Hulk Hogan just emasculated David French without even mentioning him, though it’s apparently not a very difficult thing to do.
On Saturday, French penned a column in The New York Times to caution readers against admiring the celebrity wrestler as an ideal model of American masculinity.
“Hulk Hogan Is Not The Only Way To Be A Man,” headlined the piece.
French characterized Hogan’s recent appearance at the Republican National Convention (RNC) as a toxic display of masculinity built on “anger” and “grievance.”
“If you ever wondered whether the Republican Party sees itself as the party of men, I’d invite you to rewatch the last night of the Republican National Convention,” French wrote. “Republican manliness was the capstone of the convention.”
French recommended Democrats counter the cultural messaging with a night to present his new party’s ideal models of “manliness.”
“This might sound strange, but I wonder if Democrats should answer the Republican men’s night with a men’s night of their own,” French suggested, “a night that features heroes instead of bullies and showmen, a night that answers the Republican appeal to men’s basest instincts with an appeal to their highest ideals.”
But who, exactly, represents the Democrats’ “highest ideals” of heroic masculinity they would most likely present at their national convention? French didn’t offer many suggestions beyond a senator, a former general, or some war heroes, all of whom hail from an elite class most likely to speak to an elite class, in contrast to Hogan, Kid Rock, and Dana
