Precarious Manhood Predicts Support for Aggressive Policies and Politicians

Precarious manhood (PM) theory posits that males are expected to actively maintain their reputations as "real men." We propose that men's concern about failing to meet masculine standards leads them to embrace policies and politicians that signal strength and toughness-or what we term political aggression. Three correlational studies support this claim. In Study 1, men's fear of failing to meet masculine expectations predicted their support for...