The recent election of Donald Trump has produced strange effects in left-leaning communities. It has been reported that some females (based on their own admission) are making false rape accusations because they perceive the Trump victory as so menacing that they feel haunted by the specter of male aggression and sexual assault (for example, see the story on a Washington state woman). Of course, the Trump success was shocking for some men too. But for most women and people of color, it was intensely disturbing. This disturbance rattled the cages of political correctness, mainly because of Trump’s incendiary campaign. And yet despite the fireworks of Trump, it is clear now that for white working class males the Trump campaign seemed to have been about them (see the Washington Post analysis). But how will Trump help their cause? And what does this political victory say about masculinity?

Masculinity is obviously under attack by the Left, but it is hard to see it being helped by Trump’s cause. Trump is rich and often vulgar. He is a figure that seems unlikely to represent mature masculinity. It is understandable then that he will do more harm than good for the men’s movement. And if so, it would still be helpful to explain why white working class men voted for him. Trump’s anger and determination were more appealing to men than women overall. For these men, the machismo of hitting back – like a boxer – at political correctness in the establishment (media, government, academia) was thrilling.

Yet the reason he could do this so successfully can be found answered on the other side. Clearly, the Left’s troubling dichotomy of white males vs others is primarily has as its aim the end of “white male privilege.” A consequence of that agenda is to blame not only white males at the top of the economy, but also white working class males at the bottom of the economy. In fact, it has become easier to blame uneducated white males, “white trash” males, and “rednecks” as gun-toting bigots rather than attacking white male professionals and the investor class for their power. Hence, stereotyping the lower class white male as the epitome of “white male privilege” is a categorical mistake. For example, Warren Farrell’s Myth of Male Power shows that most men are treated as disposable units in our society, especially working class men. They are sent to wars first, hired for high risk jobs first, expected to provide alimony and child support first, separated from custody of their children first, put in prison most, commit suicide at alarming rates, die earlier deaths, and are hated most by society.

No wonder the liberal inroads at changing how Americans perceive men – especially working class men – has been rebuffed. For years, the news, television, film, cartoons, and social media have caricatured working class white males as uneducated and trashy, as racist and sexist. At best, these portrayals of white trash males have produced freakishly entertaining scenes. But at worst, white working class males have been ignored, abused, incarcerated, and forgotten. These males represent the shadow of masculinity – that hidden yet vital force of hard work no one else wants and of terrible risks no one else will take. If masculinity is to be understood and embraced (not stupidly rejected as feminists would choose), then we must start by really understanding white working class maleness. Only then can we begin to feel what these men are experiencing. If, on the other hand, we turn our back on them, then we will continue to repeat elections like the one this year. And in that case, masculinity will continue to be caricatured and hated.