Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

A complex intersection of economic, political, environmental, and social conditions are fueling the rise of populism, political polarization, xenophobia, and racism in The United States, and other countries. Indeed many predicted the rise of divisive politics and decreased social cohesion as economic inequality soared, with globalization and neoliberal politics further contributing to the increasing precarity of employment and earnings among the working and middle classes of western countries. While few have been spared these challenges, the face of these emerging angry populist movements, militias, and white supremacist movement’s remains overwhelmingly male, white, and working class. Applying the lens of masculinities theory, this talk will discuss how aggrieved white masculine entitlement, multiple marginalization’s influencing many men's ability to achieve the unrealistic expectations of hegemonic masculinities, and feelings of fear, hopelessness, and abandonment, are providing the fuel that has been i