Are Boys Really Becoming More Conservative?

Reports of a growing gender gap between young men and women have gone viral this spring. From social media to mainstream media and the podcast circuit, many commentators have latched on to the click worthy notion that American culture is churning out conservative boys and liberal girls.

However, a closer look at the data reveals that the hype doesn’t match reality.

It is safe to assume that the popularity of this story must be attributed, at least in part, to our own desire, as media consumers, for it to be true. Today, Americans exist in a world where progressives in media and academia insist that gender is essentially meaningless. Beyond the politics, any finding that confirms differences between the two sexes is likely clickbait catnip for an engaged citizen with common sense.

For context, data has long supported the factual existence of a gender disparity in American voter behavior. The Pew Research Center, for example, has tracked the gender gap in U.S. presidential races for decades. The idea that men and women often vote differently is not a revelation for most, even casual, observers of politics.

In addition, this story fits a secondary narrative of the modern Left: if gender does exist and does distinguish males and females in key behaviors, then modern progressives would have us believe that the two must be at tension with each other. This notion, of course, is not actually true, but the Left needs Americans to believe it is true for their bad ideas to take hold. It is no accident that identity politics is a cornerstone of liberal politics in America today.

Despite the willingness for this story to be accepted, I believe it is important for conservatives to understand that the headlines regarding the political leanings of young men in America are misleading.

The cumulation of data does not appear to support the argument that boys in America are becoming conservative. Instead, boys seem to just not be moving to the Left as quickly as girls.

As Gallup noted earlier this year, American women are becoming more liberal. Daniel Cox, the Director of the Survey Center on American Life, rightly points out that boys are not necessarily shifting to the right. Cox’s recent survey found that the gap between the genders takes place primarily among political moderates – more than 60% of young moderates are men. Cox notes that Gallup’s data over the past two decades back this finding, by consistently showing that most young men identify as moderate. He contends that some young men may not identify with far-left issues because they are simply apathic toward politics, rather than identifying with conservative ideology.

Political contrast is an exercise in relativity. While a gap may be widening between genders on political ideology, the trajectory could be leftward for both genders. One gender may simply be moving at a greater speed.

We can all identify anecdotal evidence supporting the notion that boys in America are becoming more conservative – a great example of this are the stories and photos covering the fraternity boys’ actions taken to protect of the American Flag in the wake of the anti-Israel protests on college campuses. These are wonderful images that should be praised. Yet, we should think about what these actions actually represent. This behavior constitutes what most would have considered bare-minimum patriotism in previous generations. These anecdotes are just that – true stories of good Americans doing good things. However, their isolated existence does not dispel what most data tells us – young Americans are largely getting more liberal.

Despite what we want to believe, there is much evidence to support the reality that our younger generations are not as conservative as older generations. The Heritage Foundation, for example, has found that most young Americans support socialism – only 42% of those ages 18-24 have a positive view of capitalism, while 54% have a negative view. Regarding the crisis on the southern border that is shaping up to be one the primary campaign issues of 2024, young voters are far more liberal than older Americans on the issue. One study found that 78 percent of young voters supported giving legal status to illegal immigrants who pay taxes and haven’t committed felonies, which is higher than the rest of the electorate by double digits. In addition, younger Americans are far more liberal on social issues. Studies show, for example, that most young Americans, both male and female, consider themselves to be “pro-choice,” with 55% of young men and 69% of young women also indicating the importance of access to abortion as a key factor in making decisions on which state to live in.

Furthermore, data suggests that modern generations, like Millennials, are not growing out of liberalism after their youthful years like previous generations. They are holding onto their left-wing ideas to a much greater degree than past cohorts, making my generation of adult Americans, Millennials, the least conservative in our history.

For freethinkers and ideological conservatives, it is important to understand the truth of these trends, because there could be societal and political consequences if we get it wrong.

First, there is always danger in letting your opposition define your growth. If the left-leaning media world sounds the alarm that boys in America are becoming more conservative, I believe conservatives should be at least somewhat skeptical about their motives. Unfortunately, many on the Right, seem to have taken the story and ran with it on every platform, eager to share some good news instead of the typical demographic nightmare that conservatives often face.

Second, if conservatives wrongly believe that conservatism is trending in American youth, then conservative thought leaders and policymakers will inherently turn their attention for reform away from the institutions that are indoctrinating our kids with leftist ideology. A key component of the conservative coalition in support of candidates like Donald Trump and others across the county are parents who are tired of being pushed aside, targeted, or disregarded by our government systems. A key debate in our society today is whether parents should be the ultimate authority in their child’s education or the state – a debate that shouldn’t even be needed in a free society. However, a false sense of security by conservative or common-sense parents presents the possibility of a laxness that our children’s future cannot afford.

Lastly, if we wrongfully believe that our youth are somehow becoming more conservative than our parents – despite a media, academia, Hollywood, and digital world that actively works to make them woke – then we might stop the critical effort to pass on our ideas to our kids and grandkids.  

If conservatives want ideas like liberty, free-enterprise, limited government, and the rule of law to live on in American society, we have to persuade the next generation of Americans that these ideas have not just contributed to our nation’s past success, but more importantly, that these ideas are the only hope to ensure a prosperous future for themselves, their family, and their communities.

Conservatives are often busy working, raising their family, and producing value in our society. Because of this productivity, we have turned over the keys to our kids to institutions in our culture that not only do not share our values, but that are set up to dissuade our children from accepting the truth about what makes a free society prosper. This is why we cannot neglect the hard work necessary to convince younger Americans that liberty is the only path to ensure a bright future for our nation.

As conservatives, we do not need to look to misleading headlines for hopeful news. Even liberal outlets have been forced to note, due to the array of data now available, that Donald Trump is making historic inroads with Black and Hispanic voters and that conservative ideas are winning in many historically blue areas. There is plenty of positive news to celebrate.

However, we cannot afford to accept false premises to avoid the difficult work that must be done to earn both short-term victories and long-term sustainment of our ideals.