I'm a young man (22 y/o) who "votes right wing" but tbh idk if I'm very representative of your average young conservative-leaning guy because tbh I definitely notice what you're talking about and it annoys the shit out of me.
Ig a way to think about it is that if the campaign continually invested in that kind of outreach then at the time they probably felt like they were getting something out of it to keep investing time and resources into that messaging, outreach, advertising etc. Especially post-election, the win as well as what the exit polls revealed seen to indicate that it worked quite well for Trumps campaign. So this definitely makes your theory plausible.
Much to my chagrin, I personally think that you're correct and that this stupid macho arsthetic bullshit is part of the Trump/MAGA/Republicans appeal to young male voters. I hate it but ig you gotta do what you gotta do to win an election and you can't hand pick the electorate and have to appeal to the one that already exists (notwithstanding the fact that Trump the man on a personal level is very unpleasant and fits the aesthetic quite well).
I like to think that I come to my voting decisions and political opinions for different (and in my opinion way better) reasons. My preference for Donald Trump, at least as far as i can tell, was motivated by very different concerns. Plus, for what it's worth, as much as I don't like it I'm a fairly effeminate guy in a lot of ways so the "cool MAGA tough guy" aesthetic was never going to be my cup of tea anyway. Again though, warning, idk if I'm representative of your average Trump voting young guy at all.
Also idk many people my age so take everything with a grain of salt because im too isolated to know people.
Sorry if this was a dumb or annoying response and I hope it's not too long of a read.
I doubt it. People, including young men, vote for what they think is best for them and society as a whole. Everyone faces some problem that needs to be solved with legislative action. And it's up to the voter to decide which political party they think offers the best solution to societal problems. I don't think anyone who takes the time to vote would waste it to look cool. Besides, votes are anonymous or at least they should be.
As much as I hope you're right idk people are pretty stupid and vapid so it wouldn't shock me if they made their voting choice based off of dumb shit like what OP was referring to, or at least if they let the dumb shit determine their idea of who may have better policy solutions to problems.
Again though, I hope you're correct and maybe this is my inner resentful nerdy outcast self from high school coming back with a vengeance, in which case I'm a piece of shit.