'Men are protectors, women are designed to be protected,' Du Mez said. Though his speech focused on masculinity, Hawley did take a moment to acknowledge the role of women and to describe their virtues as 'every bit as necessary to the success of our republic.' (He also slammed liberal lawmakers and advocates for using the phrase 'birthing people' instead of 'mother' and 'trying to destroy women's sports, as if women and men are somehow interchangeable.')

Traditional gender roles and white Christian nationalismĭu Mez notes that Hawley's keynote remarks drew on the notion that God created men and women as distinct and even opposite, with men as more assertive and women as more submissive.

'He is calling on conservative men to step up to their roles as providers and protectors - protectors of faith, family and nation and to protect what he calls 'our culture,'' she said. Hawley doesn't exactly define masculinity in his remarks, Du Mez said, though she noted a call to action. In his keynote speech, Hawley said society needs 'the kind of men who make republics possible.' A man is somebody who takes responsibility,' he told Axios. So what is exactly is the ideal man, in Hawley's view? 'And I think that white men actually have a really critical role to play in that respect.'ĭu Mez spoke to Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep about what she makes of Hawley's recent comments (NPR has invited him on the program too, Inskeep notes). 'There can be ways to find common ground here rather than pitting half of America against the other half,' she said. There are many ways in which liberals are actually working to strengthen fathers, she added, pointing to things like paid paternity leave and broader family leave policies. 'But there are a lot of assumptions that Hawley's making that the problems are caused by some sort of destruction of manhood or destruction of masculinity, when we could look at: What are the expectations of masculinity that might be inappropriate, that might be outmoded, that are perhaps exacerbating this crisis?' 'I think there are many challenges that the younger generation is facing right now, women and men,' Du Mez said.

Others disagree - like Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a gender studies professor at Calvin University and author of the book Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation.

Du mez kristin kobes