Narratives of Masculine Victimhood and Right-Wing Extremist Attitudes among Young People: Validation and Application of a Scale to Measure Masculist Feelings of Threat

Abstract

Narratives of male victimhood activate masculine feelings of group threat and are a driving factor behind rising antifeminist and right-wing extremist attitudes. They function as a hinge between mainstream and far-right discourse, as well as a tool for mobilization and radicalization for populist and extremist actors. This paper proposes the 4-Item Masculist Feelings of Threat Scale as a novel measure for the intersection of male role norms and negative social emotions elicited by a perceived victimization of men and masculinity. The item selection and validation of the scale is based on an online survey (n = 486) of young people between the ages of 16 and 25. The scale shows sufficient psychometric properties. It shows high correlation with all three dimensions of the Male Role Norms Scale (MRNS) and moderate to high correlation with homophobic and anti-genderist attitudes as well as being in favour of compulsory military service. An application of the Masculist Feelings of Threat Scale through hierarchical linear regression shows its suitability for the prediction of right-wing extremist attitudes even when controlled for the dimensions of the MRNS.