Opinion: Why many socially liberal young people feel comfortable voting R + gender divide

[Kuumo]

Most of the anecdotes about a gender-based social divide among Gen Z sound more like typical teenage angst than a legitimate social problem. Eventually these kids will grow up and join the workforce, which necessitates interacting with people outside of their high school cliques and caring less about their social status online. There is something to be said about the negative effects of social media on young people's social lives, but most of the specifically gender-related issues will probably go away with age and maturity.

It is almost certainly true that nonwhite and LGBT people will vote more Republican in the future though. Racism and homophobia in 2022 are less overt and less mainstream than in previous generations, so young people from historically marginalized groups feel less personally threatened by conservative policies and will thus be more open to supporting Republicans. The urban/rural and education divides show little sign of reversing and the gender divide might continue, but the political divides based on race and sexual orientation will be much less of an issue twenty years from now. While our politics may still be toxic and polarized then, racial and sexual orientation depolarization would be an overall positive development for society.