Militant evangelical masculinity predated and prepared Trump-era politics

Evidence

It wasn’t as though evangelical men hadn’t already been heeding Dobson’s call. From authors and pastors to men in the pews, evangelical men had been promoting and performing a militant Christian masculinity with increasing fervor. During the Obama years, new voices joined a now-familiar refrain. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 542

However, for many evangelicals, Donald Trump did not represent the betrayal of many of the values they had come to hold dear. His testosterone-fueled masculinity aligned remarkably well with that long championed by conservative evangelicals. What makes for a strong leader? A virile (white) man. And what of his vulgarity? Crudeness? Bombast? Even sexual assault? Well, boys will be boys. God-given testosterone came with certain side effects, but an aggressive and even reckless masculinity was precisely what was needed when dealing with the enemy. If you wanted a tamer man, castrate him. Among those who embraced this sort of militant masculinity, such character traits paradoxically testified to Trump’s fitness for the job. Some white evangelicals did end up “holding their nose” to vote for Trump, but for many, he was exactly what they had been looking for. Or at least close enough. Some stated this explicitly; for others, the affinities were apparent in the language they used to explain or excuse their support for Trump. He was strong, he wouldn’t bow to political correctness, he was their “ultimate fighting champion.” — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 606

Categorization

• XREF: Nails the book’s central continuity thesis — the link to its stated purpose of arguing Trump support was continuity, not hypocrisy. — connects to: Trump’s conduct consecrates the white male supremacy entrenched in traditional values — Wendy Brown, In the Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise…, 293; The birther conspiracy launched Trump’s political viability. — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the…, 160
• DEEPTHINKING: This is the thesis’s load-bearing causal claim — that traits conventionally read as disqualifying (vulgarity, sexual assault) were read as qualifications because militant masculinity was the organizing value. Dense enough to sit with.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 542; Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 606