#protien

But we know that the MAGA right has both a victim complex and a winner complex. They need to be seen both as underdogs and victors. As if they pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, so to speak. It's a story they weave to continue the propagation of the "American Dream."

The narrative that the "war on protein" is over serves these contradictory complexes. We've increasingly seen a pop culture tie between masculinity and meat, especially red meat. There's a push for "traditional masculinity"'s ties to performative-looking muscles and the carnivore diet. Interestingly, when they say to eat more protein, they've explicitly excluded plant-based forms of protein in favor of animal forms. How many times have I heard that eating plant based isn't manly?

So what they're saying isn't really that they're ending a war on protein, but that they're "ending a war" on their brand of masculinity, one marked by dominance, control, and force. They're encouraging young men to make their bodies their priority, to appear physically stronger than women, to create the illusion of threat and superiority.

It is a very US American thing, to assume health is entirely in the individual's control. Without healthcare, health is a personal project, and one that is perceived as inseparable from morality. "If you're really a good person, if you really care about protecting your God and your family and your country, you'll get swoll and tough."

"War on protein" is a signal, and to those in the know, it means something more akin to "we are restoring your 'natural right' as a man to dominate women."