There is a wide gap in opinion between Generation Z and previous generations when it comes to gender roles, and this presidential race has taken on some of the characteristics of a referendum on these issues.
The politically mobilized youth of today, influenced by feminist movement movements like #MeToo, the decision to repeal Roe v. Wade, and the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris, constitute one group.
On the flip side, there are young men who look up to former president Donald J. Trump as a savior of conventional masculinity because they feel socially and economically marginalized by the fast shifting gender norms.
According to four nationwide New York Times/Siena College surveys carried out from December to June of last year, young men ranging from 18 to 29 years old backed Mr. Trump by an average of 11 percentage points, while young women chose Mr. Biden by 28 points. An enormous 39 points separated the sexes, the widest of any preceding generation.
Additionally, a 51-point disparity existed between the sexes in recent surveys conducted by Times/Siena in six swing states. Specifically, young males were 13 points in support of Mr. Trump, while young women were 38 points in favor of Ms. Harris. (You can find our related piece on the change among millennials right here.)
Among young men of color and those without bachelor’s degrees, Mr. Trump’s message has hit home. May polls in swing states showed that white men with bachelor’s degrees were more likely to be supporting Joe Biden than those who were switching to Donald Trump among men under the age of 30 who had voted for him in 2020.
As Daniel A. Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, put it, “Economically they’re getting shafted, politically they’re getting shafted, culturally no one’s looking out for them.” Cox has written extensively about the youth gender gap. “They can’t get enough of his message, his charisma, and the unrepentant machismo he portrays.”
Data from P.R.R.I., a public opinion research firm, shows that Gen Z men are not moving to the right in large numbers, and that 30 percent of them identify as Democrats and 24 percent as Republicans (the remaining 24 percent as independents). Young males who vote Republican are not always social conservatives, and the majority of them support same-sex marriage and abortion rights.
A number of young guys who have expressed their intention to vote for Donald Trump have spoken about how they feel unappreciated. They claimed being a male was more difficult now than before. For a president, they looked for strength. But they refrained from openly praising Trump’s ostentatious displays of physical strength or expressing bitter misogyny. Most of their worries revolved around money, including if they could be able to provide for their families as was historically expected of men.
Researchers found that males have perceived the two parties as providing them with contrasting ideas about their role in American society. Many young men are seeking an alternative to traditional masculinity since the left appears to reject it, while the right embraces it.
As a professor of developmental psychology at N.Y.U., Niobe Way has studied boys and men for four decades. In July, she published “Rebels With a Cause: Reimagining Boys, Ourselves and Our Culture.” “I’m going to talk as a feminist: We do it, when we try to suggest women are brilliant and men are the problem,” Way noted.
In contrast, she asserted, “Trump is definitely saying, ‘I see you, I value you, I see your masculinity.'”
American society no longer “lets boys be boys,” according to 20-year-old Trump supporter and Discount Tire employee Ranger Irwin of North Las Vegas, Nevada.
“As men our age, we were taught at a young age, ‘You’re not supposed to do this, you’re not supposed to do that, you’re just supposed to sit here and be quiet.'” he stated. Being a man is now “a little bit harder than it used to be” because of this.
Feeling disconnected
Generation after generation has advanced toward economic parity with men since women’s massive participation in the workforce and higher education in the 1970s. Young women today have more degrees than males ever before, are more likely to be the primary earners in their families, and are achieving unprecedented levels of political and social influence in the United States.
The previous few decades have presented greater challenges for males. The percentage of working-age males has decreased. There has been a dramatic decline in the number of male-dominated occupations in recent decades, particularly in low-skilled manual labor. An increasing number of men are living alone.
For other males, the loss of the old script meant they had nowhere to turn.
Alec Torres, a 21-year-old retail worker from Canton, Georgia, who worked his way through high school and intended to vote for Donald Trump on pricing concerns, said his goal in life is straightforward: to provide for his family.
We barely have enough money for three square meals a day, let alone having a family,” he remarked. I dream of having a career I love, owning a house and a car, and having enough money to pay for medical care when I need it. I yearn to truly live, not merely endure.
“You want to be gay or trans? You know what? I’m for abortion rights and other progressive social issues.” Impressive, he remarked. But he noted that these days, males aren’t taught to be strong breadwinners or good dads.
The Democratic Party has been experiencing a decline in support from young nonwhite voters, although maintaining support from this demographic overall. The multi-racial Mr. Torres plans to cast his ballot for Donald Trump and previously supported Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
With terms like “toxic masculinity” and “the future is female,” as well as titles like “The End of Men: And the Rise of Women,” some members of the feminist movement have appeared to marginalize or even condemn men in recent years, even though societal advancement has enabled women to overcome decades of oppression. Among the sixteen demographic groupings listed on the Democratic Party’s website under the heading “Who We Serve” is “women,” but men are conspicuously absent, as pointed out by Mr. Cox.
Also, the ideals are present in society at large. Parents in the United States may no longer choose boys over sons, according to the study. This could be due to a perception that boys are more likely to cause problems. More and more people are taking on roles that have historically been associated with women, such as those providing care.
Some young males have felt assaulted by the changes.
More than any other age group and up from one-third in 2019, about half of males in the 18–29 age bracket report experiencing some level of discrimination against men in American society, according to Mr. Cox’s research.
Less than 20% of persons surveyed by the Pew Research Center agreed that women have benefited at the cost of men. Forty percent of young men who supported Trump, however, did.
Trump supporter and car body repair worker Daniel Romstad, 28, of Lapeer, Michigan, said, “We tend to be just in general looked down upon.” Romstad also graduated from high school. According to him, it all begins in elementary school: “The school system in general is more geared toward girls just because they’re easier.”