Young men and women have differing opinions when it comes to President Donald Trump and his views on women, according to a recent survey. While 68 percent of women believe that Trump does not respect women at all, only 31 percent of men share the same view. The question of why there is such a gender divide on this issue is difficult to answer, but some suggest that changes on the left may have pushed young men away from the Democratic Party, and the parties have split by education level as well.
Richard Reeves, author of “Of Boys and Men,” argues that in the current culture-war climate, the more extreme one side goes, the more extreme the other side becomes. This has resulted in young men feeling that feminism has become a movement against men or masculinity, leading to a perception that feminism is attacking men. These perceptions have led to a divide between young men and women on political issues, with young women becoming more liberal over the years while young men have not followed suit.
According to Daniel A. Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life, there has been a rapid divergence between the views of young men and women in the past decade. While the #MeToo movement influenced many young women politically, causing them to become more involved in social activism and political issues, many young men began feeling that society was turning against them. This shift in perception has led to more young men feeling discriminated against and believing that society punishes men simply for acting like men.
An increasing number of young men believe that feminism is more about attacking men than promoting gender equality. A survey by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that a significant percentage of young men, both Democratic and Republican, believe that feminism has done more harm than good. This negative view of feminism has resulted in more young men adopting a zero-sum perspective on gender equality, where they believe that if women gain rights, men will lose out. These shifting beliefs have contributed to the growing divide between young men and women on political and social issues.
