Half of the population still considers themselves feminist.
In the last six years, adherence to feminism has suffered a slight drop, of three percentage points, but there are still more people who feel feminist than those who do not.
There is a particularly striking fact in this evolution: yes in 2018, men of generation Z (18-26) were the most feminist, according to a 40dB study.
For
Contexto Magazine
, there are now the fewest: only 35% of them are, producing a decrease of almost 20 points in just over half a decade.
For their part, Z women, more feminist than their elders, have not changed much: adherence to feminism is somewhat lower than five years ago, but 66% continue to identify with this cause.
The decline of feminism among young men is consistent with many of their views and attitudes regarding gender inequality, according to the March 40dB barometer.
for EL PAÍS and Cadena SER.
The Zs are the ones who least recognize machismo in society or that things are more difficult for women, even though the Zs do not share their opinions at all.
In fact, there is more polarization among the youngest than in any other generation.
In this same sense, the Z are the ones who least recognize gender discrimination in the workplace, those who least admit that women are the ones who give up their professional careers the most, those who would prefer a man to be their doctor, president of government or airplane pilot, those most opposed to the abolition of prostitution, those who least support guaranteeing equal pay between men and women, facilitating access to housing for single-parent women or forcing parents to enjoy the same period of paternal and maternal leave.
Likewise, Z men are less likely to believe that a woman with an active sexual life is criticized more than a man or that people are more demanding about their physical appearance.
The decline of feminism among Z men is also consistent with their political positions: while about half of Z women vote for progressive parties, among Z men only a third do so.
In this same sense, Vox is positioned as the fourth political force among young people, but occupies second position among the Z, tying with the PP.
The same pattern that we already saw with feminism is repeated: no other generation is as ideologically polarized as that of people between 18 and 26 years old.
Why are young men retreating from feminism?
Why do they vote more for Vox?
The factors could be multiple: the emergence of an extreme right-wing party (cause or effect?) that many feel is an ally;
the reaction to generation colleagues who are more combative than their older sisters, mothers and grandmothers;
premature and unlimited access to pornography that objectifies women on the Internet;
etc
Beyond these reasons, the reaction of the Z men reflects well how they are.
Young people, men and women, form a very independent generation: to be sexually diverse, to be religious or atheist, to embrace feminism or... to reject it.
We must admit that to disagree with equal pay or affirm that a man is preferred at the head of the government in the 21st century, you have to be very sexist, but also very indifferent to what they will say.
Therefore, it is inevitable to rethink whether among
boomer
men (59 years and older) there is really as much feminism as is expressed (12 points more than among the Z) or whether machismo is hidden.
Perhaps it cannot be ruled out that the feminist cause, rather than declining, has never had as many followers among men as we believed.
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