To make the case for gender as any kind of cause, we have first to unravel the case against it. The negative case rests in a set of denials and deflections repeated so often, they are received as obvious points and rarely met with challenge. These defenses show up all over public and private conversation as well as scholarly discourse. They lie on the tip of our tongues, and they amount to collective denial of what is right in front of us. The goal of this chapter is to dismantle them.

In Part I, I sought to disarm gender, to defuse it as a political weapon so we could begin to appreciate how it operates politically at a deeper level, through sociophysical sensation. Here, I seek to carry that purpose through, further exposing the political operation of gender by disarming our reflexes to deny it.

These defenses too are sociophysical—habits of argument that condition the senses to absorb and process New Populism in certain ways and not others. Our work here is not simply to refute the arguments, but to recondition the senses accordingly. We can build capacity to spot these habits as they arise, bring them into awareness, and activate different responses. Practice, as in rehearsing new reflexes, is how we will dismantle our defenses against the relevance of gender.

Let's try a more embodied, playful spin that might help to shake these habits loose. Think of this chapter as a game show, where the challenge is something like, Top Seven Reasons You Know New Populism is Not about Gender. As you read on, start each section by chanting the phrase, “It can't be gender because …”

It is uncontroversial to observe that men and masculinity have been the dominant force of populist movements, then and now. Scholars of populism acknowledge this at all levels, from top leadership to supporters on the ground. New Populism is no exception. For starters, just roll through the profiles of those global populist strongmen discussed earlier. New Populism overwhelmingly appeals to men in the voting booth as well.

But wait, you might reply. Even if New Populism leans toward men, and masculinity is part of its appeal, aren't there plenty of women involved from top to bottom? Well, I don't know that I’d say plenty at the top.