Matt Laslo
February 22, 2025
RAW STORY
U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks with Mercedes Schlapp the day he addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD — This just might be the year American men finally overcome centuries of political, cultural and marital oppression that have ravaged the gender and kept guys locked out of key policies, like the Violence Against Women Act.
That’s what one conservative vendor peddled at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference. And they’re not alone. The oft-repeated message being subtly driven into CPAC attendees – is that the era of male victimhood is over.
Culture wars are now king.
In years past, the conservative confab focused on fiscal responsibility and cutting federal spending. This year — even as Republicans in Congress and the White House debate trillions of dollars in budget cuts — leaders stoked gendered culture wars.
“Don't allow this broken culture to send you a message that you're a bad person because you're a man, because you like to tell a joke, because you like to have a beer with your friends or because you're competitive," Vice President J.D. Vance told CPAC attendees Thursday.
Eradicating diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives may have merely been a stepping stone. Conservatives have rallied behind a new, if antiquated, gospel of manhood as they work to turn back time and eviscerate what they call "wokeness" in real time.
At CPAC, this is truly a man’s world, or will be soon if the resurgent right succeeds.
“Male Inequality”
Masculinity is everywhere here at CPAC. It’s tangible, making this year’s conference feel more like an all-male retreat than the policy-focused escape the annual event was before President Donald Trump remade American conservatism in his image.
In these conservative confines, there’s no gender pay gap (even as statistics show women earn roughly 75 cents for each dollar a man makes). Women’s suffrage, practically speaking, is a fairy tale of a bygone era. While Bibles abound, the Book of Ruth and its strong, central female cast, is an afterthought (if a thought at all).
The real problem is “Male Inequality,” according to the newly launched Men’s Equality Network, or MEN.
‘Areas of Male Inequality’ — a pamphlet MEN are handing out at this year’s CPAC.
At CPAC, MEN seeks to drum up support for the hashtag #genderequalityformen, while also giving away free caps emblazoned with “Watchdog: Stop the gender agenda.”
MEN's tagline succinctly sums up the mission that drives the group: “assuring due process, fairness and equal opportunities for men.” And while they may only be a few weeks old, MEN has already attracted 18 partners, ranging from United Families International to the Child Custody Coalition.
The group is so new, it hasn't held its first meeting. But MEN soon plans to start hosting monthly training sessions with partner organizations, then storm the marble halls of Washington, demanding equality for men.
And MEN has allies in powerful places in Trump’s Washington.
"Our culture sends a message to young men that you should suppress every masculine urge, you should try to cast aside your family, you should try to suppress what makes you a young man in the first place," Vance opined from the CPAC main stage. He, like MEN, provided no evidence to support his contention.
While the group is surely easy to single out, it's far from alone in its drive to restore manhood to its properly patriarchal perch at CPAC but also throughout society.
"Go fu#% yourself Planned Parenthood”
Entering this year’s hall of vendors at CPAC, it’s seemingly impossible to miss the loud magenta “Go fu#% yourself Planned Parenthood” banner next to a cardboard cutout of President Trump.
Defund Planned Parenthood photo (Photo credit: Matt Laslo)
A few rows away, at first blush, the booth for "Date on the Right" seems dedicated to online romance for Republicans. But the material seems more focused on connecting hardline conservatives with their policy dreams.
Instead of promising long-term love, the group’s selling point feels more politically inclined than lifemate: “Dating for conservatives: only two genders – male and female allowed. No pronouns but male or female allowed.”
Other booths are dotted with free swag seeking to uproot political correctness — “I support free speech, not political correctness,” reads one sticker — through slogans like, “God, Guns and Girly Things” or “Woman: an adult human female.”
“We have an entire generation of young men who are smoking weed, watching porn, not getting married — not even pursuing women,” American Principles Project President Terry Schilling told CPAC attendees. “We have this thing called incels — involuntary celibates. It's terrible. And we can't become a great nation again — we can't make America great again — until our men are great again.”
“You’ve been gaslit to high heaven”
For attendees, conservatives are undeniably victims. The thousands gathered at CPAC are set on righting those past perceived wrongs.
“You’ve been gaslit to high heaven every time you picked up a newspaper in the United States,” conservative anchor Megyn Kelly told the crowd. “Every time you’ve turned on CNN. You’ve been lied to. You’ve been bullied — or seen others with lesser power — bullied by the media and the leftist Democrats. You have been a victim of overbearing and controlling leftists who think they are the final arbiters of what’s best for you and your life.”
While this may be MEN's year, conservative women aren’t going quietly.
CPAC may be a man’s world these days, despite all the powerful women in today’s GOP, like White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who, at 27, is the youngest person to ever hold the prestigious role.
On the CPAC stage this week, former White House communications director Mercedes Schlapp — wife of CPAC chair Matt Schlapp who a sheriff wrote up earlier this month for allegedly groping a man — asked Leavitt about being a woman in Trump world.
"Look at the White House and look at the exceptional Cabinet President Trump has put together," Leavitt said. "While we don’t care about identity politics…the president has appointed Susie Wiles, our first female chief of staff in United States history; Brooke Rollins heading up as our secretary of agriculture — look across the entire Cabinet. There are incredible women — Linda McMahon, leading the Department of Education — the list goes on and on."
As for her advice to young women, Leavitt departed from her party’s new man-centric mantra.
"Stay strong, speak the truth and don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t achieve your dream, or you can’t get to that next step. Just believe in yourself, because there will be a lot of people who don’t believe in you, who cast doubt on you, who talk bad about you," Leavitt said. "Screw ‘em. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter."
U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks with Mercedes Schlapp the day he addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD — This just might be the year American men finally overcome centuries of political, cultural and marital oppression that have ravaged the gender and kept guys locked out of key policies, like the Violence Against Women Act.
That’s what one conservative vendor peddled at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference. And they’re not alone. The oft-repeated message being subtly driven into CPAC attendees – is that the era of male victimhood is over.
Culture wars are now king.
In years past, the conservative confab focused on fiscal responsibility and cutting federal spending. This year — even as Republicans in Congress and the White House debate trillions of dollars in budget cuts — leaders stoked gendered culture wars.
“Don't allow this broken culture to send you a message that you're a bad person because you're a man, because you like to tell a joke, because you like to have a beer with your friends or because you're competitive," Vice President J.D. Vance told CPAC attendees Thursday.
Eradicating diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives may have merely been a stepping stone. Conservatives have rallied behind a new, if antiquated, gospel of manhood as they work to turn back time and eviscerate what they call "wokeness" in real time.
At CPAC, this is truly a man’s world, or will be soon if the resurgent right succeeds.
“Male Inequality”
Masculinity is everywhere here at CPAC. It’s tangible, making this year’s conference feel more like an all-male retreat than the policy-focused escape the annual event was before President Donald Trump remade American conservatism in his image.
In these conservative confines, there’s no gender pay gap (even as statistics show women earn roughly 75 cents for each dollar a man makes). Women’s suffrage, practically speaking, is a fairy tale of a bygone era. While Bibles abound, the Book of Ruth and its strong, central female cast, is an afterthought (if a thought at all).
The real problem is “Male Inequality,” according to the newly launched Men’s Equality Network, or MEN.
‘Areas of Male Inequality’ — a pamphlet MEN are handing out at this year’s CPAC.
At CPAC, MEN seeks to drum up support for the hashtag #genderequalityformen, while also giving away free caps emblazoned with “Watchdog: Stop the gender agenda.”
MEN's tagline succinctly sums up the mission that drives the group: “assuring due process, fairness and equal opportunities for men.” And while they may only be a few weeks old, MEN has already attracted 18 partners, ranging from United Families International to the Child Custody Coalition.
The group is so new, it hasn't held its first meeting. But MEN soon plans to start hosting monthly training sessions with partner organizations, then storm the marble halls of Washington, demanding equality for men.
And MEN has allies in powerful places in Trump’s Washington.
"Our culture sends a message to young men that you should suppress every masculine urge, you should try to cast aside your family, you should try to suppress what makes you a young man in the first place," Vance opined from the CPAC main stage. He, like MEN, provided no evidence to support his contention.
While the group is surely easy to single out, it's far from alone in its drive to restore manhood to its properly patriarchal perch at CPAC but also throughout society.
"Go fu#% yourself Planned Parenthood”
Entering this year’s hall of vendors at CPAC, it’s seemingly impossible to miss the loud magenta “Go fu#% yourself Planned Parenthood” banner next to a cardboard cutout of President Trump.
Defund Planned Parenthood photo (Photo credit: Matt Laslo)
A few rows away, at first blush, the booth for "Date on the Right" seems dedicated to online romance for Republicans. But the material seems more focused on connecting hardline conservatives with their policy dreams.
Instead of promising long-term love, the group’s selling point feels more politically inclined than lifemate: “Dating for conservatives: only two genders – male and female allowed. No pronouns but male or female allowed.”
Other booths are dotted with free swag seeking to uproot political correctness — “I support free speech, not political correctness,” reads one sticker — through slogans like, “God, Guns and Girly Things” or “Woman: an adult human female.”
“We have an entire generation of young men who are smoking weed, watching porn, not getting married — not even pursuing women,” American Principles Project President Terry Schilling told CPAC attendees. “We have this thing called incels — involuntary celibates. It's terrible. And we can't become a great nation again — we can't make America great again — until our men are great again.”
“You’ve been gaslit to high heaven”
For attendees, conservatives are undeniably victims. The thousands gathered at CPAC are set on righting those past perceived wrongs.
“You’ve been gaslit to high heaven every time you picked up a newspaper in the United States,” conservative anchor Megyn Kelly told the crowd. “Every time you’ve turned on CNN. You’ve been lied to. You’ve been bullied — or seen others with lesser power — bullied by the media and the leftist Democrats. You have been a victim of overbearing and controlling leftists who think they are the final arbiters of what’s best for you and your life.”
While this may be MEN's year, conservative women aren’t going quietly.
CPAC may be a man’s world these days, despite all the powerful women in today’s GOP, like White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who, at 27, is the youngest person to ever hold the prestigious role.
On the CPAC stage this week, former White House communications director Mercedes Schlapp — wife of CPAC chair Matt Schlapp who a sheriff wrote up earlier this month for allegedly groping a man — asked Leavitt about being a woman in Trump world.
"Look at the White House and look at the exceptional Cabinet President Trump has put together," Leavitt said. "While we don’t care about identity politics…the president has appointed Susie Wiles, our first female chief of staff in United States history; Brooke Rollins heading up as our secretary of agriculture — look across the entire Cabinet. There are incredible women — Linda McMahon, leading the Department of Education — the list goes on and on."
As for her advice to young women, Leavitt departed from her party’s new man-centric mantra.
"Stay strong, speak the truth and don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t achieve your dream, or you can’t get to that next step. Just believe in yourself, because there will be a lot of people who don’t believe in you, who cast doubt on you, who talk bad about you," Leavitt said. "Screw ‘em. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter."
Matt Laslo has covered Congress since 2006, bringing Raw Story readers the personalities behind the politics and policy straight from Capitol Hill. Based in Washington, D.C., Matt has been a long-time contributor to NPR, WIRED, VICE News, The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, and Playboy. More about Matt Laslo.
'Coalition of the crass:' Analyst says Musk's crude humor more than just a 'middle finger'
Matthew Chapman
February 21, 2025
Matthew Chapman
February 21, 2025
RAW STORY
Elon Musk holds up a chainsaw as Argentina's President Javier Milei gives two thumbs up during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Tech billionaire Elon Musk is spending the time he's not slashing the federal government, suspending vital government services, or threatening reporters with prison for doing their jobs, to make crude penile and sexual jokes, wrote Ali Breland for The Atlantic — and it reveals something about the movement he's cultivating.
Last week, noted the report, "The world’s richest man briefly changed his display name on X to 'Harry Bōlz,' apparently after learning that USAID had spent millions on circumcisions in developing countries. 'Circumcisions at a discount, now 50% off!' he posted. 'Judicial dicktatorship is wrong!' he added, the same day that a federal court ruled against the Trump administration’s chaotic federal-funding freeze."
Musk's crude attack on the U.S. Agency for International Development — a key target of Trump and Musk for dramatic cuts that helped save more than 20 million lives in the HIV/AIDS epidemic — didn't go unnoticed by Breland.
"Penis jokes are the kind of juvenile humor that Musk is known for," wrote Breland. "After all, this is the same billionaire entrepreneur who began his ownership of Twitter by posting a video of himself carrying a sink into the company’s headquarters with the caption, 'Let that sink in.' He has named Tesla’s vehicles so that the lineup spells 'S3XY,' as in 'sexy.' In 2018, he posted that he would take Tesla private at $420 a share (which he maintains was not a cannabis joke). I could go on."
This type of humor, Breland continued, is emblematic of something broader.
"Trolling in its various forms (posting about balls, trying to offend, making political opponents squirm) has gone from an occasionally used tool to a unifying touchstone of an entire political faction. Call it a coalition of the crass," Breland wrote.
And this isn't a new strategy for the right.
"The practice has existed since at least 1947, when a 21-year-old William F. Buckley and some of his friends showed up at a rally for the left-wing presidential candidate, Henry Wallace, wearing ironic bohemian getups. Rush Limbaugh built his career on delivering a steady stream of trolling sound bites on his radio show. But trolling has become more integral to the right in the Trump years. Trump himself loves to troll — addressing posts to 'haters and losers' — and the Pepe the Frog meme blew up during his first term as the go-to way for the MAGA faithful to troll the left."
This strategy, in short, is about deliberately tormenting and upsetting political opponents, Breland continued — and it gets a lot uglier than simple genital humor.
"Musk, too, has belittled the marginalized: Just this week he ridiculed a blind person, and in the past has mocked a disabled X employee (which he later apologized for), and rolled back protections against anti-trans harassment on Twitter," wrote Breland. "No one is hurt because of a joke about balls, but such jokes are still a middle finger to Musk’s intended audience of liberals and government workers. The point is to laugh in their faces as he dismantles the things that they care about, in an attempt to break them. It is not enough to beat your adversaries. They must be humiliated."
Elon Musk holds up a chainsaw as Argentina's President Javier Milei gives two thumbs up during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Tech billionaire Elon Musk is spending the time he's not slashing the federal government, suspending vital government services, or threatening reporters with prison for doing their jobs, to make crude penile and sexual jokes, wrote Ali Breland for The Atlantic — and it reveals something about the movement he's cultivating.
Last week, noted the report, "The world’s richest man briefly changed his display name on X to 'Harry Bōlz,' apparently after learning that USAID had spent millions on circumcisions in developing countries. 'Circumcisions at a discount, now 50% off!' he posted. 'Judicial dicktatorship is wrong!' he added, the same day that a federal court ruled against the Trump administration’s chaotic federal-funding freeze."
Musk's crude attack on the U.S. Agency for International Development — a key target of Trump and Musk for dramatic cuts that helped save more than 20 million lives in the HIV/AIDS epidemic — didn't go unnoticed by Breland.
"Penis jokes are the kind of juvenile humor that Musk is known for," wrote Breland. "After all, this is the same billionaire entrepreneur who began his ownership of Twitter by posting a video of himself carrying a sink into the company’s headquarters with the caption, 'Let that sink in.' He has named Tesla’s vehicles so that the lineup spells 'S3XY,' as in 'sexy.' In 2018, he posted that he would take Tesla private at $420 a share (which he maintains was not a cannabis joke). I could go on."
This type of humor, Breland continued, is emblematic of something broader.
"Trolling in its various forms (posting about balls, trying to offend, making political opponents squirm) has gone from an occasionally used tool to a unifying touchstone of an entire political faction. Call it a coalition of the crass," Breland wrote.
And this isn't a new strategy for the right.
"The practice has existed since at least 1947, when a 21-year-old William F. Buckley and some of his friends showed up at a rally for the left-wing presidential candidate, Henry Wallace, wearing ironic bohemian getups. Rush Limbaugh built his career on delivering a steady stream of trolling sound bites on his radio show. But trolling has become more integral to the right in the Trump years. Trump himself loves to troll — addressing posts to 'haters and losers' — and the Pepe the Frog meme blew up during his first term as the go-to way for the MAGA faithful to troll the left."
This strategy, in short, is about deliberately tormenting and upsetting political opponents, Breland continued — and it gets a lot uglier than simple genital humor.
"Musk, too, has belittled the marginalized: Just this week he ridiculed a blind person, and in the past has mocked a disabled X employee (which he later apologized for), and rolled back protections against anti-trans harassment on Twitter," wrote Breland. "No one is hurt because of a joke about balls, but such jokes are still a middle finger to Musk’s intended audience of liberals and government workers. The point is to laugh in their faces as he dismantles the things that they care about, in an attempt to break them. It is not enough to beat your adversaries. They must be humiliated."
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