Amy Walter: Gen Z Gender Divide Goes Beyond Politics, Young Men Are Using Podcasts "As A Way To Build Community" by 6ixStringJack

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Amy Walter: Gen Z Gender Divide Goes Beyond Politics, Young Men Are Using Podcasts "As A Way To Build Community"

POSTED BY: 6IXSTRINGJACK
UPDATED: Wednesday, November 27, 2024 01:33
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Wednesday, November 27, 2024 1:31 AM

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/11/26/amy_walter_gen_z_ge
nder_divide_goes_beyond_politics_young_men_are_using_podcasts_as_a_way_to_build_community.html

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Wednesday, November 27, 2024 1:33 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK

I put the everything but the link in the 2nd post because it was screwing up the formatting and the text was bleeding off the side of the page.

Quote:
NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter join William Brangham to discuss the latest political news, including President-elect Donald Trump's success with young men and the electoral gender divide.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM, PBS NEWSHOUR: I want to turn back to Laura's piece that she just did about this — quote, unquote — "manosphere" and just the incredibly effective way that Trump reached out to these young men online, the way he did it, and their incredible reception to the way Trump was making his pitch to them.

How do you see that dynamic?

...

AMY WALTER, COOK POLITICAL REPORT: You know, I have been talking to a lot of folks who study this both before, during and then after this election.

And it is — this Gen Z gender divide is really quite fascinating, and it goes much beyond our politics. I mean, there definitely was a gender divide on Election Day, the kind of which we had never seen before in a place like Pennsylvania. Among the youngest cohort of voters, the gender gap was 62 points.

Just to put that in context, the overall gender gap was like 25 or 26 points in that state.

BRANGHAM: Incredible.

WALTER: What we see — what we're seeing right now is that more and more of these young men are using these sites, whether it's TikTok or the podcasts or YouTube as a way to build community. This is a generation of young men who feel very disconnected, who feel very lost, who feel left behind.

And these are the places that they go to find that community. What I noticed as well is, it's not just that Trump went to those places, but the organic way in which conversations that started off about sports or video games would also then lead into the host themselves talking about, oh, hey, did you see Trump go into McDonald's? Did you see Trump was at the fight?

(CROSSTALK)

BRANGHAM: The UFC fight.

WALTER: The UFC thing. And so he became part of it, even though — so we know this. The best candidates are able to meet voters where they are, and that's what he was able to do.

Well yeah... You've spent the last 4 or so decades invading all of the men's spaces from their jobs on down to a community level. There is no such thing as a men's community anything anymore. Outside of maybe seeing their dad play poker with his friends once a month if he's one of the lucky ones, their dad's probably never had any friends outside of "marriage friends" not long after he got married.

Gen X remembers their grandfathers in these men's spaces. Older Gen X remember their own fathers in these spaces. I've been to Knights of Columbus both in the mid-80's and in the late 2010's. Not even in the same ballpark of each other. When I went with my grandpa so he could show me off to his Knights of Columbus buddies, that scene stays in my mind like any given non-violent scene with the boys on the Sopranos. The last few times I went with my mom and step-dad it was like a baby shower by comparison.

Now those Gen Z boys, some of them just old enough to vote, are teenagers who on an instinctual level know that there should be men's spaces but don't see any. Not in their community, and certainly not on Hollywood created TV, movies and streaming services.

So of course they're going to rebel and go full-on hyper masculine and flock to things like the UFC and people who talk and act like they all do.

You should see these introductory videos they have for the defending champions and the challengers at the beginning of one of the paid events. Right before they have a few of the lesser events of the night leading up to the Title Card, they put together these awesome videos about the fighters.

I'll admit that I don't even know how much of these things are even true, or to what degree the stories are embellished. But they put a bit of effort into these productions and they're almost like a short film about the story of their lives that lead them to the fight they're going to have tonight.

I was pretty blown away by it, to be honest. They are inspiring. They've got empowering messages. The kids watching this are seeing somebody tell them that if they work hard and do right they too could one day be a champion.

Where else do you see that in 2024?

My answer would be absolutely nowhere else.

All they ever hear at school is if they're not the victim then they are the evil white man.

Nobody wants to hear that they're evil. Nobody wants to hear that they're a victim.

Especially not children and ESPECIALLY not boys.

And I'm sure that's universal and transcends any racial divide.

I'm glad to see the kids are rebelling.

The day we live in a society where the kids are all manufactured happy and just do and think whatever they're told is the day that human society lost to the collective.

I'd just never thought I'd see the day where it was Punk Rock to support the Not Democrat.

Four years ago, NFL players were taking the knee because they were worried they'd lose their job if they didn't. Now you've got black players doing the Trump Dance in the end zone and getting fined by the bosses.

Strange days.

--------------------------------------------------

Trump is fine.
He is also your current President.

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