Hegemonic masculinity as populist strategy: unveiling Spain’s radical-right gender gap

Abstract

In Spain, the gender gap in support for the far-right populist party VOX is notable, with two thirds of its voters being men. This article explores how VOX’s populist rhetoric around masculinity attracts male voters. It is argued that the collective identity promoted by the party aligns with hegemonic masculinity, which elevates male social status and serves as an effective strategy for capturing this electorate. To examine this dynamic, a critical discourse analysis was conducted on a sample of 34 videos from VOX’s YouTube channel. A deductive approach was employed, integrating categories that encompassed the masculine gender dimension and key concepts from the discursive approaches of populism. Overall, VOX discursively constructs a common identity around masculinity through populist rhetoric that combines victimization and recognition, which seems to have contributed to attracting male Spanish voters.