In the latest USA Today/Suffolk University national poll, women backed Kamala Harris, 53% to 36%. That is a mirror image of men’s overwhelming support for Trump, 53% to 37%. If these margins hold until election day, it will be the most significant disparity since a gender gap emerged four decades ago, in 1980. Among Gen Z voters, one poll had a 2% edge for Harris among men compared to a 33% advantage for Harris among women.
Four years ago, I wrote a seven-part series about our political divide through the lens of evolutionary science. Now, before the most critical election in American history, the gender gap in political affiliation is wider than ever before. In addition to contemporary cultural issues and narratives, there are reasons for this divide based on male and female adaptations for survival and reproduction.
Trump as “Strict Father”
Let’s revisit Trump’s authoritarian impulses (in the links below) and why he appeals to many men and some women. Trump says women should vote for him because he will keep them “safe.” One of his acolytes, on a rally stage, recently demanded, “Elect Donald Trump, and bring Daddy home.” (See George Lakoff’s 1996 book, Moral Politics; he explains how conservative moral values arise from “the strict father family.”)
Evolutionary Reasons for the Trump “Bro” Vote
Trump is also appealing directly to disaffected and aggrieved young men in swing states with a gendered, authoritarian message. (Today, Friday, October 25, Trump is being interviewed by Joe Rogan in Austin – reaching 15 million, with 80% men and 56% between the ages of 18 and 34.)
What I wrote in 2020 blog posts is even more accurate and troubling in 2024:
- Evolutionary Science and Our Political Divide: The Root of It – Part 1
- Root of Our Political Divide – Part 2: Post-Trump Authoritarianism
These writings are detailed and comprehensive in scope and application of evolutionary science and psychology. Skim them if you must; read the subheads. Read Part 2 if you can; it is more targeted for this moment.
Gendered Link Between Liberalism, Conservatism, and Authoritarianism
As explained in the blogs cited above, differences between men and women in cognition, affect, language, and social behavior mirror specific differences between liberals and conservatives. Authoritarianism is a cancerous outgrowth of conservative impulses. These sex (male and female) differences are directly correlated to male and female mating strategies.
“Stereotypes about liberalism having a feminine quality and conservatism a masculine one have empirical backing and are rooted in our neuropsychology, which was shaped by selective pressures of the natural and social environments of our ancestors. In turn, our evolved political orientations reflect those pressures. While there have been many explanations for what drives our political stances, few have as much explanatory power as the strategies we employ to survive and reproduce.”
~ Hector Garcia, Sex, Power and Partisanship. How Evolutionary Science Makes Sense of Our Political Divide
Of Men and Boys
Related to this male-female political divide in America is the work of Richard Reeves (Of Boys and Men) on the crisis of men and boys. My blog has eleven posts explaining this phenomenon – with causes and solutions.
Thank you for your attention. We desperately need to pay attention right now.
Thanks for sharing
Your thinking is stimulating and well-articulated. Thank you for an insightful discussion….
Thank you for excellent and thought provoking points.
Thank you for excellent and thought provoking points. In addition I would consider that the majority of white women have voted for Trump in the past. The woman’s percentage is influenced by the large support given to Democrats by Black women. And non college educated men still vote mostly for Democrats. But many of them feel left behind on our economy and disappointed that they cannot be the main bread winner any more.
I feel somewhat embarrassed for my gender. Being a good man is important to me, and dt acts like a bad man, and that gets some guys. dt isn’t tough, he’s a bully. The way he treats women is with no real respect.
Hi, Steven. Your analysis is clear and relevant to our current situation. Whichever way the election goes, the outcomes will not change the evolutionary, social, and political forces at work, but will demonstrate these issues not only in who votes for whom, but also in the repercussions that follow the election over the next several days, months, and years to come. I hope that, at the least, we can learn effectively from these actions and preserve our ability to function as a nation that is strengthened rather than weakened by this substantial challenge.