z men are more likely to hold democratic beliefs, but still feel inclined toward Trump.

This election cycle, the Trump-Vance campaign has capitalized on toxic masculinity in politics to the great detriment of the Harris campaign. If Harris wants to succeed, the Democratic party needs to more effectively appeal to young male voters and men of voting age need to shatter the illusion that voting for Harris will make them less masculine.

While it may seem highly illogical that men who aren’t necessarily conservative are willing to vote for Trump, it shows that it isn’t policy that’s winning these young men over — it’s a combination of several factors. The culture war between the left and right to determine who is more “masculine” is nothing new. In fact, it dates as far back as the Vietnam War, when men on the left confidently challenged traditional masculine standards by growing out their hair and refusing to go to war. In the years since, many Republicans have leveraged masculinity against the left, but the new GOP has brought it to a whole new level. Trump’s brand of hyper-masculine conservatism has become one of the centerpieces of his last three campaigns.

Trump’s appeal to young men coincides with his unconventionality as a candidate. From the get go, with 18 sexual assault accusations and a history of misogynistic speech, it was clear that women would be secondary to hiscampaign. He introduced himself as a politically headstrong individualist who wasn’t afraid of “locker-room talk” or the all-male militias that were forming in support of him. But beyond that, he has further ingrained himself in the cultural zeitgeist of young men in recent months.

Trump has made appearances on some of the most popular platforms among young men, including the podcasts of internet personalities Theo Von and Logan Paul, placed ads during college football games and has placed an emphasis on bolstering the male identity through associating it with his campaign. And it’s worked. Young men prefer Trump by 13 points, contrasting sharply with the 38-point lead for Harris among women in the same age range.

Ilana Zahavy | Design Editor

Although Harris has been successful in courting voters across different demographics, her campaign is turning away male voters. Her association with the Charli XCX album Brat and the Harris-Walz cap made to emulate Chappel Roan’s “Midwest Princess” hat have all succeeded in catching Gen-Z’s attention, but for the most part don’t appeal to the interests of young-male voters. And it doesn’t help that Republicans have given Tim Walz the unfortunate nickname, “Tampon Tim,” due to his support for providing menstrual products in schools. This of course is a juvenile attack, but one that reflects the rhetoric of this cycle.

What’s most ridiculous about all of this is that it doesn’t really matter which candidate runs the more masculine campaign. Ultimately, no policy is influenced by which candidate speaks in the most authoritative way or appears the most masculine, but it’s become clear that this is the most decisive factor in how young men are casting their ballots. This is why it’s so important for Harris to focus on this issue.

Now, the United States presidential election is less than one month away. In most key swing states, Harris and Trump are polling within one or two percentage points of each other. It’s clear that with a race this close, the smallest aspects of a campaign could be the determining factors of its success.

Over the past several months, constituents have seen the Harris campaign try everything in its power to try to siphon votes from Trump. Many of Harris’ efforts involve appealing to topics that Republicans have typically supported, including hardened laws on immigration, softer perspectives on fracking and proudly expressing her gun ownership. But if she’s looking to gain a greater edge over Trump, she’s going to have to address the many young men who feel enamored with Trump’s masculinity.

This responsibility does not lie solely with Harris, though. It also involves men snapping out of the illusion that voting for Harris is emasculating. The concept that masculinity should contribute to the vote at all is illogical, considering there are plenty of politically reasonable reasons to vote for Harris. Even Bruce Springsteen and Robert DeNiro, both symbols of masculinity in popular culture, have endorsed Kamala Harris.

There are many factors that will ultimately decide this election. But the disparity between how young men and women are leaning in this election is concerning. It reflects not only an issue in our culture — that young men feel unable to reach beyond preconceived ideas about gender —but also a need for Democrats to rethink their strategies for convincing young men to vote in favor of their true beliefs.

Ben Newman is a freshman at Syracuse University. His column appears bi-weekly. He can be reached at ibnewman@syr.edu.

Published on October 9, 2024 at 1:08 am