Source: @PWMMANews on ‘X’ WHAT IS DRIVING THIS PHENOMENON?
Many researchers and journalists are concerned by implications for society at large. As John Burn-Murdoch states,
“In countries on every continent, an ideological gap has opened up between young men and women. Tens of millions of people who occupy the same cities, workplaces, classrooms and even homes no longer see eye-to-eye.”
John Burn-Murdoch - The Financial Times
With these emerging young gender divergences shaping new, interesting and sometimes uncomfortable conversations in workplaces, classrooms and the homes of millions, here’s some certainty amongst the uncertainty:
1. Long-running Injustices are empowering young women to speak out
Some researchers have suggested that the #MeToo movement was a watershed moment when young men and women began to diverge politically. According to Burn-Murdoch this movement gave rise to feminist values among young women who felt empowered to speak out against long-running injustices. This expedited the shift towards liberalism, with today's young women identifying as dramatically more liberal than any preceding generation (Source: Axios).
It’s worth noting, as the NY Times reports that “young men are, in fact, largely supportive of gender equality, though most are reluctant to call themselves feminists….What’s changed is that young women have more of a voice and are more politically active than their male counterparts - a major historical shift as men have heretofore been more politically active than women.”
2. (Social) media bubbles are perpetuating a ‘Gain-Loss’ narrative
Alice Evans, senior lecturer in the Social Science of Development at King's College London has identified one of the key drivers of this shift is the notion of a ‘zero sum mentality’ (where one person's gain would be another's loss) perpetuated by media and online groups that women's rights are coming at the expense of men. This seemingly reigns true with the original report conducted by The Economist and the Korean Social Survey indicating that 80% of South Korean men in their 20s feel that men are discriminated against.
Evans, in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Company has identified massively divisive media as well as ‘social media filter bubbles’ as the key drivers behind this divide, indicating a pattern in which users engage with one instance of polarised media and as a result are fed further versions of what they now find to be their ‘opposition’, alongside argumentative comments which further feed a sense of righteousness, in a vicious cycle that has already been seen to have drastic effects on the global political stage.
3. Politicians are gaining ground by playing into the gender divide
In the world of politics every trend is a campaign strategy, and this demographic shift has been embraced by both US Presidential Candidates as they seek to court young voters on the countdown to November 5th. Trump and the US Conservative party are targeting young men engaged in these social media echo chambers also referred to as the “manosphere” to secure the “bro vote”.
The bro vote, also known as the “frat-boy flank” is a slice of 18-to-29-year-olds that has long been regarded as unreliable and unreachable, but may just swing the election this year. The campaign is showing up where their audience grows - with Trump featuring on platforms hosted by figures like Theo Von, internet pranksters The Nelk Boys, YouTuber Logan Paul, and Adin Ross, a livestreaming gamer who has faced multiple bans for breaking rules on offensive language.
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