Rachel Janfaza
Appearances
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The political power of Gen Z women
Gen Z women hate skinny jeans and prefer middle parts to side parts. Wow.
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The political power of Gen Z women
I mean, I think that young people are typically more idealistic. They have perhaps in past generations and maybe for a cohort of Gen Z have faced less turbulent times. And so therefore have more of a rosier outlook. But I actually think that has changed for Gen Z, given that this is the generation that came of age during the COVID-19 pandemic. And also just given the way that we think
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The political power of Gen Z women
Adding onto that too, to Claire's point, I mean, there's a fourth punch, which was that in the 2024 election, President Trump won again, beating former Vice President Kamala Harris, who again could have been the first female president. And so I think it's kind of been just one thing after another. And we saw this
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The political power of Gen Z women
resistance to Trump starting to flourish in the very, very early days of his presidency in 2017 with the women's marches. And for many young women, that was the first march or demonstration that they ever attended. And so I think there was also a solidarity and a sisterhood sense that was forged during that time period as well that certainly lingers on to today.
It's Been a Minute
The political power of Gen Z women
So I hold listening sessions with young people across the country and have spent some time in high school classrooms with young people. And I see the effects of this gender gap playing out the most there. I have heard from high school students that it oftentimes in an academic setting can feel that young men and young women are pitted at odds against one another.
It's Been a Minute
The political power of Gen Z women
And they describe this as not only uncomfortable, but pretty tense. And when it comes to the high school setting, I've heard from plenty of both young men and young women that it seems that young women are called on more in class or speaking up more frequently. And there's sort of a confidence gap in terms of the young men and young women who are willing to speak up and out in classroom settings.
It's Been a Minute
The political power of Gen Z women
And so I think that, you know, if that's the foundation for which young men and young women are coming to understand themselves and their gender and It sets up a pretty rocky future for dialogue and collaboration between these two genders. And unfortunately, I think that there's a gender war really unfolding here.
It's Been a Minute
The political power of Gen Z women
There was a Yale Youth Poll that showed this split as well with younger Gen Z leaning more conservative.
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The political power of Gen Z women
Yeah. And there's been recent hard data that backs this. There was a Yale youth poll that showed this split as well with younger Gen Z leaning more conservative. I think it really is reflective of how old a member of Gen Z was during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. And I call these two cohorts Gen Z 1.0 and Gen Z 2.0 with the cutoff being
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The political power of Gen Z women
who had graduated high school before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, because in many ways, students were guinea pigs during the pandemic, and the ones who felt the intimate realities of the lockdown, social distancing policies, masking mandates, school closures, school reopenings, discrepancies between the two.
It's Been a Minute
The political power of Gen Z women
And so young people just became more resistant to authority, and that coincided with Trump and him being so outspoken against authority, against the system.
It's Been a Minute
The political power of Gen Z women
And once Trump was out of office and the Biden administration was really the one dealing with the end of the pandemic and the reopening of society, the person to blame or the party to blame for many of these policies lingering on were the Democrats in many cases, certainly in liberal cities across the country.
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The political power of Gen Z women
So I've had a lot of young men tell me that when it comes to social dynamics and political dynamics, they have for a while amid a movement for women's rights and rights of all people felt that they've been left out of the conversation.
It's Been a Minute
The political power of Gen Z women
And I think we saw this play out most during the 2024 election when I heard from so many young men saying to me that, A, they felt like the Democratic Party didn't want them there or wasn't speaking to them, in part because the Democratic Party was championing not just women's rights, but LGBTQ rights and reproductive health care access and abortion access.
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The political power of Gen Z women
And while they could have been brought in as allies and been, you know, strong leaders in the messaging around these topics, I think that young men felt like they weren't supposed to be a part of the conversation. And I don't think this always comes from a place of poor intentions.
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The political power of Gen Z women
I've heard from young men, and this is really interesting, who say that they understand that men have always had the opportunity to speak and that women haven't. And so when it comes to issues that affect women, they feel like they shouldn't be the spokespeople for that issue.
It's Been a Minute
The political power of Gen Z women
And so if you look at an issue like abortion access, I've heard from plenty of young men who might be pro-choice, who might believe in women's rights to abortion. They said that because the issue doesn't directly affect them in their body, they felt as though they shouldn't be outspoken about it.
It's Been a Minute
The political power of Gen Z women
And therefore, it wasn't necessarily an issue that they were prioritizing in the presidential election.