Tradwomen of America: White, Angry and Feeling Betrayed

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Irén Annus

Abstract

At the dawn of this century, the sheer shock of 9/11 stirred up a series of fierce debates in the US about traditional hegemonic masculinity. Proposing that the event symbolized American men’s failure to protect the nation, some argued for a search for possible avenues for healing and a reconstruction of American masculinity. The housing crisis of 2008, however, along with the subsequent economic recession and the election of the first non-white American president have been interpreted by some as further signs of traditional American manhood in crisis. Masculinity Studies scholar Michael Kimmel has investigated the history of hegemonic masculinity in the US and mapped the reasons behind the recent mounting sense of anger among a growing population of men, which ultimately played a crucial role in the election of Donald Trump as president. In parallel, various studies have also focused on an increasing anger among American women, triggered in part by the patriarchal social order and racist tendencies still prevailing in American society, which has given birth to movements such as #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter and #SayHerName. However, little has been written about the anger and frustration among more traditional women who have been supporting Trump alongside their brothers, sons and husbands. The study takes a closer look at this, often invisible group of tradwomen and investigates the contexts and factors that have fueled their anger and driven them to continue to be devoted Trump believers, activists, alt-right ideologues or members of white supremacist groups.

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How to Cite
Annus, Irén. 2019. “Tradwomen of America: White, Angry and Feeling Betrayed”. AMERICANA E-Journal of American Studies in Hungary 15 (1). https://www.americanaejournal.hu/index.php/americanaejournal/article/view/45432.
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Essays
Author Biography

Irén Annus

Irén Annus is Associate Professor at the Department of American Studies at the University of Szeged, Hungary. She is a cultural studies scholar, whose main interest lies in identity studies, visual culture and social issues, particularly in 19th-century American culture. She has widely lectured and published in these fields, including seven volumes she has authored and (co-)edited. She is a founding member of the Gender Studies and the Inter-American Studies research groups at her university and sits on the editorial board of two journals, Americana and TNT E-journal. She also served as the Secretary of the Hungarian Association of American Studies for two terms. Email: iannus@lit.u-szeged.hu