A columnist for The Guardian argued on Sunday that the meltdown inspired by a new pink J.Crew sweater caused among many fans of the MAGA movement reveals how "fragile" its "sense of masculinity" truly is.
Last week, J.Crew announced the release of a pink "Fair Isle" sweater that The Guardian columnist Ellie Violet Bramley described in a new column as a traditional preppy piece that seems to align with the fashion sensibilities of the conservative right. However, the backlash the sweater received from several prominent MAGA figures, such as Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) and pundit Juanita Broaddrick, revealed a stark contradiction about the movement's views of masculinity.
"From a fashion point of view, it couldn’t be more innocuous," Bramley wrote. "It’s got a crew neck. It’s made from wool. It has a Fair Isle pattern at the upper yoke. There’s nothing asymmetric about it, no fringing or tassels, no slogan blasted across the front; no 'Make America Kind Again.' So what’s the big deal? Reader, the jumper is pink."
Masculinity is one of the key tenets of President Donald Trump's MAGA movement, which promotes an uncompromising view of manhood often imagined by teenage boys, according to an article by Jill Filipovic, an author and contributor to The Atlantic. That version has been described by experts as "performative hypermasculinity," which rejects anything that appears to be feminine.
"Yet the hand-wringing this jumper has provoked about the state of American masculinity seems to be keenly felt," she wrote. "The contradiction, of course, is that any masculinity that feels shaken by a spot of pink on some knitwear is more fragile than it would care to admit."
