The fact is if we want to curb abuse, understand it, and speak about it honestly, we must also take into account the broader context of gender and power — political power, social power, cultural power, financial power. We must examine how access to power and displays of authority also function as gender identifiers. So much of male power rests on female subservience and service, that we have built entire societies dependent on this unequal relationship, from our families to our workplaces to our legal system. Being male still hinges on being seen as not female — not soft, or deferential, or sensitive to the needs of others around you. Being a man, and especially being a successful man, hinges on dominance. A man who is not an alpha, after all, is a beta – feminine, cowed, dominated. Our president has crafted an entire persona out of this hyper-dominance act, which allows him to claim a hold on masculinity without offering much in the way of physical potency, conventional attractiveness, or sexual appeal. He uses bullying and scare tactics to assert himself as a real man, and his money enables him to do it. His followers eat it up.