Politics at the Gun Counter: Examining Partisanship and Masculinity among Conservative Gun Sellers during the 2020 Gun Purchasing Surge.

This article examines how gender, specifically masculinity, shapes the way conservative Americans engage in partisanship, focusing on gun sellers during the 2020 surge in gun sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic and political unrest. Drawing on 50 interviews with predominantly white, right-leaning gun sellers, the study finds that these sellers mobilize a form of "apocalyptic masculinity"—emphasizing preparedness, self-reliance, and distrust of the state—as a means of asserting conservative political identity and drawing partisan boundaries. They contrast themselves as responsible, stoic gun owners against new, often liberal-leaning gun buyers, whom they characterize as emotional, dependent, and incompetent, thereby using gendered tropes to reinforce political divisions. The analysis highlights partisanship as a gendered practice that not only divides political groups but also deepens distrust toward the state, with implications for democratic stability and the reproduction of conservative masculinity in everyday political life.