If you’re online as much as I am, you’ve probably noticed that the incessant ping-pong of think pieces, hot takes, and cancellations has been replaced by “gender discourse.” Nobody wants to talk about the “current thing” anymore, whatever it may be. They want to engage in a nonstop, 24/7 Battle of the Sexes, replete with social media mudslinging, 45-minute video essays, and an endless deluge of articles about why men are evil or why women shouldn’t vote.
Exemplified by perpetually viral clips from podcasts like “Fresh and Fit" or "Whatever” and influencers like Andrew Tate, Pearl Davis, and their myriad copycats, it’s as extreme as clarion calls for women to simply “shut up, stay home, and have kids” and as banal as whether it’s the wife’s fault if her husband falls prey to porn addiction.
Polarization to this degree might make for great infotainment, but it’s not the best political strategy.
Forget keyboard warriors taking to X to bicker about the border crisis or the perpetually rising price of necessities like formula or eggs. They’re more likely than not to argue about how much you should spend on a first date.
It’s cartoonish, to say the least.
Most worryingly, this overwrought “war between the sexes” increasingly defines the divide between the right and the left. There is also reason to believe it isn’t necessarily a media mirage. Forget “touching grass.” What you see on social media might reflect real-world conditions for once.
This phenomenon, where young men gravitate toward conservative ideologies while young women embrace progressive values, is not unique to the United States, either. If a spate of recent surveys is to be believed, it’s a worldwide trend: From Germany and the U.K. to South Korea and Tunisia, a significant ideological gap has opened between the sexes, particularly among the younger generation.
As the Financial Times noted recently, Gen Z is not one cohesive generation but two, separated by sex. John Burn-Murdoch postulates that this divide, initially sparked by the #MeToo movement that empowered young women to challenge injustices, has become self-sustaining and extends beyond sexual harassment issues into broader political alignments.
Publications and social media personalities have seized upon the narrative of a central gender divide, validating its status as a defining political battleground. The appeal is clear. Not only is it easier to exacerbate existing problems, but by presenting the issue in such stark terms, journalists and personalities can attract a broader, less politically engaged audience. Not only are people already frustrated, but the “gender war” is accessible and engaging for everyone, regardless of one's level of political sophistication or policy knowledge. Everyone has a biological sex; not everyone feels confident to weigh in intelligently on foreign policy or inflation.
As commentator Alex Kaschuta astutely warned on X, however, the party can’t last forever. Making “sexual resentment a unifying force” is a risky proposition. In her words, no one is immune from being “purged” if one fails to keep pace with the ever-escalating outrage cycle.
Polarization to this degree might make for great infotainment, but it’s not the best political strategy.
