From progressive vote to gender polarization. How is the Democracy of Generation Z redefinite
Among the generation Z, the political gap between the sexes deepens as more and more young people choose the right, while the young people are oriented to the left – a radical change to the unitary, progressive vote, before the pandemic.
Young guys are more inclined to vote to the right Pixabay
Recent elections in North America, Europe and Asia show that this trend is consolidated or even accelerated, young men, angry and frustrated, tilting to the right, writes Reuters.
In South Korea, young women are expected to lead a large political reaction against the main conservative party in the June 3 presidential elections, punishing it for the political chaos.
However, many young men will not follow the example. Lee Jeong-Min, who votes for the first time, is one of them.
He says he will support the candidate of the reformist party, rightly, Lee Jun-Seok. It promises the abolition of the Ministry of Gender equality, a topic that resonates with young people like Lee, who deeply feels that only men are obliged to perform military service.
“As a young man, I think it is one of the greatest injustices in Korea. At the height of their youth – at 21 or 22 – men, unlike women of the same age, cannot be fully involved in social activities, being forced to spend 18 months in the army.”
Gender gap
In South Korea, almost 30% of men between the ages of 18 and 29 intend to vote for the reformist party, compared to only 3% of young women, according to a Gallup Korea survey this month.
Overall, over half of men support right -wing parties, while almost half of the women want the Democratic, left -wing party to win. The differences fade among the older groups.
Soohyun Lee's political economist from King's College London, says many young South Koreans feel unable to meet society's expectations: to find a good job, to marry, to buy a home and to establish a family.
And they blame feminism, many being convinced that women are preferred. In a country with negligible immigration, women become “Atonement on hand”says Lee.
Young and angry men
In South Korea and other Democrats, the Z gen men see how their relative advantages are eroded, especially after pandemic – and in some countries, the gender pay difference among 20 and something inclined in favor of women.
EU data show that France is one of them: in last year's legislative elections, men between 18 and 34 have voted in greater numbers for the far right party of Marine Le Pen than women.
In the United Kingdom, where more young men than women vote, official data indicate that men between 16 and 24 are more likely to have no job or education, compared to women of the same age.
In the West, young men blame immigration and diversity programs for labor market competition.
In the general elections in Germany, in February, the Alternative Anti-Immigration Party for Germany (AFD) obtained a record score of 20.8%, largely benefiting from the support of young men-although the party leader is a woman.
Men between 18 and 24 years old voted for 27% for AFD, while young women went in the opposite direction, 35% opting for the far -left party, according to official data.
“Many young men fall prey to the right -wing propaganda because they are upset, they have the feeling that they lose power.”says Molly Lynch, 18, from Berlin, who voted with Die Linke, attracted by her positions on climate change and economic inequality.
“But what they lose is, in fact, a power that they should never have on women.”
Extended phenomenon and millennial
This gender gap is not only specific to Z – young people born starting with the middle and late 1990s. Millennials-those around 30-40 years-I have been feeling the wind for a long time.
In Canada, last month, men between 35 and 54 voted 50% for opposition conservatives, in an election upset by the rates imposed by Canada by US President Donald Trump. Liberals, who expected to lose, returned to power on a wave of opposition to Trump, supported largely by voters.
“There are especially men who have some life experience and say now:” It doesn't work for me, I want a change “”explains Darrell Bricker, a global CEO on public business at Ipsos polling company.
Nik Nanos, the founder of the Nanos Research Institute, claims that social networks accelerate “The symptom of the angry young man” In Democrats, especially in areas where industry jobs have disappeared.
“War Gen Z”
Donald Trump's campaign in 2024, which promised an industrial rebirth and attacked diversity programs, resonated with many young white and Hispanic men, but removed young women, deepening the gender gap from American politics.
About half of men between 18 and 29 voted for Trump, while 61% of young women voted with his opponent, Kamala Harris. Young color voters, regardless of gender, overwhelmed Harris.
In Australia, who voted this month, “War Gen Z” did not reflect on the ballot box. There was not noted a clear gap, and the mandatory vote can explain why the radicalized policy did not take root.
Sociologists claim that it could continue for a long time if governments do not address fundamental issues, such as access to housing and uncertainty. The mental health of young men, especially the high suicide rate, is another challenge of public policies.
Lee, from King's College, warns that this gap could make it almost impossible to obtain a consensus on the major reforms in the field of taxes and the social assistance system.
“If the next generation will be so divided on gender criteria and will refuse to collaborate to build a social consensus, I do not think we will be able to successfully approach these huge problems.”she concludes.
