Teenage Boys Are Becoming More Conservative Than Ever, While High School Girls Continue To Trend Liberal
Women between the ages of 18 and 29 are more likely to identify as liberal than in the last two decades. Meanwhile, high school boys are increasingly identifying as apolitical or conservative.
The political landscape in the United States is witnessing a notable shift toward liberalism among women, especially among the younger Gen Z (those born from 1997 onward). According to a Monitoring the Future survey, the share of 12th-grade girls who identified as liberal rose sharply from 19% in 2012 to 30% in 2022. This trend continues into young adulthood; Gallup surveys show that women ages 18 to 29 are more likely to identify as liberal now than at any time in the past two decades. In fact, young women are almost twice as likely as young men to claim the liberal tag.
This trend among young women is creating a widening gender gap in political beliefs, where young women are leaning liberal while their male counterparts are showing a trend toward conservatism or maintaining moderate views. A chart that surfaced online recently seemed to suggest that 12th-grade boys in the United States had become overwhelmingly conservative, sparking significant debate and interest on social media.
Teenage Boys Are Becoming More Conservative Than Ever
The Monitoring the Future survey, dating back to the 1970s, has been tracking these trends. While roughly one-quarter of high school seniors self-identified as conservative in the last three years, only 13% identified as liberal. This is a marked shift from the late 2000s when liberal boys occasionally outnumbered conservatives, as reported by The Hill. During the Carter era, both boys and girls leaned liberal. Conversely, girls and young women are drifting left.
Interestingly, the political leanings of young men have changed little over the past two decades. The rightward drift of high school boys is subtle, with more than two-fifths claiming no politics at all. Only 36% selected liberal or conservative as an ideology.
Jean Twenge, in her new book Generations, presented data highlighting this gender gap, suggesting that "among liberals, the future is female. And among conservatives, the future is male." However, the full story is messier. High school seniors are more likely to claim no political identity than to side with either liberals or conservatives.
The liberal drift of young women has been widely discussed, especially in response to the Trump presidency and the conservative drift of the U.S. Supreme Court. Less has been said about the politics of 12th-grade boys, but the 45th president's "overt hypermasculinity" and language might be a key to the conservative trend among them. Meanwhile, we see figures like Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson gain more popularity than ever online. They both appeal to young men in different ways, and they both openly discuss masculinity and the proper role of men in society, while also pointing out some of the common narcissistic behaviors that are seen among young women.
Regardless of whether you agree with Tate and his viral videos, there's no denying that he has made a tremendous impact on young men. The same goes for viral podcasts such as Fresh n' Fit, which regularly features young YouTubers like Sneako, who have a large reach for male audiences. Even though these men are not overtly political, they discuss many different cultural topics that brush shoulders with politics, leaving many teenagers reevaluating their political affiliation. Simultaneously, young conservative commentators like Nicholas J. Fuentes, who was banned from all social media platforms and ended up creating his own streaming site, discuss politics in a way that is geared toward young Christian men, encouraging them to be more aware of the geopolitical landscape in order to effect change.
The conservative wing of the Republican party, through figures like Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, has made pointed appeals to disaffected men, deriding “woke” ideology. In contrast, the progressive agenda seeks gender and racial equality, costing them some male support, especially among non-Hispanic white people. Figures like Peterson and Tate have been successful at highlighting the fact that men in America are actually the ones who are struggling the most—much more than women, by most statistics. Men are more likely to commit suicide, file for bankruptcy, struggle with drug addiction, die on the job, and be the victim of violent crimes. Men are less likely to graduate with college or graduate degrees, and they're often given a longer criminal sentence compared to a woman who committed the same crime. Men do, in fact, have a reason to feel disaffected and all but forgotten, as our society and culture are focused exclusively on empowering women (this is evident through movies, TV shows, etc.). The right side of the political aisle is gaining their support because it's the only side that is willing to discuss this topic.
Generations of conservatives have equated liberalism with weakness, affecting how young men perceive these labels. The shift to conservatism may also be influenced by traditional notions of masculinity, accepted more within conservatism, while feminist values drive liberalism. Progressive ideas like body positivity, mass immigration, and abortion are packaged as "compassionate" issues, which is how they attract so many female supporters.
Some people on social media are concerned that these statistical trends will result in more men looking for companionship overseas. "I predict more American men seeking foreign brides in the future..." rapper and author Zuby tweeted. "Get your passports bros."
While this prediction upset some, it did raise a completely reasonable concern. If young men are becoming much more conservative, they're going to have a difficult time finding a wife they feel like they can build a life with, as so many of them will be extremely liberal. It doesn't bode well for the future of the U.S., especially when it comes to marriage and family structure. Unfortunately, the culture has been very successful in catering to young, liberal women, so there has to be a shift in the tide that convinces these young women that returning to traditional values is something to be desired.
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