The gender wars continue š„¹
The gender wars continue š„¹
This is not my personal opinion, I know Gen Z men who voted for Harris. But the voter demographics really speak for themselves, and maybe now people will look at the radicalization of young men as a serious (but solvable) issue.
There is a lot to be said here. I'll use my own experience as an example.
I'm a millennial male who had a terrible time as a young adult through my mid 30s. I grew up in a fairly religious/conservative area of the US, and I didn't have the ability to even start questioning that before my college years because literally everyone I knew was either a vocal supporter of or tacitly accepted that cultural status quo. Mental health issues were either not discussed or not recognized in any serious fashion. It wasn't until my late 20s that I finally understood that I had severe depression and anxiety and sought help, despite suffering from it since my early teenage years.
Socially, I never felt like I was cool enough or good enough. I didn't understand women, and the endless series of rejections and confusing encounters only served to erode my low self confidence further. I had no idea what a healthy relationship looked like because my parents were just going through the motions at that point, and the relationships I saw in TV shows and movies were incredibly shallow. The few people I considered friends did not support me in any positive way. I eventually kicked them to the curb, preferring solitude to being the butt of their jokes.
I was a prime target for recruitment for the alt-right: depressed, alone, disaffected, and ready to lash out. The only thing that kept me from going in that direction was a keen sense that the rhetoric was bullshit and its leaders only cared to take advantage of the rank-and-file to accumulate money and power. Many people I knew were not so perceptive and became victims of that movement.
My only saving grace was that I had a decent job with healthcare benefits, which allowed me to get the therapy I needed to overcome these challenges. Again, most people I knew did not have such resources. Nearly a decade later, I am now a family man with a wife and child. I am far happier than I have been at any other point in my life. Despite that, there is still plenty I don't understand. I don't have a good grasp of what positive masculinity looks like. I cannot point to anyone who has served as a good, male role-model in my life. I still don't have any close male friends with whom I can share my feelings and challenges.
However, I do understand how easily young men can be swayed to far-right crusades. Social media warped my view of reality, and it's far worse now than it was 10-15 years ago. Moreover, there is no alternative to far-right echo chambers for young men to commiserate and get help. Those spaces simply do not exist on the left. If you dare to complain or vent, you will immediately be told your problems don't matter and called a misogynist. I can readily call multiple conversations I had with liberals and feminists who rejected my problems, even being told that I was "living life on easy mode" because I was a man.
For all the women who are reading this, I get it. As a man, I don't have to worry about the government meddling in my bodily autonomy. For the most part, I don't have to worry about walking alone at night or being accosted or raped. I don't have to worry about being taking seriously at my job or being passed over for promotions because of my gender. However, none of that negates the challenges that young men are facing. Their gender does not save them from broken homes, abuse, mental health issues, a bad job market, degrading standards of living, student debt, double-standards, confusing and contradictory narratives surrounding dating and relationships, etc. Yes, privileged men with no right to complain do exist, but they are an extreme minority. The vast majority of young men are in a bad place, and the only people reaching out to help have ulterior motives. If you want things to change, try having some empathy. Maybe you will get empathy for your problems in return.
I was actually wondering how the gender gap changed in this election, and it wasn't at all what I was expecting:
According to exit polls by CNN Trump gained +2% of the male vote, and +5% of the female vote compared to 2020 - though women were still more likely to support Harris, of course.
An analysis by the AP found similar results, with the support from men under 45 increasing +7%, and women under 45 +6%, while for older men it decreased -1%, and for older women stayed the same.
Surprisingly, Trump's support among racial minority groups increased while white and older Americans increased support for Harris.
After thorough analysis and much thought I have ultimately concluded that I have absolutely no fucking clue what is going on with American politics.
Women asked for some basic goddamn respect and when they got āuppityā(because us men werenāt listening) they really got a āyou were mean to me so Iām gunna elect Hitler againā. Millions of people alive today want women strip women of the rights they fought for and women are supposed to be polite about it?!
Itās crazy how weak they are and Iām sad sharing a gender with them.
Man. I get being disappointed. I really do get it.
But tarring all these guys with "hitler youth" when just like every other group, at worst it's a 45-55% split... Come on. That's a hell of an insult to throw towards people, many of whom are doing their best and didn't vote Trump. Doing your best, doing everything that you can do, and still being met with scorn... I know how bad that hurts. I know how it sucks the will right out of you. I know it drives people away. And even if it doesn't drive them to Trump because they're good people, it sure isn't going to drive them towards finding a solution.
I can see why some young men might feel like the Democratic party is prioritizing women's issues over those affecting men, especially young men. In fact, it might seem like the Democratic party is not only indifferent to struggling young men, but hostile to them. I can understand why someone might not want to vote for a party that thinks of them as deplorable, pathetic losers.
I am Gen Z male and please do not let my blond hair, blue eyes, and German lineage deceive you. Iām as appalled as one can be with all of this. I never connected with my boomer dad or my millennial elder brothers over machismo or sports nor did I ever pick up TikTok and my social media consumption elsewhere was limited or gated by my own doing. From my experience, the pressure to conform to masculinity and male dominated in-groups; the perceived onus to keep males in power and powerful; and the propagandistsā weaponization of media such as TikTok, Facebook, podcasts, and Fox News and their ilk on TV and radio are the main depreciators of character in these cases.
I'm not doubting you OP, just asking if anyone has the voter demographics data that shows Gen Z males voted for Trump because I'm interested in the #'s of the issue.
As to the question of the post: I think part of the issue is that what it means to be a strong, mentally healthy male has been left unspecified or even attacked in recent years and that's left a lot of young men confused and upset. Men get all sorts of advice on what's wrong to do, but not enough on what's right. Contradictory advice makes the confusion worse.
Are you supposed to chase a girl or is that creepy? How do you navigate increased romantic isolation and dating apps in a healthy way? What are expectations about being the sole income provider a la tradition? In that vacuum confident, opinionated, clear voices are persuasive, and a lot of those voices are the jackasses pushing a toxic masculinity and telling males to reclaim it. We need more strong, positive male role models and visible social support of them if we want to win young men back - they have to know that being better will yield rewards.
Men have already long been abused by the patriarchy alongside with women. In the last couple of years the so-called "liberals" claiming to fight against the patriarchy have joined in the abuse by denying men any escape from that situation
Obviously in their lives they've been massively influenced by social media starting from a younger age than any previous generations. And you know what kind of garbage is out there.
Yeah well if you ignore and ridicule young men asking for help this is what you get
"Solidarity forever" applies across gender lines as well as race and other sources of disparity. I wish this could have been made more apparent to our young men, social media has them in its clutches unfortunately. Billionaires did that.
It's counterculture. Young people, particularly young males, have always been obsessed with counterculture movements. Now why they View progressivism as the culture they need to counter I'm not sure, but they do.
I had a look on scholar.google.com, but alas, all research after 2020 was either related to young male athletes, or related to gender/sexual health. There seems to be little attention given to young males.
Apparently the Incels outnumbered the Beehive and Swifties put together!
You know the innocent but in context messed up movie I watched right before this election because of a song? The Sound of Music. Know the young girls "love interest?" Goes full Nazi by the halfway point.
That's your Gen Z men looking to fit in a new Nazi order.
Accidentally checked out /r/GenZ today. Yikes.
Ashamed of my fellow young men.