Gen Z has a big problem. We are divided.
Everyone knows that we can be passionate about our politics, which can lead to some differences. But what many may not realize is that Gen Z, which spans from 1997 to 2012, has a huge gender divide that other generations don’t seem to be dealing with.
We differ so much that the way we see each other begins to be a problem.
In America, 40% of young women identify as liberal, compared to just 25% of their male peers. On the other hand, 29% of young males identify as conservative, compared to 21% of their female peers.
Gen Z differences affect how we interact with each other
A growing gender divide in ideology is a much deeper problem than whether the red or blue team wins. The true ramification of the ideological disparity reflects Gen Z men and women embarking on a difficult path to relationships and friendships.
Polls suggest that more than 70% of college Democrats wouldn’t date a Republican, while the opposite is just 31%. Thirty-seven percent of young Democrats wouldn’t even be friends with a Republican. Women are much more likely to take this position, with 59% of women from both parties saying they would not date someone who voted against them.
This hostile environment for diversity of thought through social pressure goes against what my generation should be looking for at this point in their lives, which is an environment where they can be exposed to a wide range of ideas without fear of social retaliation.
My generation will choose the president:Gen Z has the opportunity to decide 2024, but Biden and Trump make us want to sit out.
Even beyond the direct impact of their own political differences on relationships, social pressure discourages mixing between parties. I felt the social impacts of this divide firsthand during my time as an outspoken conservative on campus in college.
Friends of mine were shunned by certain colleagues, people who were in organizations associated with me were considered “prejudiced,” and my girlfriend at the time was pressured to leave her sorority, all for daring to be associated with someone who spoke about ideas considered “controversial.” .” All in addition to the direct harassment I personally received.
Instead of reaching out to me to talk or simply ignoring me, people who didn’t even know what I personally believed took it upon themselves to exert social pressure on those close to me as a form of retribution they decided I deserved.
Why is Gen Z so divided?
The big question is why this is happening. Certainly, other generations have lived through times of political distress comparable to the state of our nation today. So what happens?
While Republican partisanship among women has lagged far behind that of men, only in my generation have we seen such a significant gap, with young women leading the charge in favor of left-wing politics.
Since the #MeToo movement, young women have pioneered social media activism. This momentum continued in the following years, under the tumultuous presidency of Donald Trump and until the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
At the same time, men are experiencing a somewhat reactionary response to all of this. Faux-masculine influencers like Andrew Tate became popular among young people and we shifted even more in favor of Trump.
Student Loan Forgiveness:Gen Z wants student loan forgiveness without any responsibility. It doesn’t work like that.
The reason is a great deal of resentment about how their lives have been affected by changing gender attitudes. Nearly half of men ages 18 to 29 now say there is discrimination against us in American society, a double-digit increase from 2019, and 53% of single men say they are reluctant to approach women for fear of being seen as “scary”. “
Right or not, men have taken a step back from dating for fear of being swept away by the endless collection of stories women share about uncomfortable interactions they’ve had with men. The more we divide ourselves politically and socially, the more young people will turn to poisonous ideologies that further degrade their understanding of how to interact with women.
Men need to better understand why women in our generation have changed, but we don’t know how to do it without being criticized.
It’s up to us to fix this difference and find ways to get along
Although some authors have stated that this electoral divergence has not yet appeared in voting patterns, I would argue that it is starting to appear.
“If young men and women were truly drifting away politically, you would expect to see evidence on Election Day,” Rose Horowitch wrote earlier this year in The Atlantic. “This is where the theory starts to show flaws.”
Horowitch is right that Gen Z men and women have voted comparably in recent history. While women ages 18-29 were the largest age/gender demographic voting for President Joe Biden in 2020, at just under 70%, Gen Z men were just 2 points behind them as the second highest.
Conservatives shouldn’t ignore college:Young conservatives like me are told not to attend college. This is myopia.
However, if we jump to the 2022 elections, after the overturn of Roe, the divide increases: 71% of young women voted for a Democrat in their respective House elections, while men did so only 53% of the time. And 42% of young people voted Republican, compared to just 26% of women.
Even if the alleged gender divide does not appear on the ballot in 2024 or future elections, there is still reason to worry. The future of Gen Z relationships, both platonic and romantic, hangs in the balance under such a divide. The polls are an issue, but it is up to the parties to capitalize on it. The much scarier issue is a cultural issue, which is up to us to resolve.
Men and women of my generation must change our thinking to realize that the problems we face, we are facing as a group. Even if certain issues affect women most clearly, like the abortion debate, they affect us all. They impact our compatibility, the scope of our relationships, and the future families we hope to create.
My only advice for my age group is to listen more and judge less. Most people don’t disagree with you because they are bad; they disagree with you because they see the world differently.
It’s okay to think someone is seriously wrong about abortion or any other political issue. It’s okay to not want to date someone who is directly ahead of you on things and topics that are important to you. However, when forming your social network, your best bet is to listen to people, discuss if necessary, and find common ground. You will be happier this way and you may even change your mind about something.
Dace Potas is a USA TODAY Opinion Fellow. A political science graduate from DePaul University, he is also president of Lone Conservative, the largest student-run conservative publication in the country.
