From "After Verdict, Trump Revels in Embrace of His Most Avid Base: Male Fans/The former president’s appearance at a U.F.C. fight in Newark on Saturday night showcased his hypermasculine appeal, and his defiance" (NYT).
This is just a little article about Trump going to the UFC fight right after the 34-felonies conviction. I had to look elsewhere for more on the broader topic of Trump's "hypermasculine appeal." A sprinkling of what my search turned up:
• "Of course, masculinity is interwoven with presidential politics.... However, Trump has been blatant about amping up his particular, aggressive and pugilistic brand of masculinity. After four years, that machismo has manifested itself in seemingly every area of his presidency. And it matters — it has potential political and even policy impacts that may last well beyond his tenure in office." — from "Trump Has Weaponized Masculinity As President. Here's Why It Matters" (October 28, 2020, NPR).
• "This masculine identity isn’t about demonstrations of physical prowess — nobody talks about how far Trump can run or whether he can bench-press a certain weight. His version of manliness is fueled by other kinds of behavior — including his belittling of other candidates, aggression toward women, 'tell it like it is and don’t apologize' affect — that are associated with traditional ideas about how a man should behave." — "Trump’s Rivals Can’t Compete With His Version Of Masculinity" (August 1, 2023, FiveThirtyEight).
• "It’s preposterous... to say [as did Roseanne Barr] that Trump is womanly. But it’s nearly as preposterous, not to mention insulting to men, to say that he’s manly. The traditionally accepted positive characteristics of masculinity, i.e. stoicism, modesty and self-discipline, do not in the slightest resemble a person who goes online at midnight to tweet his own approval ratings...." — "The weird masculinity of Donald Trump" (Monica Hess in WaPo, July 16, 2020).
• "This masculine identity isn’t about demonstrations of physical prowess — nobody talks about how far Trump can run or whether he can bench-press a certain weight. His version of manliness is fueled by other kinds of behavior — including his belittling of other candidates, aggression toward women, 'tell it like it is and don’t apologize' affect — that are associated with traditional ideas about how a man should behave." — "Trump’s Rivals Can’t Compete With His Version Of Masculinity" (August 1, 2023, FiveThirtyEight).
• "It’s preposterous... to say [as did Roseanne Barr] that Trump is womanly. But it’s nearly as preposterous, not to mention insulting to men, to say that he’s manly. The traditionally accepted positive characteristics of masculinity, i.e. stoicism, modesty and self-discipline, do not in the slightest resemble a person who goes online at midnight to tweet his own approval ratings...." — "The weird masculinity of Donald Trump" (Monica Hess in WaPo, July 16, 2020).
Ah, but why am I searching through the past? I've been blogging about Trump for 20+ years, and I've got a "Trump's masculinity" tag. Check it out. It's a big topic. I could write a book just using the stuff collected in that tag. And now I get to use another favorite tag of mine: "Unwritten books."
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56 comments:
Very dated prose describing UFC. It seems like it was written 20 years ago. I know the NYT wants to emphasize the otherness of "those people," but give the readers a little more credit.
I have no interest in UFC fighting, but it’s one of the fastest growing sports for some reason. What do they hope to accomplish by playing up the violence and then suggesting it’s all about Trump?
Still, it was Biden who publicly stated he wanted to kick Trump’s ass behind the gym.
When my boxing gym became a UFC franchise, ownership put up big video monitors on the walls that played UFC fights non-stop. They were ugly and violent. Essentially, it was what what a gym in Rome would have looked like if it had fallen to the barbarians 1500 years later. Still, the new people they brought in were extremely friendly, and except for the poor fighters getting beaten to a pulp on the screens, everyone was very congenial -- and if the media reports don't include that aspect, readers will not be getting a full picture.
Men as a Conquered People - What can the destruction of the Comanches teach us about masculinity in 2024?
"Eeshetai… He was less a symbol of hope than extreme social decay and despair. He was a common reaction thrown up by despairing societies. He was a Comanche, and therefore he moved and spoke within the traditions and consciousness of the People. He reaffirmed the priacy of the spirit world and he rallied the spririt world behond the People for war… They needed desparately to believe.
They came down on the old Bent fort at Adobe Walls just before dawn on June 27, 1874… At a distance the Comanches were no match for the great buffalo guns in the hands of skilled marksmen… They charged again but again could not bring themselves to push the attack at close quarters and again they were repulsed… The fragile alliance cracked with the prophet’s medicine… ancient antipathies boiled over as the horde withdrew in confusion."
"The Indian Agent did not understand Comanches, nor could he really feel what was happening to their souls. But hungry children troubled him. He sent emissaries with wagons of food out on to the prairie. When these arrived, the Comanches were sitting in their tipis in a snow storm. They were starving. They accepted the food sullenly and listened to the agent’s request that they come back to the reservation, where they would be cared for by the government. The last hunt camp was broken. The Tipis were struck, the bows and lances put away. Then in a long, silent column, the Comanches left the graveyard plains, returning to the agency for the completion of their destruction."
Read the Whole Thing
As a right thinking American I appreciate the freedom to pursue individual interests. I don’t like UFC either but I really like that lefties don’t like it. Not that it matters in the era of stolen elections but UFC has an amazing crossover demo political strategies salivate for. Lefties can’t go there since it is so off brand.
“There’s another element there that I think is the key element, and that is an agreed-upon hierarchy, which I think is absolutely vaporized in today’s moment,” he said. “And I think that is why people lean on the horn and drive in the crazy way that they drive, because we have no sense of hierarchy. And as humans, we don’t really feel comfortable like that.”
Jerry Seinfeld, recently missing “dominant masculinity”
I didn’t watch Saturday night’s fight but the article seems to be describing an arm bar submission. I recall that the former women’s champion Ronda Rousey won many of her matches by arm bar submission, so not just a masculine move. Lol.
Oh no, he weaponized masculinity. Is weaponize one of those words that's used to describe ordinary actions by people we didn't like?
Look, no actual American man has ever accepted their definition of masculinity from a neurotic Jew writing for WaPo. This isn't even "hypermasculine." UFC fights are mainstream, and have been for thirty years. People who read the big New York papers are the ones who are clueless about the last generation of American men.
And of course, being able to get a standing ovation at a major fight is something a real President can increasingly enjoy. I don't think Biden would be applauded at West Point if the cadets weren't under strict orders.
The Problem is not the brutality of the sanctioned sport.
The Problem is President Trump showed up at the event?
Trump has shown up at more the one NASCAR events, The racing deaths are somehow a problem for President Trump?
Fun that the motive can always be defined as the motive best to smear Trump.
This is not about masculinity.
This about FREEDOM. MMA, NASCAR, Football. This is all about supporting the freedom to partake of those things, you decide, you want.
Why was President Trump there? Because that's where you find PDJT every Saturday night?
NO. PDJT was there, because polls show Biden is hemorrhaging minority male voters.
The simple fact, PDJT is campaigning. Going out among the voters. The Voters Biden is ignoring(to be fair, Biden is ignoring all the voters)
The left went all in on the over-sexualization of children - with parents of 6 years olds encouraging their own 6 year olds to transition to the They/Them progressive cult.
Fight the power, progressives.
Is it a crime for Trump to be there? A Felony?
Guards - seize him!
mezzrow said...
"They came down on the old Bent fort at Adobe Walls just before dawn on June 27, 1874… At a distance the Comanches were no match for the great buffalo guns in the hands of skilled marksmen… They charged again but again could not bring themselves to push the attack at close quarters and again they were repulsed… The fragile alliance cracked with the prophet’s medicine… ancient antipathies boiled over as the horde withdrew in confusion."
"The Indian Agent did not understand Comanches, nor could he really feel what was happening to their souls. But hungry children troubled him. He sent emissaries with wagons of food out on to the prairie. When these arrived, the Comanches were sitting in their tipis in a snow storm. They were starving. They accepted the food sullenly and listened to the agent’s request that they come back to the reservation, where they would be cared for by the government. The last hunt camp was broken. The Tipis were struck, the bows and lances put away. Then in a long, silent column, the Comanches left the graveyard plains, returning to the agency for the completion of their destruction." "
This is why we don't have Comanche raids these days. If we did, and if they were using modern guerilla tactics, people wouldn't be yammering on about "colonizers."
Toxic masculinity is when a young daughter is afraid to get in the shower when her father is home.
Trump gets a raucous standing ovation when he enters the arena and from the video I watched all hands are clapping. The entrance is noted by the play-by-play announcer (who simply refers to Trumps as "Forty-five" entering the arena) and color commentator Joe Rogan. Trump greets Rogan personally as Rogan is describing the scene on air. Classic moment. Classic Trump. Later the crowd breaks into a spontaneous chant of "Fuck Joe Biden!" A good time was had by all. The winner gives a shout-out to Trump before announcing he will make a donation to Trump as soon as he leaves the stage.
Note 1: As of today the post-conviction donations total more than $200 million, with at least $70 million made up of "small dollar amount" contributions.
Note 2: For such a "masculine" event, many of the audience members appear to be of the fairer sex. They were cheering too.
We have a beta male as Governor here in WI, absent of all masculinity.
Beta Cuck Tony Evers let Kenosha burn via delay and inaction.
You're on a sinking ship. You gonna get in Trump's lifeboat, or ice-cream cone Tony Evers'?
Which guy will get you to shore?
At first I thought this had been written by a woman, I know I know, I'm a pig. But young Shawn appears to have been assigned a 'Notes from the Campaign Trail' role, and he's taking his peripatetic vitriol shtick seriously. I wonder if he had a scented handkerchief that he occasionally brought to his nose, ringside.
So either Trump is a ridiculously orange, lying, bumbling charlatan, or he's a calculating, cunning, sexual-assaulting, book-keeping felon, or he's a savage, brutish, dangerous thug being entertained by live beatings. Does that cover it? Pick one, and write a story.
I'm very wary of 'Red Wave' theories, seeing where they brought us last time.
Meh. Pearl clutching porn for the AWFLs.
The left default to "You're all a bunch of deplorables" .... every time.
That was a bit after Joementia's lid.
Hey,
Lets keep the brutality in the subways and on street corners where the citizens participate.
A New York State of Mind.
UFC is currently the 4th most popular sport in the US, just moving past hockey last year. Both are 'masculine', tough sports to play, though hockey is most certainly not barbaric and does have a huge female following. UFC is also popular globally, with the US, South America, and England being the top markets for it. The demographics are 90% male viewers, 10% female.
I don't watch it. But I do think it reflects our society and where we're heading. For now it's a safe space to let it all out- let out the rage, the anger, the fighting mood, the 'Mad Max' in many of us. I mean...them.
I'm thinking back a couple of days to the Jerry Seinfeld/Bari Weiss post where Jerry talked about missing masculine men. While he was not thinking 'guys who can rip another guy's shoulder out of his socket', his point was well taken and...clearly agreed with by many other men. We all know something's missing in our current societal set up.
I like that: "inches from Trump's face"
How many? 960? 2400? I'm guessing it wasn't 12.
Also, like Aggie, I assumed this was written by a woman -- I put odds at 60/40 before looking. Surprise!
Blogger Jeff said...
When my boxing gym became a UFC franchise, ownership put up big video monitors on the walls that played UFC fights non-stop. They were ugly and violent...the poor fighters getting beaten to a pulp on the screens
The poor fighters are in their not only by choice, but through determination, and the rewards are BIG. Gladiators were slaves. They had no choice. These two things are not analogous. Today's fighters fully accept the risk. So do the women in the female matches. The fighters who lose don't want your sympathy.
The entire WORLD used to tune in to watch Ali-Frazier, Ali-Foreman (The Rumble in the Jungle), and in Tyson's peak we would buy pay per view to watch Tyson knock out sacrificial lambs in the first or second round. He rung bells.
UFC is as violent as boxing, except in the UFC ring, different fighting forms are matched up. But of course with Trump in attendance...it's now too violent.
@Jeff, I've done kick-boxing and kettle bell workouts in a jui jit su/MMA gym for about 8 years now (no interest in sparring here) and I definitely agree with your assessment. A few guys are bit stand-offish (we have a fair number of local LEOs so I get it) but for the most part everybody is friendly and encouraging. The 'lunkhead' stuff is mostly a Big Purple Fat Machine marketing gimmick.
Straight up boxing seems only marginally less bloody, likely because of the technical knock-out and retreat to the corner rules. It's still pretty much up to the referee how much punishment the loser is going to take.
The are basically admitting that men made this a free country.
They are using women to bring back tyranny.
Pretty standard.
Biden should appear at a meet.
He could challenge Corn Pop to a long over due grudge match.
Hell, make it a tag team event with (Not that kind of) Doctor Jill and the large number of people Biden has threatened with violence over the years.
I guess the NYT has not noted the many, "Boy am I tough" statements by our POTUS.
Not to mention the work the UFC does in certifying that electrical devices are safe.
What a great start to Pride Month!
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...
Trump gets a raucous standing ovation when he enters the arena and from the video I watched all hands are clapping. The entrance is noted by the play-by-play announcer (who simply refers to Trumps as "Forty-five" entering the arena) and color commentator Joe Rogan. Trump greets Rogan personally as Rogan is describing the scene on air. Classic moment. Classic Trump. Later the crowd breaks into a spontaneous chant of "Fuck Joe Biden!" A good time was had by all. The winner gives a shout-out to Trump before announcing he will make a donation to Trump as soon as he leaves the stage.
If you have to show up in person and show ID to vote Trump wins 80 million voters to Biden's 55 million voters.
"Also, like Aggie, I assumed this was written by a woman -- I put odds at 60/40 before looking. Surprise!"
Perhaps it identifies as female.
Bob Boyd is brutally correct:
Toxic masculinity is when a young daughter is afraid to get in the shower when her father is home.
Just for kicks I tried to look up how many women are MMA fans. I once hired a woman who practiced kick boxing as the core of her fitness program. For a professional position with a Fortune 500 company. And both of my granddaughters look forward to when they can start Karate. In the meantime, they just beat each other up in the living room.
I know there are women MMA fans out there, but apparently Google and Siri don’t. I tried every way to query I could think of and all I got was bio’s of female MMA fighters and stuff that was critical of MMA but nothing close to answering this simple question:
How many woman are fans of MMA?
It’s almost like they don’t want me to know.
Maybe you will have better luck.
The arm bar was pretty gruesome, and unusual for the UFC. Most of the time when a fighter is put in an arm bar, they tap out long before it gets to that state, or they have some avenue of escape. The Polish guy simply refused to give up and that's what happens. The Polish guy was actually complaining afterwards that they shouldn't have stopped the fight.
Also, keep in mind while there are grudge matches in the UFC, most of the fighters respect each other. It is a competition. A violent competition, but nonetheless a competition.
Achilles said...
If you have to show up in person and show ID to vote Trump wins 80 million voters to Biden's 55 million voters.
Yup. That's probably the reality of the 2020 COVID/Absentee voter fraud election.
Right now everything else is chicken shit. If they can't pull off the absentee voter fraud without COVID, I would expect worse.
Trump will be going to jail. I wouldn't put it past are benevolent leaders to lock him up for the GOP convention, and then we will watch Paul Ryan sweep in lead the charge to nominated someone else. That would keep MAGA voters at home, and that's perfectly fine with the never-Trump wing of the Grand Old shit-Party.
It's gonna get worse. I'm just trying to follow the trajectory.
It would have been awesome if Trump had shaken the other guy's hand too.
Fun fact of the day:
Congresswoman Sharice Davids (D-KS-3), elected in 2018, is a former professional MMA fighter.
Gusty Winds: Gladiators were slaves. They had no choice.
That's a misconception. Many, perhaps most, gladiators were slaves, but a large percentage of them were volunteers. A good gladiator - even the slaves - was paid like a professional athlete is paid now, along with access to groupies. For a poor man in Rome who had some fighting skill, this was a perfectly valid career path to get rich and famous. Yes, you could get killed, but the fatality rate was a lot lower than you might expect and this was an era when dying young was not unusual.
Where would Joe Biden go to revel in the embrace of his most avid fan base?
He doesn't fit in anywhere, it's spooky. Any other president or candidate, whether you like them or not, can be imagined fitting in somewhere.
Obama, George W, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Ford, go back as far as you want. It isn't hard to come up with a venue that isn't explicitly political where they would revel in the embrace.
His version of manliness is fueled by other kinds of behavior — including his belittling of other candidates, …
I lived in extreme left (deep blue) areas most of my adult life, and belittling and picking fights with, people who don’t agree with them is something I associate with far left of center females, meaning your basic lefty “Karens.” I think Trump stumbled, perhaps accidentally, on a tactic that worked very well for him, and he employed it effectively. If I’m right in my analysis then kudos to him — it did help put him into the White House.
@Althouse, I do have to question why an otherwise sane and intelligent woman would turn to sources like NPR, the Washington Post, or [shudder] the New York Times to understand manliness. What makes you think any of them would have a clue? Perhaps I’m misjudging him because I’ve never met the man, but Meade comes across as a manly fellow, and given that you sleep under the same roof as him perhaps you could have him clarify a few things for you? Just sayin’
More lefty mincing anticipated…
“Where would Joe Biden go to revel in the embrace of his most avid fan base?”
A Massachusetts gloryhole.
“Congresswoman Sharice Davids (D-KS-3), elected in 2018, is a former professional MMA fighter.”
Further to the Fun Fact of the Day:
Davids voted for Biden’s stated position 100% of the time. She’s also LBTQ whatever and is a Native American.
Those MMA people sure are evil racists, right NYT?
@Aggie, it’s the New York Times. Just as they turn to fatuous David Brooks as their idea of what a conservative ought to be, perhaps by their standards Shawn McCreesh is their view of what masculinity should be.
Planned Parenthood?
Levine's Dreams of Herr Mengele?
Obama's ethnic Spring series?
Hamas commiting murder, rape, rape-rape, and torture-torture in pursuit of social justice is no ethical vice.
Capitol punishment?
Forward!
Green gauntlets? Think of the birds, the bats... uh, children who are left with unreliable, renewable power generation.
“Where would Joe Biden go to revel in the embrace of his most avid fan base?”
He went to Philadelphia a week or two ago and got about 30 people. A potential 90 votes.
I don't like Opera. It grates on me. Let's ban it for everybody (not!!!....just pretending to be a progressive to see what it feels like!!)
Jersey Fled said...
I know there are women MMA fans out there, but apparently Google and Siri don’t. I tried every way to query I could think of and all I got was bio’s of female MMA fighters and stuff that was critical of MMA but nothing close to answering this simple question:
How many woman are fans of MMA?
*********************
Here's ChatGPT on the subject:
"The number of women who are fans of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) varies widely and is difficult to pin down precisely. MMA has been gaining popularity among women in recent years, with many female fighters achieving high levels of success in organizations like the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). Additionally, MMA promotions have made efforts to promote women's fights and showcase female athletes, which has likely contributed to the growing female fan base. While there may not be exact statistics available, it's safe to say that there is a significant and increasing number of women who enjoy watching and following MMA."
“They were ugly and violent. Essentially, it was what what a gym in Rome would have looked like if it had fallen to the barbarians 1500 years later. “
Some may remember, but I was the UFC’s patent attorney right before I retired. Even got to meet Dana White once (introduced to him in a gaggle of attorneys, so it’s unlikely he remembered my name). My firm had the Station Casinos as clients, and inherited the UFC when the Fortita brothers (Station owners) bought the organization. Their office used to be a couple blocks west of Palace Station on Sahara, in Las Vegas (now moved to a much upgraded facility just north of the 215). I was involved around the time of UFC 100 (now over 300).
In any case, MMA fighting (such as UFC fights) in NV are regulated, along with boxing, by a NV fight commission (officially the Nevada State Athletic Commission) I was digging through their records one day, and stumbled into medical suspensions. Looking back over the previous several years, I was surprised to realize that there were roughly 1.2 medical suspensions per UFC bought, ranging from a month or two, up to a year. That means that even some of the winners are put on medical suspension after a bout. So, yes, it is violent.
We made ourselves scarce in Las Vegas last weekend. Trump was supposed to be in town, and that is always problematic. Turns out he was in Newark instead. At a recent UFC bout in Vegas, where he was palling around with one of the contestants, we had that guy staying in the hotel. Saw him after it, in the lobby, on crutches (he lost), and I got some pictures of him with his red MAGA hat and crutches, along with his entourage.
“For such a "masculine" event, many of the audience members appear to be of the fairer sex. They were cheering too.”
The UFC took good care of their attorneys. Our attorneys representing them were in our IP Practice Group (and part of why other MMA leagues pay them royalties for use of their Octagon). We had a young attorneyette in our group, and she enjoyed working for the UFC. SO, she got to join the guys ringside at some matches. She described the experience as visceral, and that close, the male pheromones were almost overwhelming. She loved it. Unfortunately, the guys controlling that account broke off, formed their own Entertainment law group, and didn’t take her with them. But, since they didn’t have a patent attorney, they kept me on. (-;
Who killed Davey Moore is Dylan’s worst song.
This article reminds me of that jejune song
No politican has shown more manly courage than Trump over the last 8 years, its been truly remarkable.
Basically everything TRump does or says has to be turned into a negative by the MSM. Its been going on for 8 years and its getting Goddamn tiresome.
You want ugly and violent? Go see an WNBA game with Caitlin Clark.
There is nothing Trump could have done, nowhere he could have appeared, without being crapped on by the press. Had Trump attended Hamilton the story would have been about the audience thinking about duels against the ex-Pres. Had he worked a soup line feeding homeles he'd have been condescending or publicly showing faux-virtue. Had he saved the life of a baby opossum he'd be accused of potential pedophilic bestiality. The guy can't get a break.
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