In the 2024 presidential election, the political gender divide among young voters was vast, as young women remained liberal-leaning, while many young men shifted to the conservative side. Between 2020 and 2024, the Democratic identification among young men dropped from a 22% advantage to a 3%, according to a Harvard Study.
So, we asked Gen Z men from both sides of the aisle to share why they believe some of their peers are growing more conservative, and their responses were truly fascinating. Here’s what they had to say:
1.“My Gen Z cousins are OBSESSED with masculinity. Who they’re sleeping with, how much money they’re making, how many guns they own, and they’re constantly trying to top each other. I think conservatives recognized this group of insecure guys and really tapped into their fears of being perceived as less masculine and their interests.”
—jrmart91
Allison Bailey / Getty Images
2.“Amongst Trump’s voters, I think it is a serious question of how many actually like the guy versus how many poked him with a 10-foot pole only because their faith in establishment politicians, Democrat and Republican alike, is that much worse.”
“Sure, Trump is a loose cannon at best, yeah he’ll probably blow up in our faces, but he is the only cannon available to fire their growing pile of grievances on the ivory towers of DC, shaking up an establishment that has been deemed ineffective at best and out of touch and self-serving at worst.”
—Anonymous
3.“Now, keep in mind that there are a lot of factors for this. There’s not one cause. But as a high schooler, I really think that the cause for a lot of far-right shifts is the current mentality in and out of schools. A lot of how kids think about new and scary concepts is through jokes, and that’s fine, but if we give that too much of a platform in middle school, suddenly, it’s all over the place in high school. Making fun of their female peers, joking about kidnapping and assaulting people, it’s real.”
“Teachers just won’t address it. That trivializes extremely important real-world concepts. From there, it’s just a short jump to voting red in the next election. It’s really, really sad. I spend all day interacting with people who I used to consider friends who now regularly make fun of my sexuality.”
—Anonymous
4.“We live in a loneliness epidemic, and media personalities like Joe Rogan, Ben Shapiro, and Matt Walsh provide scapegoats. For young men who are still figuring themselves out, these social media rabbit holes are very easy to fall down. I would know; I nearly did myself during the pandemic.”
“These people thrive off fear, and when you’re young, you have a lot of fear that these people take advantage of. The villain isn’t women, it’s not people of color, it’s not LGBTQ+ people that are just trying to live their lives. It’s people who take advantage of fear.”
—Anonymous
5.“What does the left offer to men? There is no positive example or archetype held up by the left in a way that can be appealing like right-wing figures are to young men.”
“Liberal men are portrayed as a subset of the evils of all men and specifically have a history of being corrupt or creepy. Nobody wants to grow up to be Gavin Newsom or Andrew Cuomo. It is a messaging failure in the same vein as many leftist messaging failures; they have the policy but know nothing about old-fashioned politics.”
—Anonymous
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
6.“For too long, messaging from the left focused upon (rightfully) shaming men who perpetuate patriarchal bro culture that directly harms women. Young men need positive reinforcement and to feel valued, and unfortunately, the right has really taken advantage of that gap.”
“No matter how flawed and downright awful the lessons are from conservatives, they still offer young men a vision of confidence and pride.”
—Frooby
7.“Gen Z male here and lifelong Democrat. Trump benefited from the fact that young white men are struggling to define what it means to be a successful man in an era where women no longer will settle for any old man.”
“Men still feel like they must be a protector/provider for a partner, but women no longer need that. They can look after themselves. That results in frustrated men who can’t connect with women’s expectations and an easily tapped pool of resentment for right-wing politics.”
—arkansastraveller
8.“I’m a 21-year-old trans man from the deep south. The men who I know are becoming more conservative because they are given explicit permission to be. When Trump got elected in 2016, the country showed men that they could do anything they wanted and still be one of the most powerful people in the world.”
“Additionally, they aren’t in complete control anymore, and they don’t like that. No one likes change, but they are turning that dislike into hatred of everyone who is different from them.”
—knox77
9.“The left has a serious messaging problem when it comes to including men in their vision for an inclusive future. Even since I was in high school, during the end of the Obama years, I remember this specific point often coming up. The issues of specifically young men are often entirely dismissed or discredited due to our historical privileges, and modern-day young men are feeling left behind because they ARE being left behind.”
“Identity politics, lumping together large groups of people based on non-important factors (race, gender, etc.), and making sweeping generalized statements about those groups, is modern racism. Prejudice, at the very least. And that applies to every racial demographic. When the Democrats tell Black voters how they should think and feel, or tell Latino/a’s they are LatinX, instead of actually listening to the wants and needs of these groups, they can’t be surprised when Trump (who refers to everyone as simply ‘Americans’ and not by their race) is more appealing to them. The Democrats treat people like statistics, like data. Trump treats them as people, even if he is lying to their face.”
—Anonymous
10.“From what I understand of my neighbors, coworkers, and peers, it’s that they feel attacked now. Basically, straight, white, cisgender, Christian men, in particular, feel like they get the blame for issues of systemic racism, classism, sexism, and religious bias.”
“They feel like people invalidate their struggles when they point to the privilege that straight, white, cisgender, Christian men have. They feel like people judge them in a bad light. So why not turn to the conservative side and tell them what they want to hear? Why not turn to the side that says they truly are under attack and their way of life needs to be protected? I realize that I can be privileged in society under general terms but that doesn’t mean my life is struggle-free or even easy. I think a lot of younger men haven’t been open to having these conversations or doing the self-reflection on this with an open mind. It’s easier to just listen to the assholes who are telling them what they want to hear.”
—Anonymous
SORA Images / Getty Images
11.“I think it’s simply because the old talk radio shows of the past have moved to podcasts on the internet where they are pushed as targeted content.”
—Anonymous
12.“There is no one smoking gun to this, but I’d say most reasons fall under two umbrellas: simmering resistance to feminism and a not-so-much pro-conservative, as much as anti-establishment sentiment.”
—Anonymous
13.“Most of my friends are just entering adulthood and are working minimum wage jobs while the prices are getting higher. They can hardly afford basic life necessities, are unable to buy a house, and feel cheated as the economy grows worse.”
“They have girlfriends as well who they aren’t able to wed because of how high prices are and how low they are being paid. They all cited these as reasons why they voted for Trump.”
—Anonymous
14.“The Democratic Party has been proudly campaigning that they are the party of literally everyone but men for decades now. We realize that many types of people have problems, but if you want men’s votes, you need to actually provide solutions to their issues as well.”
“Conservatives at least speak to the grievances and concerns of men, so they have essentially become the only home. Also, browbeating men as bigots and oppressors if we don’t vote for Democrats is also not a great way to win our vote. Do better, Democrats!”
—Anonymous
15.“These young guys are listening to right-wing podcasts that are genuinely corrupting their reality. They’re obsessed with masculinity because they’re TOLD to be obsessed with it. They’re TOLD people hate them. It’s very sad.”
16.“Feels like education plays a role. The lack of people wanting to learn and actually form their own opinions versus just absorbing intense fast-paced content.”
—jadeeatsbeans
17.“Men are becoming more conservative because it feels like the left is discriminating against men. In my opinion, the #MeToo movement is a prime example of that. As a man, I face big-time backlash any time I attempt to talk to a woman!”
—Anonymous
And finally…
18.“This is another HUGE reason why Gen Z is going to the other side. If you say absolutely anything that questions any part of the Democratic Party or platform, there is no discourse, there is no discussion. Extremists within the party automatically assume you must be for the other side and call you a racist, homophobe, fascist, bigot, Nazi, and ultimately, so many people are sick of it.”
“No, claiming Dems ran a bad candidate and a flawed campaign doesn’t mean you’re on the right; it means you recognize this 2024 approach failed. You aren’t a Nazi; you aren’t a bigot, you aren’t a racist, and you aren’t a homophobe if you recognize the 2024 Dem campaign was flawed. However, calling someone every one of those things for disagreeing will, and did, push millions to the right.”
—mgmeo13
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
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