The growing tide pulling young men and women further apart
Michaela Makusha
“Your body, my choice”
Seeing the online chants of ‘my body, your choice’ by trolls towards women by male Trump supporters and the commentary that surrounded it revealed a widening partition, as men and women in Gen Z appear more politically divided than in previous generations.
People in this generation are in favour of LGBTQ rights, and gender equality and support access to abortion, the defunding of police and more. However, with the growth of the online manosphere - far-right spaces online that are antifeminist, anti-progress and promote incel and racist ideology - and young men repeating these ideas in the real world, how progressive is Gen Z really?
The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement found a gap between men and women aged 18-29 - 58% of young women backed Harris and 56% of young men backed Trump. Researchers have noted this polarisation over the past year. John Murdoch-Burn at the Financial Times reported early in the year that across the world, there was a political gender divide, with more young men going to the right of the political spectrum.
“There is a long academic literature dating back to World War Two that shows that women have been moving to the left.” Dr Rosie Campbell, Professor of Politics at King’s College London told Naked Politics, arguing that this divide is not a new phenomenon in political science.
“In the US election, the gap was far narrower than presumed. What we do know is that there is a difference in attitudes to gender equality and current issues. Young people are more likely to be divided because they are more aware of influencers such as Andrew Tate or terms such as ‘toxic masculinity’” Professor Campbell continued, “So, we do see a stark divide on certain issues.”
Whilst data may show a narrow divide, there has been some discussion of a divide between young men and women. Parents and teachers have been worried about the misogynistic content that is fed to young people online and how this informs their interactions in real life. It makes sense that after Trump’s victory and the subsequent trolling that women were subject to, some women would see a divide with young men.
Amie, 24, based in Manchester is a Marxist and she believes that there is a political divide among some men, “It’s obviously very hard to ignore the rise of very vocal right-wing men, especially those who espouse views that are outwardly harmful to women and are fascist more broadly, i.e. ‘your body my choice’. In the same vein, I think there’s a regurgitation of right-leaning rhetoric from women in some spaces too, mainly online, and we need to be wary of being too gender-essentialist about a general move in right-wing rhetoric in online spaces like TikTok and X.”
“The rising popularity of ‘tradwife’ content and other trends that give credence to non-liberatory politics and gender essentialism can be seen as evidence of how right-wing ideas have found life with young people.” Think of Nara Smith who creates content that focuses on cooking and her aesthetically beautiful life whilst not so subtly promoting her traditional, Mormon lifestyle to her millions of followers - most of whom tend to be young women. It is the question that many young women ask themselves - if she’s found happiness in a ‘traditional’ set-up, then why shouldn’t other women? What is the point of feminism? As apolitical as content may seem, everything is in fact, political.
Similarly, another young woman Hope, 23, based in Edinburgh is on the left of the political spectrum and a member of the Labour Party. She believes that there is some polarisation between men and women, particularly in Gen Z. “Obviously not all men are right-wing – I have many male friends with politics I largely agree with – but it seems to be a growing trend.” She told me, “Even speaking to millennial men/women I know through work and postgrad, they seem to be far more aligned than our generation.”
Research does support the idea that some generations are more polarised. IPSOS found that Gen Z is more politically engaged than previous generations were at similar ages, perhaps having grown up in a more politicised environment than previous generations.
Most of Gen Z get their news online so is it any wonder that young men are shifting to the right given that most influencers tend to be male and conservative? Influencers like Charlie Kirk and Andrew Tate voice sensationalist and extreme opinions to shout out the competition and climb their way to the top of our outrage-loving feeds.
“We know that the online world has seen a growth of online misogyny influencers who use their platforms to amplify extreme narratives and often provide oversimplified answers to complex societal issues.” Dr Daniel Guiness, Managing Director at Beyond Equality explained, “There's strong evidence that algorithms privilege controversial content, pushing young men towards content harmful to them and others, even if they begin their search by looking for advice on real issues in their lives, like dating or careers.”
Beyond Equality is a British charity that works to promote gender equality and create safer communities by providing workshops and programs for men and boys in schools, universities and workplaces.
“This plays into how younger men and boys are socialised more broadly; I have friends who are teachers and they often tell me of some of the Andrew Tate-esque content they hear their male students talking about,” says Amie. “In recent years it feels like there’s been a real upward trend of this victimised male archetype, who feels seen and heard in the Tates and Joe Rogans of the world.”
“ I think a lot of young men see the broadly bad state of the world – and the economy – and feel hard done by,” says Hope. Many young people are often drawn to the right because of anger at the poor state of the economy. Right-wing politicians can offer solutions whilst making women and marginalised people scapegoats by arguing a return to traditional, insular societies would be beneficial to them.
This can be seen in the rise of Reform UK, the party led by Richard Tice and Nigel Farage. In the election this year, Reform did well with men across all age groups compared to women - YouGov found young men were more likely to vote Reform UK (12% to 6%) and Conservative (10% to 6%) than young women. Much like Trump, Farage spouts xenophobic rhetoric that paints immigrants as criminals and projects toxic masculinity that rails against liberalism but appeals to young men who feel economically left behind.
Dr Guiness went on to explain how men can feel “unheard” in conversations about societal changes: They might have experienced discussions of societal issues, such as men's violence against women, and feel like this is an attack on them as an individuals.”
“Rather than addressing systemic challenges or unmet needs, young men may be drawn to narratives that blame changing social norms for their difficulties.” Dr Guiness continued, “Messaging differs for different groups, but they speak to frustrations and propose some sort of restoration of men's power, in society, family and work. We haven't often seen the left speak so directly to young men's frustrations.”
The 4B movement in South Korea demonstrates how a misogynistic politician fuels separatism and women feel unsafe around men who are openly anti-woman and anti-feminism.
This toxic form of masculinity has become dominant in politics, with ideas usually reserved for incel and extreme right-wing communities becoming increasingly mainstream. These words are given platforms and life by influencers and politicians who use the genuine frustrations of young men and twist them to invoke the idea that they are both oppressed yet still superior to women.
There is a media and political vacuum left by centrist and leftist politicians that the far right has taken advantage of. It is a danger to equality and progress when young men and women become increasingly divided on issues that ensure social equality for all and we must continue to combat these ideas and keep an eye on what it is young people are told.
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