ABSTRACT
This is an essay about political masculinities in the aftermath of the storming of Capitol Hill by Trump supporters and the era of Covid-19. The essay discusses a “toxic dramaturgy” played out in the online strategies of self-promotion deployed by Donald Trump and his followers. Deliberately and strategically drawing on the polemical rhetoric that circulates amongst these groups, I make the case for a contemporary “zombie masculinity” that articulates the fury and frustration that past entitlements and male privileges are now challenged in the contemporary political and cultural landscape. The essay explores the range of discursive and affective registers associated with zombie masculinity and their connections to the toxic masculinity debate. This essay concludes in a speculative manner that whilst recent global events may well mark the unravelling of the already embattled version of moribund masculinity that is characteristic of figures like Trump circumstances across the globe and not least in Russia provide a reminder that zombies (and zombie masculinities) are not easily disposed of.
