Several recently published studies show that a growing gap is opening up between the cultural and moral conceptions of young women and young men. This is probably one of the first times in the history of our societies that such a gap has emerged between men and women. It is of course the question of gender that is at the origin of this growing gap between the sexes. Young women today massively adhere (over 60% according to the study) A plural youth of the Montaigne Institute) to gender theory, that is, to the idea that all differences between men and women are a purely social construct. This idea has also progressed among young men, but at a much less marked rate (it remains slightly in the minority among them), which means that today the gaps between the sexes on this issue are much greater among young people than in their parents' generation (among whom this conception remains clearly in the minority).

But this cultural gap between the sexes in youth is not limited to the question of the definition of gender. By extension, this divide is also manifested in the values ​​and norms concerning the freedom given to each person to "choose" their gender. On this point, another survey (by the Cluster 17 institute for the weekly Le Point) delivers quite spectacular results. For example, 48% of young women (18-24 years old) answer "yes absolutely" to the proposition that "a man who undergoes a gender transition (using surgery, hormonal treatments, etc.) becomes a woman in his own right" (23% of boys); or again, 37% of young women declare themselves "very favorable" to the fact of "authorizing gender change from the age of 16" (6% of boys).

Young women, according to this survey, also stand out clearly in other areas. For example, they are much more in favour than young men of the introduction of inclusive writing in public administrations and businesses (29% very in favour compared to 6% of boys), they are much less opposed than young men to the ban on wearing the veil in public spaces (56% very opposed compared to 21% of boys). They thus seem much more receptive than their male counterparts to the themes conveyed by woke culture, expressing a priori sympathy for the expression of all differences, even those that contradict republican values.

This movement of ideological disconnection of young men and women seems to be a global trend. The Financial Times reported on work by Survey Center on American Life and those of a Stanford researcher, Alice Evans, who show that in many countries, including non-Western countries like South Korea, this gap began to widen in the early 2010s and has only widened since.

The #MeToo movement is said to have been the trigger "giving rise to radically feminist values ​​among young women," writes John Burn-Murdoch, the article's author. By capillarity, this fairly radical feminism contributes to increasing young women's sensitivity to all forms of injustice or those that are perceived as such.

If we return to the French survey, we find elements confirming this very strong feminism among young women, much more in any case than it is among young men. For example, 26% of young women say they are "very much in favour" of the measure consisting of "considering that women's words should prevail over those of men in the event of a presumption of sexual assault", compared to 6% of young men (it should be noted in the title of the question that it is a question of "presumption"). Or again 77% of young women say they "completely understand" that "one can sometimes consider as rape a sexual relationship with a person who has drunk too much alcohol and is in a state of obvious intoxication", compared to only 36% of their male counterparts. A large gap has clearly opened up in the conceptions of sexuality and its limits, between young men and young women. It will certainly have an impact on romantic relationships between the sexes. The fact that, according to several studies, a growing proportion of young people are putting sexuality at the bottom of their agenda is perhaps one of the consequences. The sexual liberation of the 1960s seems a long time ago.

This article originally appeared in a longer version on the Telos website: https://www.telos-eu.com/fr/valeurs-et-orientations-culturelles-le-gender-gap-.html