For anyone who needs clarification, being "woke" means to be a card-carrying member of an unofficial party that deems America endemically racist, oppressive, and prone to injustice. It isn't just about being anti-Republican and pro-Democrat, though it is that. To belong, you must harbor a deep-seated hatred for Trump and for the ideals and principles of America. You need to believe, as the tear-down of our statues demonstrates, that we need a whole new America.
But the divide between the woke and the non-woke isn't just between parents and their children or between siblings or even between husbands and wives — though it is all of those things. Increasingly, it's between the sexes.
There are simply far more woke women than there are woke men. "I think we're seeing something pretty unique among young women here, separate from young men," noted pollster Dan Cox in 2018. "We're seeing a growing gender divide among this age group."
Indeed — and this gender gap has since reached historic highs. According to a recentPew Research Center poll, there's a significant gender gap in party identification: 56% of women now identify as Democrats or as leaning Democratic, while just 42% of men say the same. And in yet another Pew poll, this time about Trump's approval rating, there's an even larger gender gap (46% vs. 32%) since George Floyd's death than there was in the first part of the year.
"Not only are millennial women heavily, heavily Democratic and heavily hostile to Trump, but it's likely that they are going to sort of be the vanguard of, I think, the feminization of the Democratic Party," notes pollster Anna Greenberg.
She may be right. The question is, why? Why are there more woke women than there are woke men?
Because women, as a rule, are more emotional than men — and being woke demands heightened emotions. To be "woke" is to consider oneself progressive, enlightened, and empathetic. Any philosophy steeped in victimhood (such as obsessions with Marxism, feminism, or racism) is sure to pull on young women's heartstrings, even when the facts refute the notion of a systemic problem. That's where so many women, especially young women, stop: with their hearts. The intellect is there, but it's overshadowed by a tsunami of emotions. They feel rather than think.
Do young woke men exist? Yes, but they've been feminized. Men don't typically lead with their emotions. For them, it's a learned behavior, and some men have been great students — but most have not.
Perhaps what we're witnessing is a new kind of battle of the sexes: one that's not about equality but about the soul of the nation — which is sad, because there will be no winner there.
Suzanne Venker (@SuzanneVenker) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. She's the author of five books and a relationship coach, as well as the host of The Suzanne Venker Show. Her website is www.suzannevenker.com.
AKA Soyboys.