A segment of incel-adjacent men on X (formerly Twitter) believes Trump's tariffs are a means to redistribute wealth and jobs from women to men, ultimately leading to increased sexual opportunities for men. They view women in professional, particularly office-based, roles as privileged and undeserving.
This group sees women in 'email jobs' (office jobs) as unfairly benefiting from government and corporate policies, which, in their view, reduces women's dependency on men and increases their standards for partners. They interpret Trump's policies as a way to reverse this perceived injustice.
The article refutes the economic claims, highlighting that women are not only employed in office jobs but also in various other sectors, such as leisure and hospitality, education, and healthcare. It further explains that tariffs are far more likely to harm the economy at large, disproportionately affecting low-income individuals, many of whom are women.
The underlying belief is that women's success in the workplace undermines traditional masculinity and their perceived access to sex. They see the tariffs as a way to reduce women's independence and compel them into relationships. The article highlights the inherent misogyny in this perspective.
A TikTok video of Australian female executives playfully celebrating their success was viewed by this group as a symbol of women's supposed privilege and oppression of men. The video's juxtaposition of femininity and professionalism angered them.
The article details how the societal perception of the value of a profession changes based on the gender composition of its workforce, showing how a profession can lose prestige as the proportion of women increases. It uses the examples of computer programming and human resources to illustrate this point.
Ultimately, the desire behind this belief system is to see women become financially dependent on men again, leading to a forced return to traditional gender roles and relationships. The article concludes that this belief speaks to the deep-seated misogyny in a segment of Trump's supporters.