Teen boys skewing more conservative?

[Anonymous]

Th election thread got me thinking. I have two teen boys and we are a very open family in that we have talked about social issues and politics for years. My husband and I would probably be labeled as progressives. Our kids say they would have voted for Harris but I’ve noticed that their attitudes are so much more conservative and old-school than I would have expected. Very judge-y and apathetic about reproductive rights, immigration, the conflict in the middle-east and really love these social media influencer bro types who tout money and getting ahead over being empathetic. I thought it was just my kids and maybe this is their rebellion but I’ve talked to other parents and they are seeing the same thing. Anybody else? What do you do when they express pretty narrow or judgmental views? We’ve gotten into arguments and I feel like I’m at Thanksgiving dinner with my crazy uncle!

[Anonymous]

Tweens? So 12 y.o.s?

[Anonymous]

op here. My kids are in 9th and 10th grade

[Anonymous]

It doesn’t matter imo what your teens think so much as how good they are at thoughtful and open debate. If you are good at thoughtful and open debate, they might pick that up. If you are easily offended or more orthodox in your politics, they will probably look elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Why would a teen boy have an understanding one way or the other about pregnancy, immigration, and foreign wars?

Ant understanding would be fake.

Focus on teaching media literacy, logic and math, propaganda techniques, and moral values, away from current events, and then give them room to think about how tht applies.

[Anonymous]

My 17 year old is very strait laced and I can see him becoming a conservative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would a teen boy have an understanding one way or the other about pregnancy, immigration, and foreign wars?

Ant understanding would be fake.

Focus on teaching media literacy, logic and math, propaganda techniques, and moral values, away from current events, and then give them room to think about how tht applies.

Why wouldn't they have understanding and opinions? Are your teens unintelligent? Can they read a variety of newspapers? Who isn't having these conversation with their kids, especially during this election cycle?

Of course, teens have knowledge and opinions. Ours read and discuss articles with us. They studied both US and world history, followed by middle eastern studies and an intro to constitutional law. Both took an elective course in bioethics, so they talk about reproductive rights a lot. You don't teach media literacy in a vacuum or propaganda out of context.

[Anonymous]

My boys are 15 and 17 and they, and all of their friends, seem to be right of their parents. They claim that “everyone” was excited about the Trump victory.

They’ve been told for years that they need to apologize for their privilege and their unconscious bias. Unlike the boys of my generation that made off-colored jokes, they live in fear of unintentionally offending someone and being cancelled while they watch the black kids call each other the n-word and make white boy jokes. They noted in middle school that their girl friends weren’t allowed to wear nail polish or makeup to school but no one said anything when the trans kinds did so. The LGBTQ+ and diverse kids are celebrated while they’re made to feel like the boogeyman. Every book they read in English class is about the struggles of some maligned group- they never read books in school that they can relate to.

Yes, we need to address the wrongs of our country’s past, but we need to do so in a way that doesn’t repeat those wrongs by making young white, Hispanic and Asian straight males feel like they’re now being treated unfairly. I fear that the Democratic party has lost a generation of male voters by prioritizing DEI and trans rights over crime, national safety and jobs.

-Mom who voted for Obama twice, Hillary, Biden and now, reluctantly, Trump. I know several friends who voted for a Republican for the first time this election.

[Anonymous]

It’s bizarre that OP’s kids in 9th and 10th grade have to tell Mom they would have voted for her losing candidate to stay in her good graces. She sounds like the judgmental one in the family.

[Anonymous]

OP, I have two boys about the same age.

Keep in mind: these are the kids who have had LGBTQIA crammed down their throats since kindergarten, had at least a year of MS or HS ruined by Covid lockdowns and over-cautious adults, and now are swarmed in DEI everywhere they turn.

Of course they are turning against this. It's everything that they, as free-thinking normal boys, are not.

[Anonymous]

It’s because social media has a strong impact on them and there is a LOT of social media geared towards their demographic which is very conservative.

[Anonymous]

These boys are being told to not bother applying to jobs, schools etc. Their kind is not wanted. Their future seems bleak in their minds. Why would they vote for Dems? They are being asked to pay the price for past injustices by people who are unwilling to give up anything of their own.

[Anonymous]

Significant to note that we typically rebel against our parents’ beliefs. The Alex P. Keaton Effect is a great example. Or Liz Cheney.

Or my own DH; he was raised by detached, clueless young hippies in a chaotic home environment. He couldn’t be more conservative, to his parents’ continued surprise.

[Anonymous]

Toxic masculinity and sexism.

[Anonymous]

Maybe you should start listening to them. Your progressive values may not be entirety without harm.

I appreciate so many of the postings on this thread. Dems are off-track.