The Wimp Factor

In this eye-opening book on how male anxiety has come to shape political thinking and behavior, Dr. Stephen Ducat argues that there is a direct association between the magnitude of a man"s femiphobia and his tendency to embrace right-wing political opinions.
Ducat shows how anxious masculinity has been a discernible subtext in politics throughout the history of Western culture--from the political campaigns of ancient Greece to the contest for the presidency. He also explores why and how political issues--such as environmental protection, support for war, welfare reform, and crime and punishment--get gendered.
Analyzing various aspects of popular culture, such as editorial cartoons, political advertisements, and Freudian slips made by politicians--and drawing on his own pioneering research on the gender gap--Ducat illustrates how men"s fear of the feminine has been a powerful, if subterranean, force.
"A deeply important insight in the hands of a gifted writer."
--Arlie Russell Hochschild, author of The Commercialization of Intimate Life
"[Ducat"s] fresh and complex insights may reach a new generation of swing voters."
--Publishers Weekly
"Even those who disagree with Ducat"s values can appreciate his skillful deployment of anecdotes, media, and wordplay."
--Psychology Today
Stephen J. Ducat is professor of psychology at the School of Humanities at New College of California, a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice, and a candidate at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area.