I called in to the Duane Lester Show on KNIM Talk 95.9 Live to talk about my recent post analyzing the rise in left-wing advocacy among white women aged 18-44. I tried to explain what I think the root cause is, and what I think we can do as a society to address it. I was able to make all 6 of my points, but for people listening who are here to check out my blog, I thought I would just go ahead and post the notes I made, along with the sources.

Point 1: Radical Views on Violence

Data: Recent Cygnal polling shows ~24% of Americans overall accept criminal action (including violence) to obstruct federal immigration enforcement (e.g., against ICE). But among white leftist women ages 18-44, it jumps to 61%.

Source: https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/01/10/white-leftist-women-really-are-bat-poop-crazy-and-this-proves-it-n4948130

Point: ICE targets criminal aliens (murderers, rapists, etc.), so this majority view means these women are willing to use lawbreaking/violence to protect those criminals over enforcing laws that protect citizens.

To me, it feels like an application of the “don’t judge” slogan, a slogan that is used by people who are underperforming to stop others from judging them.

Point 2: Global Leftward Shift

Data: A recent Financial Times analysis shows that in the 1990s, young men and women (18-29) were similarly mildly leftist. By 2024, men stayed roughly the same, but women shifted sharply further left. And this trend applies across multiple countries (US, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea).

Source: https://spectator.com/article/the-rise-of-toxic-femininity/?edition=us

Point: The women clashing with ICE or supporting obstruction fit this larger, international trend of younger women radicalizing leftward, while men hold steady. Many people think that what’s happening to women is the result of Trump being elected, but that doesn’t explain the hard slide to the left of young women in more leftist countries.

Point 3: Antidepressant Use and Mental Health Decline

Data: A 2024 study published in the journal Pediatrics looked at national prescription data from 2016–2022. And it found that post-March 2020, rates of antidepressant dispensing accelerated sharply:

• 129.6% faster monthly increase for female adolescents (12–17)

• 56.5% faster for young women (18–25)

• No similar surge for young males

Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38404197/

Point: We’re seeing a real, documented crisis in young women’s mental health—exploding use of antidepressants (SSRIs are the most common class here) and higher depression rates. This lines up with the leftward shift we just discussed in point 2. Something is fueling distress in this group.

Point 4: Link Between Leftist Ideology and Mental Health Decline

Data:  Multiple studies find that female leftists show the largest increases in depressive symptoms over the past decade, diverging from conservatives. Young leftist women report higher depression, anxiety, and lower life satisfaction (e.g., only 12% “completely satisfied” vs. 37% for conservative women in recent surveys).

Source:

• SSM Mental Health study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8713953

• Institute for Family Studies study:
  https://ifstudies.org/blog/why-so-blue-liberal-women-are-less-happy-more-lonely-but-why

Point: Left-leaning views often lead to emotion-driven decision-making. These decisions lead to bad outcomes. And leftists deflect responsibility and place blame on others. For example, taking out huge student loans for a degree that does not lead to a good-paying job, or choosing a boyfriend based on appearance who then demonstrates poor character. If the leftist is always the victim of external forces, then the leftist has no reason to develop accurate beliefs to make better decisions. Leftists are not reading books about personal finance or Christian apologetics so that they can choose a major or choose a mate. The pattern of making bad decisions causes anxiety, stress, and anger.

The victimhood that young leftist women experience as they slide further to the left has caused a sharp increase in “Cluster B” disorders, which involve lack of respect, impulsiveness, attention-seeking and narcissism.

Point 5: Young women are choosing non-traditional men

Data: Modern dating shows imbalances: Dating app usage shows that the vast majority of women are targeting the minority of most physically attractive men. This means that this minority of most-attractive men don’t have to treat women well or commit to get sex, since there is always a long line of women interested in them. Addiction to social media makes this focus on the most attractive men even stronger.

Source: https://www.aporiamagazine.com/p/sterile-polygamy

Point: Young leftist women are being indoctrinated in feminist ideology. They see the traditional male roles of moral leader and spiritual leader as “sexist” and “oppressive”. So, they tend to pick men by appearance. They look for permissive men who don’t judge or lead. This minority of permissive, attractive men are not trying to shape the women for marriage roles like wife and mother. They are just there for the temporary sex.

In addition to the missing boyfriend problem, there is just a general lack of male leadership in women’s lives. Fathers are ejected from homes by no-fault divorce. Male teachers are ejected from classrooms. And so on.

Point 6: Men are facing major deterrents to dating and marriage

In addition to women choosing the most attractive men who match their leftist politics and moral relativism, there is also the problem of traditional men dealing with disincentives marriage and fatherhood.

•  feminist laws and policies deter men from marrying, e.g. – no-fault divorce, false accusations for custody, transing kids

• women get preferential treatment for degrees and jobs, making it harder for men to have leadership from provider role

• young women are being trained to reject accountability for bad choices, e.g. – abortion, single mother welfare, student loan bailouts, lighter sentences for crimes, etc.

• soulmate view of relationships: popular movies and books train women to have unrealistic views of relationships

• leftist political views, (e.g. – abortion, same-sex marriage), are unattractive to traditional men

• possibility of a workplace complaint getting a man fired and potentially blacklisted – can’t support a family

• the male roles of protector and provider are seen as “entitlements” for which men get no respect, so women have no obligations to fuel their men with care

The disincentives faced by traditional men to pursue marriage are typically ignored by social conservatives, who just insist that men embrace husband and father roles regardless of these disincentives. But this isn’t working.

A better way forward is the changes to laws and policies, such as the Kentucky 50-50 custody law: https://dailycaller.com/2025/09/08/mr-right-kentucky-divorce-rates-50-50-child-custody/