"Angry white male" is a derogatory term for white males holding conservative or right-wing views in the context of U.S. politics, usually characterized by "opposition to liberal anti-discriminatory policies" and beliefs.
Development
The term commonly refers to a political voting bloc which emerged in the early 1990s as a reaction to perceived injustices faced by white men in the face of affirmative action quotas in the workplace. Angry white men are characterized as having animosity toward young people, women or minorities. Donald Trump supporters have been described by some political commentators and liberal-leaning media companies as angry white men.
In Australia
The rhetoric of the angry white man is not limited to the United States. It appeared during Australia's 1998 federal elections. New political parties appeared in that election due to the preexisting fathers' rights movement in Australia. These included the Abolish Family Support/Family Court Party and the Family Law Reform Party. Similar to the usage of the term in the United States, the Australian men categorized as angry white men opposed what they perceived as the feminist agenda. These political parties were created as a reaction to the historic number of women elected to the House of Representatives. Members of these groups claimed that "feminists have entrenched themselves in positions of power and influence in government and are using their power to victimise men". The Liberal Party senator Eric Abetz, arguing against Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, says it's "passing strange" that the Australian Human Rights Commission does not seem to care about what he perceives as "racist terminology" such as angry white man but it does care if another color is used to describe someone: "One cannot help but think that the term 'white' can only refer toskin colour and therefore are making reference to a skin colour one assumes it must have been on the basis of race that the comment was made".
The term is applied to those believed to be opposed to the Civil Rights Movement and second-wave feminism. The movies Joe, Raging Bull, Falling Down, Cobb, God Bless America, Joker, and Clint Eastwood's performance in both Dirty Harry and Gran Torino has been described as an exploration of the angry white man. In particular, the protagonist of Falling Down was widely reported upon as a representative of the stereotype. The character Archie Bunker from the TV sitcoms All in the Family and Archie Bunker's Place "turned the angry white male into a cultural icon", according to CBS News. Walter White in the television series Breaking Bad has also been described as an "angry white male".
