US elections: A duel of contrasting masculinities between Trump and Biden

US voters have to choose between two profoundly different versions of manhood in a race being enacted in highly gendered ways

The second and last US presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was another round in a duel between two very distinct forms of masculinity. An excellent moderator, Kristen Welker, combined with rule changes that reduced the candidates’ ability to interrupt each other, toned down the vitriol and helped create a calmer debate, with more room for discussion of policy.

But this didn’t change the fundamental differences between the two men. Although both protagonists are white, old, affluent men, they embody distinct and competing masculine identities: one authoritarian and the other paternalistic.

For this debate,