She explained:On the third evening of this year’s Democratic National Convention (DNC), CNN host Dana Bash suggested that the Democratic Party may be intentionally selecting male candidates who exhibit less traditionally masculine traits in an effort to appeal to a male voter base that is more in touch with its femininity.
But they are doing so in trying to put forward male figures — Tim Walz being one of them, Doug Emhoff, last night — who can speak to men out there who might not be the sort of testosterone-laden, you know, gun-toting kind of guy who wants to listen to Hulk Hogan and the kind of players that came out of the [Republican National Convention]. Or might wanna listen to that, but also, in addition, understand that it's okay in 2024 to be a man comfortable in his own skin who supports a woman. And that's something that they really are trying to work on with male voters beyond the base. Dana Bash argues that Democrats are trying to speak to men "who might not be the testosterone-laden, gun-toting type of guy who wants to listen to Hulk Hogan" and "understand that in 2024 it's ok to be a man comfortable in his own skin who supports a woman." pic.twitter.com/kCKHhCqn7u Her remarks have reignited a discussion about whether men who lean left politically have lower testosterone levels and display fewer traditionally masculine traits compared to their conservative counterparts. Michael Flynn Jr., son of former National Security Advisor Gen. Michael Flynn, replied in a post on X: “It is not ok to be a weak ass beta male. Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.”
— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) August 22, 2024
It is not ok to be a weak ass beta male.
Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times. https://t.co/D9jklfEmrK
— Michael Flynn Jr (@realmflynnJR) August 22, 2024 A conservative account brandishing the name Seth Weathers responded: “Yes [Dana Bash], we are well aware the males attending the DNC Convention are suffering from a lack of testosterone. I’ve long said the lack of testosterone is a very real crisis."
Yes @DanaBashCNN, we are well aware the males attending the DNC Convention are suffering from a lack of testosterone.
I’ve long said the lack of testosterone is a very real crisis. https://t.co/QaOiEzz1Kg
— SETH WEATHERS (@sethweathers) August 22, 2024 There is, in fact, research dating back more than a decade suggesting that higher testosterone levels are found in Republican men. In 2011, Paul J. Zak, a professor at Claremont Graduate University, conducted a study examining the stability of political preferences among men during that presidential election season by administering testosterone to participants who prior to dosing stated the strength of their political affiliation. Zak’s research found that the administration of testosterone caused Democratic men to shift to the right politically. Baseline measurements showed that staunch Democratic male supporters had the lowest testosterone levels in the sample pool. After testosterone was administered to "weakly-affiliated" Democratic men, “they reported 45 percent warmer feelings towards Republican candidates for president,” the study found. “Our results demonstrate that testosterone induces a ‘red shift’ among weakly-affiliated Democrats,” the study showed. He added that the same effect was not found among hardline Democrats, and that testosterone had no impact on the political choices of either strong or weak Republicans. “Our findings provide evidence that neuroactive hormones affect political preferences,” they concluded. The study’s author also suggested that “political advertising depicting emotional themes that raise T could influence swing voters and perhaps elections.” The study was published by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research and updated in 2021.
