Scott Galloway on How Masculinity Shaped the Vote of 2024″

In a thought-provoking analysis, Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at New York University, offered his take on the recent election, describing it as a “referendum on each party’s ambitious vision of masculinity.” Speak with Anderson Cooper on CNNGalloway attributed much of the election momentum to the way candidates and campaigns resonated with certain ideals of masculinity.

His insights shed light on a remarkable shift in political focus, where male identity and ambitions took center stage, with figures like Elon Musk embodying these ideals in the eyes of many young men. Galloway emphasized Musk’s unique appeal, labeling him an “aspirational role model for most young men worldwide,” whether people like that or not.

Musk’s achievements — launching satellites into space, revolutionizing the auto industry and amassing enormous wealth — represent a kind of success that Galloway says appeals to young men looking for a strong figure of modern masculinity. “He’s provocative and entertaining,” Galloway noted, underscoring Musk’s appeal beyond financial success. Musk, he argued, embodies a personality that young men see as a model for self-determined, high-stakes ambitions.

According to Galloway, former President Donald Trump cleverly tapped into this cultural undercurrent during his campaign. “The right – to his credit, Trump has embraced the manosphere,” said Galloway, who described Trump’s campaign with understanding and used this appeal effectively. “I’d say this was the manosphere election.” he added.

Trump’s team connected him to influential platforms in this field, in particular by participating in major podcasts by Joe Rogan and Lex Fridman, which are very popular among young male audiences. For example, Rogan’s podcast racked up a whopping 40 million views on YouTube and another 15 million downloads, generating a cumulative audience comparable to the viewership of the entire MLB World Series.

“That’s 55 million people who watched Donald Trump for three hours,” Galloway pointed out. This reach would have required extensive appearances on multiple primetime news networks to achieve the same impact. Galloway argued that by tapping into this demographic group, Trump has increased his influence among young men and positioned his messages effectively.

Galloway noted that Trump’s message, especially about the financial prospects for young men, resonated deeply. Trump’s promises to improve economic conditions, especially for young men struggling to leave their parents’ homes or find stable jobs, struck a chord. “This was more the testosterone election than a referendum on bodily autonomy,” Galloway noted, suggesting that economic empowerment for young men took precedence over other prominent social issues in the minds of these voters.

Reflecting on the Democratic National Convention, Galloway pointed out a notable absence: young men. He noted that while the convention highlighted a variety of special interest groups, “there were no young men.” Galloway suggested that this was a significant mistake, given the challenges young men face in modern society.

Citing statistics, he noted that young men are disproportionately affected by mental health and social problems: four times more likely to die by suicide, three times more likely to have addiction problems and 12 times more likely to end up in prison. Furthermore, only one in three young men are in a relationship, and they own fewer homes than single women, with young women in urban areas under the age of 30 earning more than men.

Young men are, as Galloway put it, “a group that has fallen further and faster than anyone in American history over the past twenty years.” Their struggle, he argued, makes them more susceptible to political messages promising economic recovery and independence. “That’s why young men were among the groups turning toward Trump,” he noted.

Social justice issues and global events, he added, often pale in comparison to families in which their sons struggle to secure jobs and independence. As political parties map out a strategy for the future, Galloway’s comments underline the importance of recognizing and addressing the ambitions and concerns of young men – a demographic group that, he suggests, is both overlooked and underestimated in terms of its influence on the electoral landscape.