Shrinking Bush - from a Psychologist's POV...

[No Mandate Here.]

An entertaining SFChron review of "The Wimp Factor: Gender Gaps, Holy Wars and the Politics of Anxious Masculinity", by Bay Area psychologist and author Dr. Stephen J. Ducat.

<http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/09/17/WBGDT8LS5A1.DTL>

Although he may be preaching to the choir here, there are some very interesting sections of the review...

<snip>

"The Wimp Factor" suggests that American hyper-masculinity -- as seen in, but not limited to, the Bush administration, Christian fundamentalism and right-wing U.S. policy -- has created a contentious political landscape in which more and more men are becoming conservative. In campaign battles, politicians, meanwhile, "feminize" their opponents to establish macho credibility and call into question their opponents' manhood. (In his speech at the Republican convention, Vice President Dick Cheney told delegates that Kerry "talks about leading a 'more sensitive war on terror,' as though al Qaeda will be impressed with our softer side.")

<snip>

"The Bush administration is the most sociopathic American administration in my lifetime," Ducat said, citing the administration's unilateral assault on Iraq and, leading up to it, apparent falsehoods about weapons of mass destruction and Iraqi ties to al Qaeda.

<snip>

During his 2000 presidential campaign and while in office, George W. Bush masked his patrician roots by appearing as a man's man who acted like a good ol' boy from a Texas frat house. Proof that the son also rises, he toppled Saddam Hussein.

"W. finished the masculinization that his father couldn't really complete, " Ducat said. Yet George W. Bush's macho posturing is essentially empty, Ducat contends. That vacuity was most plainly exemplified by the infamous May 1, 2003 "Mission Accomplished" photo opportunity, in which the president declared an end to combat in Iraq.

<more>

The author is evidently doing a signing session and presentation in SF. Details in the review.

[dbt]

1. Excellent post!

I have been watching the Testosterone Onslaught for quite a few years now. It will be the downfall of the Reich Wing--I just hope it begins this November.

In addition to the masculinization of the political landscape referenced in the article, another factor is at work. Call it Caucasianization until we get a better word. It boils down to the theory that Real Men Are White.

So let the Contentious Men do their little dick swagger a little longer (all puns fully intended). I will be dwelling with the Women, where I will have food, shelter and a fire in the hearth.

:loveya:
dbt