In this week’s podcast, we broke down an NBC News poll of 18–29-year-olds on what counts as “success.” We recreated the chart so you could take a look. (Listen: “Episode 73: Fourth Turning Flashpoints — Christian Nationalism & Free Speech.”)
On definitions of success, the youth gender split is stark. Men who voted for Trump rank having children and marriage at the top, while women who voted for Harris rank those same goals at the bottom. Even Trump-voting women rank parenthood and marriage relatively low. For young women overall, the top markers of success are a fulfilling job and having financial independence.
Clearly, young men and women are preparing themselves for two very different life trajectories. (See “More on the Widening Youth Gender Divide.”)
Interesting chart. I often hear young women say there are no “suitable men” — meaning men who can actually provide, whether financially, materially, organizationally, or even emotionally. At the same time, it’s well documented that young men are falling behind women in school and in the economy. A lot has been said and written about the struggles of young American men and how to address them.
Yet this chart shows that young men who voted for Trump — apparently the majority of young male voters — are the ones most strongly leaning toward traditional values like marriage and children. I’d normally expect those priorities to appear more strongly among women, while men in their 20s would be focused on building the life skills that make them more attractive partners. Instead, these seem to be the very men most weighed down by the pressures of modern American society and uncertain about their role in it.
That's an amazing chart. I think it's interesting that there is more of a gender split among Trump voters than among Harris voters. Among Harris voters there is little difference between what males and females want, but Trump voters almost reverse the "traditional" gender expectation of females wanting to raise a family and males wanting a career. Where are all those tradwives?
Also, every group puts fame and influence at the bottom. Not a generation that prizes standing out as an individual, though certainly they value autonomy as an individual.