The discrepancies are particularly notable among young voters. In the 18-29 age group, 58% of women voted for Harris, while 56% of men voted for Trump. This reflects the growing partisan divide in gen Z, where studies suggest young men are becoming more conservative, while young women are becoming more liberal.
Gender played a significant role in the campaign itself, with Harris and the Democrats focusing their message on women’s rights and reproductive health. Trump, on the other hand, courted young men who feel disenfranchised and disillusioned in a changing society.
The president-elect represents a particular type of masculinity: he is seen as brash and straight-talking, and can appear domineering or patronising around women – for example when he famously lurked behind Hillary Clinton during a debate in 2016. For some women who voted for him, this might be a familiar personality that they’ve seen in their fathers and husbands.
For men, Trump represents “hegemonic masculinity”, the exalted position of men at the top. In this view, aggression, control and dominance are all admirable traits and highly socially valued.
As my research has highlighted, oppressing and subordinating others is not the only way of proving masculinity. But it is certainly one of the more obvious ways, and it is particularly dangerous for women’s rights.
Trump has surrounded himself with men who promote the stereotype of the alpha male, demean childless women and promote a version of family values that takes away from women’s autonomy.
During the campaign, Trump vowed to protect women “whether they like it or not”. This implies that women are not considered to be men’s equals and that men are in control of everything, including women themselves.
This kind of “protective masculinity”, and the idea that women need to be protected by men has had a resurgence in US society over the past few decades. This was identified by political scientist Iris Marion Young in the early noughties.
“The stance of the male protector … is one of loving self-sacrifice, with those in the feminine position as the objects of love and guardianship,” she wrote in a paper on the subject. “Chivalrous forms of masculinism express and enact concern for the wellbeing of women, but they do so within a structure of superiority and subordination.”
This structure of superiority and subordination is evident in popular culture and social media movements. Ideas of protection are espoused by “manosphere” influencers who promote this very traditional form of masculinity, such as Andrew Tate (who has been charged with rape and human trafficking, which he denies).
Popular ideas around dating, holding doors for women, paying for meals and general submission to men hark back to a time when women were less able to work or earn as much money, and had fewer rights.
This view of masculinity is also harmful for men, whose emotional and mental health and relationships with women are constrained by its stringent views of gender.
What women are concerned about now
The American feminist Susan Faludi argued in her 1992 book Backlash that throughout history, women’s gains in public and private life have later been used against them.
It could be argued that this phenomenon is evident in the rise of Trump. Women, particularly young women, have made notable gains in education, employment, politics and other rights in recent years.
After the 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade – the court ruling that established the right to an abortion in the US and which represented freedom and rights for many women – and the election of Trump, it is very difficult to see how there will be any strengthening of women’s rights in the US in the coming years.
In the week since the election, blatant misogyny against women has spread on social media in response to Trump’s victory. One of the most viral posts has been from far-right influencer Nick Fuentes, who wrote “Your body, my choice. Forever”, on X (formerly Twitter).
And Trump ally John McEntee joked in a video that the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote, “might have to go”.