By Afroditi A. Karagianni,
According to research, Gen Z is the most politically divided generation that has ever existed. More specifically, when examining its members who identify as men and as women, it has been found that their beliefs tend to lean onto polar opposite sides. In fact, the male members of Gen Z are leaning towards more conservative and right-wing beliefs, whereas the female ones are drawn to more liberal and leftist ideologies. This ahistorical divergence is only enhanced over time, and I find the meticulous studying of this phenomenon and its root causes to be exceptionally interesting.
The women, as I mentioned before, tend to be more liberal and progressive due to many reasons. First and foremost, the feminist movement and its worldwide spread has made it possible for the voices of many women all over the world to be heard and concurrently managed to offer them bodily autonomy and rights, which they famously did not maintain in the past. Despite the overall rise of conservatism in many countries today and the major threat it poses to women’s freedom and rights, it is known that nowadays, more than ever before, women can decide their fates, concur different professions and choose whether to participate in parenthood, marriage and roles that they were once expected to take up. As women get more independent, they realize the extremely oppressive practices supported by the patriarchal and traditional societal system and thus choose to embrace more liberal and leftist ideologies, those that typically back up their rights and protect their freedom. Moreover, women today are far more educated than before. To give you a little insight, women often outnumber men in student populations and institutions across most fields, particularly in regions like Europe. This fact has managed to broaden their horizons and significantly influence their core beliefs, and usually leads them towards supporting progressive stances, the very ones that value their education and put up a fierce fight to advance it even further.
The men of Gen Z are, according to statistics, more likely to support right wing and more conservative, or even traditional ideologies. First and foremost, the way society has always functioned and the patriarchal beliefs it has been reinforcing for decades are key when explaining this reality. Society wanted (especially in the past) men to be traditional individuals (with patriarchal beliefs), who possess the stereotypical image of a masculine man, even if that archetype did not fit with the personality of the individual concerned. For a long time, men have been interacting with each other in ways that feed this toxic masculinity already existent and there is no doubt that this is still the case today, despite multiple men having efficiently shaken off those absurd and unsubstantial stereotypes and beliefs. To paraphrase, many young men (still profoundly affected by these ideologies) insist on the necessity of “males presenting themselves in masculine ways”, embracing “traditional gender roles” and avoiding showing their feelings or engaging in activities that “reduce their masculine image”. As such, they support right wing politicians, those that highlight the vitality of the preservation of traditional families and strict gender roles.
As is suspected, the fact that most young males are right wing oriented can also be strongly linked to the gradual drop in the percentage of males receiving higher education. More analytically, it has been found that today, many men tend to maintain a rather indifferent stance towards education, with various not even considering the possibility of attending universities, as they glamourize physical labor and making “easy” money through investments and bets. Do not get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with physical work or investing a part of your income or buying stocks, but it is important to be informed about the risks and difficulties each line of work contains. For instance, physical labor usually takes a toll on a person’s physical health if they are not taking proper care of themselves, and investing can be proven detrimental to one’s economic condition if they have not conquered the knowledge needed to make profit from it and/or avoid placing money into the wrong things. And at the same time, valuing your education no matter the profession you will ultimately choose is vital. In our time, many tend to light heartedly prettify and then take up similar professions -as the media often heavily promotes men involving themselves with these activities -and refrain from attending university and/or furthering their education altogether.
For instance, Greece is full of “trappers” and singers of the like who constantly glamorize dropping out, making bets or buying stock and winning money in their songs, while simultaneously showing off their expensive cars and attire. The constant exposure of one to these videos coupled with their young age and limited knowledge of the way the world functions can easily convince them that this is the “right” way for a man to make money and lead their life. In other words, young boys (aka Gen Z men) are more likely to swept by such sightings, avoid attending universities or becoming more knowledgeable and consequently fail to become exposed to a variety of alternate views and beliefs (which might suit them better), like the more liberal and open-minded ones, and ultimately embrace more traditional political views.
Finally, I personally believe that social media have an integral part to play in this reality. Apps like TikTok and Instagram are full of “influencers” and “creators” that promote from mildly right wing to extremely right oriented and traditional ideologies, often filled with deeply sexists ideas. The internet today indeed reeks of similar mentions —you name it: alpha males, incels and the like often promote the extremely masculine male archetype, the man who is profoundly traditional and searches for an equally traditional (and —always— modest) wife to marry. This absolute conservationism existent in apps circles around, and reaches a wide audience, many amongst it being Gen Z teens and young men. Those who find themselves already agreeing with similar ideas or that are easily influenced by these influencers’ tactics usually incorporate these beliefs into their own mindset and even dangerously embrace the far right without a second thought. It is important to note that many researchers claim that the algorithm of apps like TikTok can also indirectly feed the ideological divide between men and women, since it shows each individual videos and posts they are “most likely interested in”, which can gradually, yet increasingly, make them lean towards the ‘far’s, whether far left or right.
The reasons behind this visible divide are probably even more than we can begin to briefly name. To me, what matters is that one, no matter their gender, is the recipient of sufficient education which will aid them in successfully filtering information and forming their own core beliefs and opinions. As long as they are not oppressive, it is important for alternate viewpoints to be heard, and for conversations to remain open. If that fails, it is highly likely that this divide will keep growing, and this breeds concern as to how Gen Z’s communication and collective problem solving will be efficient or even attainable in the first place in the future.
