Opinion Today: No, young men aren’t that misogynistic

The gender gap among young voters has been misinterpreted.

View in browser|nytimes.com October 3, 2024 By Jessica Grose Opinion Writer I have been writing about the politics and beliefs of Gen Z for a while now, and in my research I noticed a pervasive stereotype about young men. A lot of coverage I read seemed to imply that 20-something men are mostly internet-addled, conservative manosphere types, bitter at their declining fortunes in an America that used to revere them. While those bros certainly exist, it's clear to me they are not a majority. Gen Z men are not more conservative or Republican than older men. Among likely voters, more than half of men under 30 plan to vote for Kamala Harris, while only 36 percent plan to vote for Trump. Many Gen Z men might be reluctant to use the word "feminist" to describe themselves, but according to the same research that shows that, most of them say they believe in gender equality and don't appear to want to turn back the clock on women's progress. There is a gender gap in voting and party affiliation among young people. But it's because young women have become markedly more liberal. They came of age politically with Donald Trump as president, several famous men credibly accused of sexual assault and the fall of Roe. Young women are understandably galvanized for gender equality in a way men are not. The Republican Party has little to offer them, as their leader has his own litany of sexual misconduct accusations and an incoherent and condescending stance on reproductive rights. In an essay this week, I dug deeper into how this dynamic is playing out among our youngest voters and how negative gender stereotypes of young men can be as corrosive as negative stereotypes of young progressive women. If we aren't careful, these exaggerations could stand in the way of real progress on equality for all. 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