A study by Aaron Sell from Griffith University in Australia and his colleagues found that “macho men” are more likely to vote conservative. They postulate that fighting ability—which they largely define as upper-body strength—guides the minds of modern men. Their study explores the idea that human males are designed for fighting, and shows how this fighting ability drives attitudes with regards to a range issues, including politics. After looking at the politics of Hollywood actors—particularly action stars, who often break the Hollywood stereotype by more often voting for Republicans—they came to the conclusion that muscles replace brain matter. The study has been published in the journal Human Nature. It determines that physically strong men are more likely to hold conservative political views because they believe in aggression and self-preservation. They point out that Hollywood action heroes, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris and Sylvester Stallone, are all big, aggressive men who tend Republican. The British newspaper The Telegraph says “it may all stem from the hunter-gatherer instincts of macho men, which are a hangover of out cavemen origins when the strongest ruled the roost.”

The British paper went on to say such men “build up their upper body strength and become subconsciously obsessed with their fighting ability.”

The premise of this study is skewed. While surely men or women who have had to struggle to persevere without silver spoons in their mouths have learned that a hardworking, conservative approach to life increases your odds of success, this doesn’t mean their muscles think for them. This study actually predetermines its own conclusion. The study never looks at the question from the opposite point of view: Could it possibly be that because such men struggled to achieve success they then became macho men?

Lead researcher Aaron Sell said men were “designed for fighting” and the tougher they are the more this influences their behavior, even at the voting booth. Uh-huh, but could they have become tougher because their behavior toward life? Could the fact they had to make it in the world by the power of their own gumption have something to do with this? Schwarzenegger, Norris and Stallone are, after all, all self-made men.  Not one of them grew up rich. They all made their own fortunes.

Instead of being honest about how these men became who they are, these pseudo-scientists pre-determined their own conclusion. The British papers and other Liberal outlets applauded them for it. After they’re done clapping with one hand, perhaps they should go back and do some honest research.