Letter From America

Marion McKeone: America’s having a masculinity crisis – or so say its GOP men

Josh Hawley, whose new book is entitled Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs, is only the latest in a line of Republican men crowing about how the Democrats want to turn the country into a godless, genderless state

Josh Hawley, senator for Missouri, raised his fist in solidarity with the January 6 Capitol rioters, yet was later seen rushing to escape the mob outside the Senate chamber. Picture: AP

In the film Downhill, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell play a wealthy but dissatisfied American couple on an Alpine skiing trip with their children when a controlled avalanche comes roaring down the mountainside towards the outdoor restaurant where they’re having lunch.

As it hits, Ferrell grabs his phone and bolts for safety, abandoning his terrified wife and children. They emerge physically unscathed, but they can’t erase the memory of their patriarch’s cowardice. Once you’ve seen ...