Here’s a fun new nightmare: men under 24 are more likely to oppose same-sex marriage than guys who came of age in the ’80s and ’90s.
The trajectory is supposed to go up, not backward.
THE RECEIPTS: Polling from the Pew Research Center, highlighted in a December report from the American Institute for Boys and Men, found that only 71% of men born in the 2000s support marriage equality.
That’s down from 77% of men born in the 1990s.
And down from 73% of men born in the 1980s.
Support for homosexuality in general? Even worse. Just 65% of Gen Z men think it should be accepted by society—over seven points lower than millennial men.
[EMBED: AIBM chart showing declining LGBTQ+ support among young men by decade]
MEANWHILE: Women their age aren’t having this problem.
Eighty-three percent of women born in the 2000s support same-sex marriage. Eighty-two percent support homosexuality generally.
That’s a 12-point gender gap on marriage and a 17-point gap on acceptance—the widest in nearly every category compared to any other generation.
IT GETS WORSE: Trans rights are where things get really dire.
Sixty percent of young women believe trans people should be accepted by society.
Among young men? Just 44%.
That’s a 16-point chasm between people who came up watching the same TikToks and listening to the same Chappell Roan songs.
THE GAG? THERE IS NO GAG: Washington University professor Ryan Burge argues the data suggests young men are increasingly influenced by “social-issue messaging” from right-wing religious groups and manosphere influencers.
“I suspect the next five years of survey results will significantly clarify the trajectories of young men and women when it comes to religion,” he wrote. “If a shift is coming, these next few years will be decisive.”
HOWEVER COMMA: Gen Z is, overall, the queerest generation ever.
A 2024 Axios poll found that more young Americans identify as LGBTQ+ (over 25%) than as Republican (21%).
But apparently, being surrounded by openly queer peers isn’t enough to prevent a subset of young men from drifting toward reactionary politics.
THE POINT: This isn’t just a vibes problem.
These attitudes translate into real-world harm—from who gets harassed at school to who gets elected to office to which policies get enacted.
When nearly half of young men think trans people shouldn’t be accepted in society, that’s not just a data point. That’s a generation of future bosses, legislators, and juries.
The question now is whether this is a phase—young men being edgy before they settle down—or whether we’re watching the early stages of a durable political realignment.
Either way, the women in their lives have already moved on without them.
