The modern Mega-Toddler. All the behaviors of your average toddler, but in the body of a adult. It used to be an oddity, someone much maligned in the papers and film. Now it’s entire movements and even nations, with the prototype oddity suddenly running things.
It’s been a consistent play of Trump since even his campaign in 2015-2016. He says something stupid or does something stupid. His defenders say he didn’t mean it like that and try to offer nuance or context, and then Trump clarifies that no, the plain meaning of what he said was exactly what he intended.
But yeah, after Hokit disparaged Michelle Obama at White House UFC fight, I had a moment of clarity that the new masculine flex is to discharge your strength to do something awful, something cruel or tasteless or obviously amoral, to demonstrate either that you are beyond the reach of consequences or because you don’t care about the consequences. Another recent example is when Trump interfered with the World Cup and cancelled the red card and one-game penalty of Folarin Balogun.
I doubt that it’s just manosphere-types emulating Donald Trump, but because this is a thing he specifically does time and again, it’s recognizable when other people do it.
Isn’t doubling down on stupid takes a big masculinity flex in 2026?
All the alpha males seem to do it.
Women do it, so nothing to do with masculinity.
Its just ego being hurt and both genders feel that.
The modern Mega-Toddler. All the behaviors of your average toddler, but in the body of a adult. It used to be an oddity, someone much maligned in the papers and film. Now it’s entire movements and even nations, with the prototype oddity suddenly running things.
Yup. The reasons for why can be discussed but I always point the finger at social media…
Making engagement the sole metric for success, no room for truth or reason or decency, definitely seems like a top candidate.
Removed by mod
is that a new thing, it makes them look stupider for doubling down.
It’s been a consistent play of Trump since even his campaign in 2015-2016. He says something stupid or does something stupid. His defenders say he didn’t mean it like that and try to offer nuance or context, and then Trump clarifies that no, the plain meaning of what he said was exactly what he intended.
But yeah, after Hokit disparaged Michelle Obama at White House UFC fight, I had a moment of clarity that the new masculine flex is to discharge your strength to do something awful, something cruel or tasteless or obviously amoral, to demonstrate either that you are beyond the reach of consequences or because you don’t care about the consequences. Another recent example is when Trump interfered with the World Cup and cancelled the red card and one-game penalty of Folarin Balogun.
I doubt that it’s just manosphere-types emulating Donald Trump, but because this is a thing he specifically does time and again, it’s recognizable when other people do it.
Not really, insecure people have been doing that for millennia.