Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, debated on Oct. 7, 2020. Justin Sullivan / POOL / AFP/Getty Photos

After the talk between Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence, commentators contrasted Pence’s reserved demeanor with the belligerence President Donald Trump exhibited in his debate with former Vice President Joe Biden the earlier week.

NPR Congress editor Deirdre Walsh asserted that Pence’s debate fashion was an “nearly polar reverse of the president’s.” New York Occasions conservative columnist Christopher Buskirk referred to as Pence “calm, skilled, competent and centered,” claiming that he was “in some sense the reply to each criticism leveled at Trump after the final debate.” The BBC’s Anthony Zurcher contended that Pence’s “usually calm and methodical fashion served as a gradual counterpoint to Trump’s earlier aggression.”

These seemingly disparate types, nonetheless, are two sides of the identical coin – manifestations of a selected model of authoritarian white masculinity that has taken over the GOP because it grew to become the social gathering of Trump.

Not solely do these types perpetuate sexist assumptions about management, in addition they are basically undemocratic as a result of they attempt to silence dissent, foreclose debate and curtail the participation of anybody with whom they disagree in our democracy.

Trump and Pence’s seemingly disparate debate types conceal related approaches and agendas.

Saul Loeb/AFP by way of Getty Photos

An inequitable system

Authoritarian white masculinity is a model of patriarchal authority that has asserted itself in U.S. politics along side the rise of Donald Trump. It assumes that heterosexual white males are finest suited to management and casts political management by ladies and other people of coloration as inauthentic – for instance, the “birther motion” – or threatening – for instance, “lock her up.”

The Trump presidency is, partially, a backlash to the election of the nation’s first Black president and to Hillary Clinton’s nomination in 2016 as the primary lady to high a major-party presidential ticket. This reassertion of white patriarchal authority is offered as obligatory for the nation’s stability and progress. It’s a technique Trump delivers on his promise to “make America nice once more.”

Authoritarian white masculinity has made a resurgence as a result of it doesn’t solely enchantment to males. Individuals of all genders might be socialized into patriarchal programs, and white ladies, particularly, typically profit from their proximity to, and participation in, authoritarian white masculinity.

The place progressive political energy goals to broaden citizenship, voting and participation, conservative authoritarianism goals to curtail it. Consequently, progressive ladies and candidates of coloration face a fancy set of stereotypes and constraints when difficult the white patriarchy on which the U.S. political system is constructed.

As a political communication scholar who has studied gender and the U.S. presidency for 25 years, I’ve noticed how proficient and pushed ladies have been held again from reaching the nation’s highest workplace by a tradition that rewards authoritarian masculinity.

However I additionally examine the rhetorical ingenuity of candidates like Harris, whose capability to navigate an inequitable political system makes them formidable.

Authoritarian white masculinity as debate technique

Trump’s method to the talk on Sept. 29 was to ascertain himself as somebody who leads by way of dominance.

CNN reported that he “dominated the dialogue, talked over his rival, [and] steamrolled the moderator — usually with none interruption.” Trump characterised Biden as somebody who may simply be “dominated” by what he referred to as “socialists” within the Democratic social gathering.

Trump was unconstrained by both expectations of civility or the foundations of the talk. The extra disruptive, the higher. Drawn in by Trump’s provocations, Biden urged Trump to “shut up, man” and referred to as him a “clown.” Debate observers likened the occasion to a schoolyard brawl or a bar struggle.

Though some commentators cheered Pence’s ostensible civility through the vice presidential debate, Pence persistently ignored the foundations to which his marketing campaign had assented, talking previous his time restrict, refusing to reply a lot of moderator Susan Web page’s questions, and supplanting the moderator’s authority in order that he may pose his personal inquiries to Harris.

Pence’s authoritarian masculinity is the genteel model favored within the patriarchal spiritual and regional communities that compose Trump’s most loyal base: Southern conservatives and white evangelical Christians. In the course of the debate, Pence mentioned it was a “privilege to be on the stage” with Harris and repeatedly thanked the moderator whereas ignoring her authority.

When Web page moved to a brand new subject, Pence mentioned, “Nicely, thanks, however I want to return to the earlier subject.” When she knowledgeable him his time was up, he stored talking as if nobody had mentioned something. When he needed to interrupt Harris, he placidly insisted, “I’ve to weigh in.”

Harris: ‘I’m talking’

Harris’ response to the vp’s interruptions had been well-liked with ladies who’ve skilled related rudeness.

Harris refused to be steamrolled. Her gender insulated her from being drawn right into a aggressive masculinity show, as Biden was in his debate with Trump. However that doesn’t imply her job was straightforward.

As famous by Politico, Harris needed to “navigate stereotypes that pigeonhole Black ladies as offended and aggressive, and fewer certified that white males.”

Harris’ technique was to fulfill Pence’s authoritarian masculinity with an authoritative assertion of her personal: “I’m talking.”

With out interesting to the moderator to intervene on her behalf, she did what males routinely do: she took up area. She claimed time. She articulated her {qualifications}. However she was cautious to do all of it with a smile.

Twitter lit up as ladies noticed Harris weaving round acquainted roadblocks that they routinely encounter in their very own lives.

Dominance or democracy?

The “dominance” technique didn’t work effectively for Trump or Pence, aside from garnering the anticipated partisan reward. However neither is more likely to abandon it. Greater than a marketing campaign tactic, authoritarian masculinity seems to be baked into their worldviews.

As Trump’s electoral prospects dwindle, his perception in his inherent entitlement to authority seems to be fostering a bunch of anti-democratic practices: contesting election procedures to cut back voter participation; declining to decide to accepting the outcomes of the election if he loses; sabotaging or boycotting debates.

When Trump informed Maria Bartiromo on Fox Information that he deliberate to stage a rally as an alternative of debating Biden in a COVID-19-safe digital format, it was revealing. Debates are rituals of democracy, courting again to the classical Greek agora, flourishing within the Continental Congress that birthed the US, and held up as the perfect type of marketing campaign communication after these made well-known by Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas.

Rallies, then again, are authoritarian political theater popularized by demagogues and dictators.

And the attraction of authoritarian masculinity appears to be shared by different Republican politicians. On the night time of the vice presidential debate, Sen. Mike Lee posted a tweet that implied that one thing aside from democratic governance is perhaps required to ensure that “the human situation to flourish.”

Presidential marketing campaign cycles current voters with the chance to consider the expectations they’ve of political leaders, who these requirements profit and constrain, and the way they promote or impede democratic engagement. As such, marketing campaign communication and presidential debates are about far more than political technique. They construct – or break – American democracy.

Karrin Vasby Anderson doesn’t work for, seek the advice of, personal shares in or obtain funding from any firm or group that might profit from this text, and has disclosed no related affiliations past their educational appointment.