Masks and Emasculation: Why Some Men Refuse to Take Safety Precautions

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/masks-and-emasculation-why-some-men-refuse-to-take-safety-precautions/?fbclid=IwAR0Wwh7BDs082E84cCMSOB75nsr64fg1rTN4g-nhmM13E_uUcthLCfDYT5s

By Peter Glick on April 30, 2020


On April 28, Vice President Mike Pence visited the Mayo Clinic, but could not bring himself to comply with their safety protocols and don a mask. His behavior mimics President Donald Trump’s prior refusal to wear a mask even as he urged Americans to do so. Pence said he wanted to be able to look health care workers in the eye, and Trump simply said, “I'm choosing not to do it.”

Why the reluctance to model safe behavior? My research with Jennifer Berdahl and others suggest one critical reason, which is that appearing to play it safe contradicts a core principle of masculinity: show no weakness. In short, wearing a mask emasculates.

The refusal to wear a mask undermines the message that the rest of us should take safety precautions. But that’s the least of the problem. Leaders who are more concerned with preserving a macho public image put our lives at risk as they prove their manhood by showing resistance to experts’ opinions, hypersensitivity to criticism and constant feuding with anyone who seems to disagree with them.

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In addition to poor decision-making, our research shows that masculinity-obsessed leaders create dysfunctional organizations that fall apart when times get tough. The leader’s need to seem infallible and defensiveness create a Game of Thrones environment where subordinates constantly compete to curry the leaders’ favor. When everyone is looking out for number one, it becomes unlikely that they will all pull together effectively when a crisis hits.

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All three—Trump, Johnson and Bolsonaro—not only publicly minimized the risks posed by coronavirus to prove their masculine credentials, but delayed or failed to implement safety measures that could have spared unnecessary deaths. By contrast, female leaders were more likely to listen to the experts, taking immediate preventative action. For example, New Zealand, led by Prime Minister Jacinda Arden, has minimized the death toll and all but quashed the virus.

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Not all male leaders are more concerned with projecting a macho image than with saving lives. Captain Brett Crozier, who commanded the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, prioritized his sailors’ well-being when coronavirus broke out. He persisted in seeking necessary help after dismissive superiors suggested he and his crew tough it out. Similarly, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has focused on achieving a communal goal, minimizing the number of COVID-19 deaths, doing whatever it takes to accomplish the mission.

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