One-Third of Gen Z Men Dream of Being Toxic Husbands
A new global poll reveals Gen Z men are officially worse than Baby Boomers.
Photo: iStockphoto Politics
If there was any mystery left about why Americans are having less sex than ever before, a new poll published Thursday by Ipsos and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership (GIWL) at King’s College London pretty much blew every theory out of the water. And yes, as always, men are to blame.
According to a study surveying 23,000 people across 29 countries, including the U.S., Great Britain, and India, about 21% of Gen Z men (1997-2012) think a “real woman” should never initiate sex (hm), while 59% believe men are expected to do too much to support equality, and a quarter think women shouldn’t be too independent. Great!
The data also found that Gen Z men are twice as likely to hold traditional views on marriage compared to their Baby Boomer counterparts (1946-1964), with nearly a third agreeing that a wife should obey her husband. Alas, there goes my favorite two-word comeback: R.I.P to “Okay boomer.” Time of death, 2026.
weird how nicely this meshes with the stories about how Gen Z men aren’t having sex
— actioncookbook (@actioncookbook.com) March 5, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Speaking to the Guardian, which first reported the findings, GIWL chair and former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard expressed concern over the results. “Not only are many Gen Z men putting limiting expectations on women, they are also trapping themselves within restrictive gender norms. We must continue to do more to dispel the idea of a zero-sum game in which women are the only beneficiaries of a gender-equal world.”
Well, thanks, Julia, but we’re doing all we fucking can over here. If women are supposed to spend our time convincing men that equality isn’t a loss for them—while we’re living in a post-Roe world and under increasingly anti-women regimes—then we’re already screwed.
Unfortunately, this all checks out. An NBC poll in April found Gen Z men in the U.S. consider “having children” the most important mark of personal success; a 19th News/SurveyMonkey poll in September found most men want a traditional return to gender roles; and a Gallup poll in November found a record amount of young women want to leave the country.
According to the Ipsos/GIWL survey, about 30% of Gen Z guys also think it’s wrong to tell their friends they love them, which is a shame. But that way, I guess they’ll never find out how unloved they really are.
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