Teen Vogue: The gender gap between young women and young men voters is real

Teen Vogue is out with the results of a survey of young voters. Change Research surveyed 1,033 registered voters between the ages of 18-34 from August 25 to September 1.

Slightly more young women than men were surveyed. 43% identified as male; 45% identified as female; 5% identified as trans; 6% identified as nonbinary or gender nonconforming, and 1% identified as other. I usually find that ‘likely voters’ provide a more accurate snapshot than ‘registered voters’ but YMMV.

The survey results were pessimistic with young voters mostly unhappy about the future. Most of them would vote for Joe Biden if the election were held today. Most don’t think they’ll be able to afford home ownership. And, as far as the discussion over whether the Barbie movie is feminist or sexist, the response is that it is just a movie. So, there’s that.

If these findings are to be summed up in one sentence, it is this: Young voters are pessimistic about everything from the economy to the direction the country is headed to their ability to handle an unexpected $1,000 expense. Beyond that, they don’t think politicians keep their promises. They blame the Supreme Court for blocking President Biden’s loan forgiveness plan and worry about being able to afford groceries.

There are some interesting findings among the questions and answers. One is the confirmation of a commonly held opinion in politics – men are more conservative than women. Women, trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people are more liberal. Men listen to more conservative podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience and The Ben Shapiro Show. Women prefer This American Life and The Daily.

Forty-one percent of women surveyed identify as politically progressive; only 24% of men do. Meanwhile, 23% of women consider themselves to be liberal, while only 15% of men feel the same; 18% of the men surveyed count themselves as conservative, compared with only 11% of women. Eleven percent of men say they are most aligned with “MAGA,” or Donald Trump’s brand of politics, while only 3% of women do.

The lines here are clear: On the whole, young women are more likely to lean progressive or liberal on the political spectrum than young men. Women are also more likely to approve of the job Joe Biden is doing as president.

Looking to the 2024 election, if President Biden were the Democratic candidate and Donald Trump were the Republican candidate (which seems to be where we’re headed), men are almost evenly split in their support for the two. Forty-three percent of young male voters say they would vote for Biden if the election were held today and 41% say they would vote for Trump; 65% of women say they would cast their vote for Biden and 25% for Trump. An overwhelming 84% of trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people, who are included in the “other” category because the sample size was too small individually, would vote for Biden, compared with just 7% who would back Trump.

That isn’t surprising, right? More men and women would vote for Joe Biden if the match-up is a repeat of Biden vs Trump. Women would support Biden with a larger margin. The alphabet people would overwhelmingly support Biden. Governor Ron DeSantis does a little better than Trump with young men voter, while DeSantis does a little worse with young women voters. I guess young women don’t appreciate a leader who does as he promised he would do. With women, it goes back to liberal versus conservative. DeSantis is unquestionably conservative in governance and that includes pro-life.

The gender divide is also quite visible on the issue of abortion: 39% of men say abortion should be legal in all cases, while 56% of women and 80% of those in the “other” category say the same. On the other side, 28% of men say abortion should be illegal in most cases and 10% of women say the same. Men are more likely to vote for a candidate with whom they disagree on the issue of abortion, while women, trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people are more likely to say they wouldn’t vote for a candidate who holds a different view on abortion than they do.

(emphasis mine)

In the social and cultural part of the survey, there is an interesting list of red flags and green flags for men and women. A red flag for more women than men is a MAGA Republican. 76% women, 59% men is the breakdown on that one. A big split in the green flag list is if a person says black lives matter. For 60% of women it is a green flag. For 38% of men it is a green flag.

When it comes to social media platforms, both young men and women prefer YouTube as their favorite. Women prefer Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok more than men. On podcasts, 36 percent of men and 32 percent of women are likely to listen to them.

On student debt relief, the Supreme Court is broadly blamed for blocking Biden’s unconstitutional plan.

The Supreme Court’s ruling that blocked President Biden’s student debt relief plan is broadly opposed by young voters. As for blame, there’s plenty to go around: 70% of young voters blame the Court for the decision, 58% blame Republicans in Congress, and 50% blame special interests groups. Only 18% blame Democrats; 15% blame Biden himself.

Young people are extremely stressed about the resumption of student loan payments. While making their student loan payments, 82% are concerned about being able to pay an unexpected $1,000 expense; 70% are concerned about being able to keep up payments for other loans or debts; 67% are worried about making rent or mortgage payments; and 63% are worried about affording groceries.

In Biden’s America, it is common to worry about making payments and the rising cost of living, especially for young people just starting out. However, it’s wrong to have a rising generation that feel entitled to the government swooping in an paying off debts like student loans. Young adults are in for a rude awakening when it comes to the real world.