If there is one word that perfectly encapsulates American culture, it’s individualism. Individualism facilitates capitalism and permeates our social interactions, pushing ideals of self-reliance, power, independence and hard work.
But individualism is only positive to a certain extent. It ultimately breeds and festers in America as we know it — an isolated, noncommunicative and un-empathetic society, especially in terms of gender relations.
To understand the fundamentals of individualism, we need to go back to 1793, when George Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality essentially established that the United States wouldn’t interfere in foreign affairs. This independence is historically embedded in American culture, or at least the idea of it. In today’s America, these values have been upheld and are stronger than ever, evident in the imposition of tariffs on imports from about 90 nations by the Trump administration to focus on domestic manufacturing.
Individualism transcends political agendas because it is deeply rooted in the nation’s economic system, contaminating the lives of every American. While individualism has become integral to the ideals of free market enterprise, prompting competition and innovation, we should not be quick to write off these qualities as inherently valuable; competition inherently pits people against each other and considers individual accomplishment as desirable for its own sake. It is every man for himself.
In a capitalist system, there is a hierarchy — those at the top who hold the power (the bourgeoisie) and those at the bottom working for the rich (the proletariat). The “pick yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality promises those at the bottom that they can rise to the top through the illusory and individualistic belief that everyone has equal opportunity despite inherent inequality. Since everyone is competing to get to the top, and for there to be people at the top, there must be people exploited at the bottom — you need to make sure it’s not you.
Almost everything, from the educational system to the media, indoctrinates Americans with these values and ultimately skews their perception of the world, despite these values having potentially disastrous effects in other facets of life outside economic mentality.
Take the establishment of gender roles — toxic masculinity, a strict set of traditional male gender roles expected of, pushed onto and overcompensated for by men, is congruent with the concept of individualism. In one regard, toxic masculinity only deems men as worthy if they hold power, putting pressure on them to obtain money, influence and status. This is the same stress-for-success mentality that American individualism produces, ultimately corroding our ability to connect authentically with other people.
Toxic masculinity mimics capitalism as it has a social hierarchy of its own, with the end goal to become the manliest man — the “alpha male.” Alphas are powerful men who possess hypermasculine traits — they are depicted as the ideal male with money, strength, success and access to women. “Alpha males” are the top dogs, the successful leaders of society, then come “beta” and “delta” males, who are just average, and finally the inferior “gamma” and “omega” males at the bottom.
Just like in a capitalistic system, being perceived as an alpha male is increasingly alluring. In the world of toxic masculinity, traditional male roles are validated in the social hierarchy and men who don’t align with these expectations are targeted, discrediting their manhood and blaming their failures on their lack of it.
As toxic masculinity relies on tired stereotypes that men are (supposed to be) strong, aggressive and dominant to align with what it means to “be a man,” which is damning itself, individualistic tendencies make it more difficult to break from these unethical systems. According to the traditional division of labor in households, men are the providers and protectors. The job as the “man of the house” is to do physically demanding labor and protect their families, while the often disproportionate division of labor across chores, emotional support, childrearing, etc., continues to be overshadowed by individualistic principles.
Hyper-masculine social media personality Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed alpha male who has 10.7 million followers on X and is popular among young men, upholds the belief that men should be strong. “I believe that all men have the duty to mould their bodies into the strongest most resilient and most capable version of themselves,” he said.
In recent years, gym memberships have increased, reaching about 68.9 million in the United States in 2024. While Tate is not the sole indicator in this uptick of gym-goers, the rise in the hyper-masculine ideology he promotes has a large influence, and more people going to the gym is not a coincidence.
With respect to weightlifting and bodybuilding, which most men participate in to achieve the “manly look” of large defined muscles, every individual in the gym competes with themself. Self-competition and self-reliance are the very aspects of the progressive overload that facilitate muscle growth. So, not only does the gym demand discipline and hard work that aids in individual goal achievement and reinforces the concept of American Individualism, but it also breeds competition in the gym community.
The gym is one example where insecurity perpetuated by the male social hierarchy takes shape. Just like the false promise of upward mobility in capitalism, toxic masculinity gives men in the gym the false hope that if they work toward their goal physique, they are guaranteed to achieve it. There are the “alpha males” at the top with “peak physiques,” and then there are the men with lower status who compete with the alphas, pressured to get bigger and stronger if they want to succeed in life.
However, those who have the “best” body composition have unique genetics that assist in their aesthetic look, the resources and time to commit to the gym and a variety of other factors. This means the ideal look is not achievable for everyone.
Thus, in this community, people are comparing themselves with others and when they can not work their way to the top, they are discouraged and self-critical. Men are insecure about their manhood because of what toxic masculinity expects, so they go to the gym to work on themselves, and there they become even more insecure.
Through capitalist ideals, American individualism has fostered a surge in toxic masculinity, bringing back outdated, destructive norms that regress gender equality.
Natalie Pappalardo is a sophomore majoring in English.
Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece that represents the view of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the staff editorial.