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One of Trump's largest voting demographics in the 2024 election was young men. This is a demographic I'm familiar with. As a woman who dates men, they make up the majority of my dating pool.
For many women, a lot was on the table this election — the main issue being bodily autonomy. After the election, many women took to social media declaring their newfound loyalty to the 4B movement, a radical feminist movement with origins in South Korea. Its pillars state that women should abstain from sex with men, halt dating pursuits, refrain from marriage and stop having children with men. Women were obviously upset.
To me, it was clear why an overwhelming majority of young men voted for Trump in this election. They have it hard right now. Only one third of young men are college educated, many feel discouraged by the job market and they're twice as likely to be single.
If I was a young man, I too would vote for someone who supports my passions for crypto, cars and bitches. I get it.
After all, it's a fact that women without a relationship invest their time into friendships and careers. Men without a relationship play video games and vape. I think it's time women take responsibility and go on dates with these men!
So... I thought I would bring you along on a date to show you how we might better serve this disaffected majority.
The date
Like before most dates I agree to go on with men, I was hopeful. I spent two weeks engaged in witty banter over text with this guy before he asked me out. He seemed really cute and made it clear he was passionate about family and making a name for himself one day. I liked that.
He offered to take me to this fancy restaurant in Tempe I wanted to try. We planned the date for a Friday night. He was going to pick me up around 7 p.m.
I was excited. After investing a lot of time getting to know him over text, I was optimistic that our in-person chemistry would match our virtual chemistry.
I waited inside my apartment until I saw the notification that he was out front. I hurried down and walked out to see him waiting in a 2020 Ford F-150 pickup. I could feel the bass from his music reverberating through the ground. As I approached the truck, the passenger window rolled down, he leaned over and he told me to hop in. So... I did.
During the 10-minute drive, I asked him how his day was while Drake's top hits played in the background.
"It was good. I went to the gym and listened to this fascinating podcast the whole time. It was three hours long, so I'm surprised I stuck with it. Then, I went home and chilled until I had to get ready for tonight," he said.
"Oh, nice! I also went to the gym and then I went to work. It was crazy at work today. I also had to finish this massive project I've been working on for a class. I'm almost done, thank goodness. Then, it took me surprisingly long to get ready for tonight," I added after an awkward pause.
"Oh, cool," he responded.
We pulled up to the restaurant and headed inside. After we were seated, the waitress approached the table and asked for our drink orders.
"I'll have water and a glass of red wine, please," I said.
"Uh, do you have any beer? Just anything but Bud Light," he said.
"We have a selection of craft beers if you want to take a look at the list on the menu," the waitress responded.
"Okay, uh. I'll just take the darkest beer you have,' he said.
"Alright, I'll be right back with that," the waitress said.
After the waitress walked away, he leaned in to speak like he wanted to say something in confidence.
"I can't believe women can get jobs when they look like that. Especially at a nice place like this. I would never hire someone if they looked like that. It's just unprofessional," he said.
I assumed the comment was in response to the waitress' blue mullet and piercings.
"Hmm, I don't think I ever gave much thought to it before," I responded. "So, do you have any plans after you graduate?"
"Uh, I don't really know yet. I just started investing in crypto, so hopefully I'll start to make some money there. I think I want to go into the tech business though. It just seems really profitable because of Elon and everything. I really want to have a family one day though,' he said.
"Oh really? How many kids would you want?" I asked.
"Right now, I think however many God wants me to have," he responded.
"Oh, okay. I really want to have two or three, but definitely after I'm 30. I want to focus on getting my career off the ground first," I added.
The waitress came back with our drinks and then asked for our food orders. I ordered the caesar salad, and he ordered the ribeye steak.
"God, I can't believe these prices! The economy is just so bad right now. Hopefully that will be fixed soon though," he said.
"Yeah, $50 for a ribeye steak is crazy!" I responded. "So, what do you like to do in your free time?"
"Uh, I've really been loving this video game. Not sure if you've heard of it. It's called 'God of War,'" he answered.
'I have heard of that! Some of my friends play it,' I responded.
"Oh cool, okay. Well, I play that and then I've been really into podcasts lately. I listen to Joe Rogan and some other ones. I also have classes and stuff too," he said.
"Oh nice! Okay." I took a large sip of my wine.
The waitress came back with our food.
"I like to read in my free time. There have been a couple articles by some journalists I've been loving, and I love reading different fiction and fantasy books," I said.
"Yeah, for me, I feel like I can't trust the media anymore, so I don't read articles and stuff like that. But that's cool that you do though," he said.
"So, do you keep up on current events then?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'll see stuff on X and TikTok, but I don't pay for news or anything. I feel like I trust actual people more than big media," he answered.
"Oh, okay. Interesting. I definitely read the news, but that's because I'm a journalist," I said.
We were approaching the end of our meals. He gestured to the waitress for the check.
"You're not one of those girls who needs to split the bill to feel independent are you?" he asked.
"Oh, no. Definitely not. Everyone calls me 'little miss dependent,'" I joked.
"Okay good because I got the bill. Don't worry about it," he assured.
After he put his card into the checkbook, the waitress came to pick it up. As she walked away, he leaned over to whisper something again.
"Did you notice that her name tag says 'she/they'? What does that even mean? Sometimes you're a woman and sometimes you're not? Makes no sense to me. So annoying,” he said.
"Yeah, I don't know," I responded, swallowing the last of my wine.
The waitress returned the checkbook, he pulled out the receipt and then he got up to leave. I followed.
As he was driving me home, I decided to throw caution to the wind and ask him one last question to glean any final details I needed to know about him.
"So, why didn't your last relationship work out?" I asked.
"Oh god, really? Well, for one, she was crazy. Always needed me to text her and she was perfectly okay being one of those childless cat ladies for the rest of her life. She also started to let herself go and gained a ton of weight. No shame on men who date overweight women, I just couldn't do it. I also found out she was bisexual and that was too confusing," he said.
"Oh, okay. Good to know," I responded.
"I mean, you don't seem anything like her, so don't compare yourself or anything," he said as I darkened my phone's lock screen with a picture of my two cats.
"Don’t worry. I'm not," I gulped.
He pulled up to my apartment.
"Well, I had a really great time. I want to see you again soon."
"Okay, have a good night!" I said as I hopped out of the car.
Blind optimism
We have to remember: At the end of the day, they mean well. I found that the best way to approach this situation is to gaslight yourself.
Let me demonstrate:
Instead of feeling offended when a man makes a condescending remark about other women, tell yourself he's only being honest. He's not afraid to speak his mind!
Rather than argue with him after he says the last election was stolen, tell yourself he's just a concerned citizen. So civic duty of him!
When you find out he voted for Trump, tell yourself he thought he had to fill in the bubble for the candidate he DIDN'T want in office. Silly boy!
In the land of delusion, we will survive.
All jokes aside, I care about men whether they care about me or not. I see the person behind the politics even if my personhood is up for debate. I'm promising to do better to make them feel seen and heard, and you should too.
#youngmanadvocate
Edited by Savannah Dagupion, Leah Mesquita and Audrey Eagerton.
This story is part of The Culture Issue, which was released on February 26, 2025. See the entire publication here.
Reach the reporter at amwilt@asu.edu and follow @AbigailMWilt on X.
Like State Press Magazine on Facebook, follow @statepressmag on X and Instagram and read our releases on Issuu.
Abigail is a junior studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in english literature. This is her third semester with The State Press. She has also worked at the ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre.
