Bootstrap Blackness: Black Men, Conservatism, and Party Politics

Abstract Ideological diversity has long characterized the Black community, yet this diversity has historically manifested as political homogeneity in electoral participation. While Black men vote for Democratic candidates at lower rates than Black women, they continue to support Democrats at higher rates than Latino, Asian, and white men and women. Despite their comparatively high turnout, Black men are frequently scapegoated for Democratic losses, even while the party has acknowledged Black women’s loyalty. We argue that Black men’s political leanings reflect a complex interplay of gendered, racial, and ideological forces, particularly their attitudes toward Black women, white men, and broader policy concerns. We also argue that, compared with Black women, Black men disproportionately use Black-led podcasts as counterpublics, spaces outside mainstream consciousness to discuss issues internal to the Black community. Using content analysis of Black male–hosted podcasts from 2014–2025 and data from the 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey (CMPS), we show that Black men’s Democratic party support, although not as strong as Black women’s, remains robust. We introduce the Black Patriarchy Index, which captures dimensions of hostile sexism, bootstrap racial uplift ideology, and rejection of intersectional solidarity. Our findings demonstrate that the modest but significant rise in conservatism among Black men relative to Black women can be partially explained by higher scores on this index, illustrating how Black men’s conservative attitudes shape political ideology and party loyalty within the Black electorate.