Both Elon Musk and Christian nationalists call empathy "toxic," "suicidal," and even "satanic."
But what they're really worried about is that empathy is *feminine*.
And in MAGA, a woman is the worst thing a person can be. An analysis.
https://www.salon.com/2025/04/11/magas-on-empathy-exposes-misogynist-fears/
@AmandaMarcotte That may also be why their trans panic is nearly exclusively about trans women. If any “normal” (their language) male can become female, then *their* masculinity is at risk. And also it is clear evidence that people — even some “men”! — find being a woman worthwhile.
It’s instructive, I think, that they aren’t nearly as bothered by trans men. I mean, deep down even we cis men are all performing masculinity, so maybe it’s logical that they don’t want to interrogate that at all.
Yes it's the exact same gender hierarchy that means gay men are a huge horrible threat to society, while lesbians either don't exist or, at best, are cute and will change their mind when the right man comes along.
(Until the lesbians are butch dykes and explicitly appropriating masculine presentation and roles and thus, if they can't be turned into a cute "aw of course she wants to be a man even though she isn't," become a threat.)
Amanda Marcotte
curtosis
Dianne Hackborn