The Sept. 10, 2024, debate between Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was a referendum on gender and the U.S. presidency – Trump’s, that is.
During the past decade, U.S. voters have watched as Trump’s toxic masculinity – a particular version of masculinity that discourages empathy, expresses strength through dominance, normalizes violence against women and associates leadership with white patriarchy – took over the Republican Party, was celebrated by tech bros with outsized cultural influence and was matched by authoritarian political leaders around the globe.
