Hawley blames liberal attacks on masculinity for ‘idle men’ who watch porn, play video games

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley (R) said at the National Conservatism Conference on Sunday that liberal attacks on masculinity create “idle men” who watch pornography and play video games. 

“The Left want to define traditional masculinity as toxic. They want to define the traditional masculine virtues — things like courage and independence and assertiveness — as a danger to society,” Hawley, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, said, The Washington Post reported. 

“Can we be surprised that after years of being told they are the problem, that their manhood is the problem, more and more men are withdrawing into the enclave of idleness and pornography and video games?” he added.

In his speech, the senator highlights economic socialism, critical race theory and gender ideology as a way to “deconstruct America.”

The way to “deconstruct America” includes attempts by liberals “to give us a world beyond men,” Hawley said, according to the Post. 

“We need men to raise up sons and daughters after them, to pass on the great truths of our culture and history, to defend liberty, to share in the work of self-government,” Hawley said. “We need the kind of men who make republics possible. And it is not too much to say that our ability to get that kind of men will determine the success of our long experiment in liberty.”

Hawley was elected into the Senate in 2018 and has since emerged as a frequent conservative critic of Big Tech.

He has also been a loyal supporter of former President Trump and was one of the most vocal senators who led the charge to challenge the 2020 election results.