sWith Donald Trump in office, I realized what I call “the new cold girl” in my high school. The group of children casually talks about something. From the blue at first glance, one of the boys jokes. Maybe it’s racist or sexist, homophobic, but whatever the poison is, they inject it and the dynamic changes in the group change slightly more than ever before. As a general rule, boys continue as usual, but girls tend to be more politically progressive – face choice. They can speak up. It can usually get a reputation for being annoying and not being able to joke around. Since November 2024, the latter reaction has become much more common.
No one wants to be her because no one wants to hang out with Stickler. Therefore, the boy’s Iliberalism lives on
This kind of horrifying silence is becoming more common outside of high school. In December 2024, Disney removed trans characters from the new series. In April this year, the New York Times reported that new Trump administration restrictions prohibit government employees from adding pronouns to their email BIOS. Two days later, Gannett, one of the nation’s largest newspaper chains, cited Trump’s opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion in announcing that it would no longer publish staff diversity statistics.
This cultural change promotes the nostalgia of the past before women wear an apron and make money for their husbands, before Day’s birth. As of August, “Trad Wife” influencer Hanna Niel Man, better known as the Ballerina Farm, has attracted 10 million followers on Instagram alone. Her video of eating sourdough and raising eight children shows her return to a woman’s ideal as a housewife. Last November, she appeared on the cover of Evie, a conservative magazine that openly praises Trump.
This drips down on us. During the Trump era, a left-leaning teenage girl feels uncomfortably comfortable expressing political views that could be deposed as “awakening.” This is not because most of them are right-wingers. Last November, 58% of women aged 18 to 30 voted for Kamala Harris. That’s because the political atmosphere has changed and progressively conscious girls now feel fearful of the consequences of speaking their minds.
The girl I spoke to says frankly that it’s dangerous to turn blue. The high school girl reported that the boys are “becoming more encouraging and more confident in making these (biased) jokes.” Another said casual racism and sexism have been common since Trump took office. Young women feel social pressure to remain passive in the face of offensive remarks. Your man’s friend “I think you’re attacking them,” one girl said. You need to “choose a fight.”
The third girl added that the desire to not be known as one of those “superwake” girls would have someone choked their lips and that the girl knows “there is no chance (boy) taking you seriously again.” These opinions are harsh, but they are true. As of March, 45% of girls aged 13 to 17 feel “great” pressure to become a social fit, and as cultural conservatism grows, it reports that it will change what it means. Even in relatively free spaces like in my high school, girls flinching in the locker room eliminate the risk. No one wants to be her because no one wants to hang out with Stickler. Therefore, the boy’s Iliberalism lives on.
Trump has hurt our country in many explicit ways, but it’s even more subtle to me looking. Structural shifts do not always reach CNN. This openly racist and sexist government cultural influence on youth can distort gender relations by allowing us to enter the workforce, enable us to sexually assault and discriminate, protecting women from positions of power. The gap between young women and young men is growing significantly, and there is no end. Trump is distorting American society, and I fear that it will distort us.
