If you’ve Googled “erectile dysfunction,” “how to get girls” or questioned your penis size – you might be a Trump supporter, according to The Washington Post.
Critics slammed Post over a “ridiculous” analysis that suggests male Trump supporters could be insecure about their manhood and masculinity.
“We call this the ‘fragile masculinity hypothesis,’” the Post study claims.
Thursday’s piece, “How Donald Trump appeals to men secretly insecure about their manhood,” was written by New York University social psychologist Eric Knowles and a student, Sarah DiMuccio. It features an assortment of phrases that would make a middle schooler chuckle and points to things such as Trump “boasting about the size of his penis” as to why he – in the eyes of the authors – exudes machismo.
However, the authors feel that men in MAGA hats aren’t always as “confidently masculine” as the president himself.
Conservative strategist Chris Barron couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the analysis in one of the nation’s most respected newspapers.
"Honestly, I have read more coherent thoughts scribbled on the bathroom walls in gas stations,” Barron told Fox News. “If a news outlet had written something similar about Obama supporters, the publication that printed it would be roundly - and rightfully - ridiculed by every other media outlet."
Knowles and DiMuccio wrote that “fragile masculinity” is when men fall short of “unforgiving standard of maleness” that is expected in America from an early age.
“The political process provides a way that fragile men can reaffirm their masculinity. By supporting tough politicians and policies, men can reassure others (and themselves) of their own manliness,” Knowles and DiMuccio wrote before trying to explain how “fragile masculinity” is measured.
“We could not simply do a poll of men, who might not honestly answer questions about their deepest insecurities. Instead we relied on Google Trends, which measures the popularity of Google search terms,” they wrote.