I have talked about the large female to male ratio imbalances at HBCUs and see unbalanced ratios at my state’s flagship (UGA). The CDS for the class of 2026 was over 62% female and if it keeps trending as it has over the last 10 years, UGA will have a 2 to 1 female to male ratio in 10 years. The growing education gap with women and men could be partly what is fueling the political differences.
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Both my daughters assure me this topic comes up all the time in their lives and their conversations with female friends ( NE ivy school, MBB, and BB bank). There is a lot of concern.
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That’s interesting. I only have 2 boys and this topic hasn’t come up. It is probably a function of where they are in life - one in college and one a senior in HS - and the fact that dating doesn’t seem to be a priority for them right now. I think that someday they will make good partners as they are interesting, kind and capable (and educated).
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Both girls report that their male friends don’t give it a thought, as they are confident that it will all work out for them. And it probably will.
It certainly will. Things will be just fine.
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Ugh. What a depressing thread!
Are Gen Z relationships really this transactional? I don’t know any other word to describe it. I’m not even an overly romantic person, but goodness there seems to be zero emphasis on, you know, falling in love with someone. I certainly understand that people are likely to be more compatible and navigate life more easily if they have similar backgrounds and worldviews, but wow.
I kinda blame the dating apps. Honestly, seemed much easier just initially meeting someone in a bar and not knowing a single thing about them.
Anyone remember James Carville and Mary Matalin? Did that only work because she was the conservative in the relationship?
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Young people seem less likely to have friends with differeing views than we did. I will always like the friendship of Justices Scalia and RBG.
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Would that be a reversion to common historical practices, when marriages were often done for reasons other than falling in love with someone?
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Yes. Two really smart that loved opera.
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Expat young woman I know who is a resident of a very red state for tax reasons (all perfectly legal) is wary about how she registers to vote, since it is public information. Says that she would like to register red, to be able to vote in primaries, since that is where the decisions are made - no democrat will ever be elected there. But she is single, and she says, “If I register as a Republican, no one whom I would like to date would be willing to go out with me!” I hate to say it, but she’s probably correct.
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In KY when it was a heavily democratic state, many registered as democrats so they could vote in primaries. I think that is pretty common to do in many states, so who really even cares? And is that even something that would come up on a date? I think her decision to register in order to vote in primaries shows that she is pretty educated and wise.
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When I was 18, I registered to vote for a political party because my mom’s boss was running for office.
I don’t remember anyone ever having any idea what party I registered for. Voting and party registration is a personal private matter. I thought.
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Now your voter registration is public knowledge, publicly available on the internet, easily discoverable. And young people check each other out on the internet, before they’ll go out with someone they’ve met on the dating apps. She’s afraid that if she registers red, which in order to have any political voice in her state, she’d have to, no one would go out with her, since she moves in liberal, educated, blue-voting circles.
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I have DD who is actively dating and have never heard of people care to check voting registration. That might be something that is important for one of extremes of political spectrum. People check LinkedIn, social media but nobody cares about voting registration.
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I just checked my voter registration- says nothing about my preference and I needed my birthdate as well as address- doubtful people have all this information. None of my kids would have ever looked this up on someone they’re dating- they ( all in long term relationships) get to know someone first and likely are ok with people having differences of opinions on some things.
Honestly I can’t relate to a lot of what is being said here.
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I’m not sure I would want to go out with anyone who cares about my political party! Now, I used to do some serious date research, but a man’s political party would not make the list. How about DUIs, ex wives, tax liens, house value…pretty much the only things you could find before social media.
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Back in my 20’s, I wouldn’t have thought or cared to check voter registration. As a 50-something, if I were on the market, I would definitely look it up. Not sure if that speaks to how my priorities have evolved with age, or the political environment now as compared to 1990 (the last time I was single).
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She wants to be around liberal people but chose to be a resident of a red state to avoid taxes.
Interesting.
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IME girls do extensive social media research on potential dates; boys do almost none other than finding a photo of the girl.
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Can confirm. I will stalk anyone my kids ask me to in the interests of true love.
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